Postdoctoral Researcher

Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California; Los Angeles (CA); On-site; USD 50,000 - 70,000; Full time

Job summary

Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California in Los Angeles invites applications for a Postdoctoral Fellow in Psychedelic-Assisted Therapy & Contemplative Neuroscience. The fellow will facilitate therapy sessions, mentor students, and contribute to research on psychedelic-assisted interventions.

This position seeks a candidate with a Doctoral degree in clinical psychology, ideally licensed in California, and a passion for psychedelic research. Applicants should be ready to start immediately and commit for a duration of 2 years, with potential renewal.

Qualifications

• Licensed or license-eligible in California.
• Strong interest in psychedelic research and mindfulness-based interventions.
• Familiarity with statistical analysis.

Responsibilities

• Facilitate psilocybin-assisted therapy sessions.
• Teach mindfulness interventions to study participants.
• Conduct quantitative and qualitative data analysis.
• Mentor undergraduate and graduate students.
• Co-author empirical and theoretical papers.
• Contribute to grant writing and protocol development.

Skills

Psychedelic research

Mindfulness teaching

Data analysis

Clinical trial methodology

Neuroimaging

Education

Doctoral degree in clinical psychology (PhD or PsyD)

Job description

Postdoctoral Fellow — Psychedelic-Assisted Therapy & Contemplative Neuroscience

EVIDENT-MAP Project · Principal Investigator: Rael Cahn, PhD, MD

USC Department of Psychiatry · Brain and Creativity Institute · Los Angeles, CA

Dr. Rael Cahn’s Meditation and Psychedelic Therapy Lab, within the USC Department of Psychiatry at the USC Brain and Creativity Institute, invites applications for a postdoctoral fellowship embedded in the EVIDENT-MAP project — a clinical research program investigating the mechanisms and outcomes of psychedelic-assisted therapy and contemplative practice. The position sits at the intersection of clinical care, rigorous science, and integrative medicine, within a lab focused on the neuroscience of meditation and psychedelics.

The fellow will serve as a trained therapist and co-facilitator in psilocybin-assisted therapy sessions, guiding participants through preparation, dosing, and integration phases within an IRB-approved protocol. The ideal candidate will also have experience teaching meditative interventions and will co‑facilitate mindfulness and meditation‑based group sessions, informed by both secular and classical contemplative traditions. The fellow will be a full scientific partner as well, contributing to study design, quantitative and qualitative data analysis, and the authorship of empirical and theoretical manuscripts.

In addition, the fellow will collaborate with Dr. Cahn to develop and document the meditation-assisted psychedelic therapy intervention protocol, and will help ensure adherence to that protocol across the team of therapists and meditation teachers.

We seek a researcher‑practitioner who combines clinical warmth with intellectual rigor, ready to contribute meaningfully to integrative mental health treatment at the interface of meditation and psychedelic therapy.

We are looking to fill this position immediately — please e‑mail Rael if interested: [e-mail]

Key Responsibilities

• Psilocybin‑assisted therapy facilitation (preparation, dosing sessions, and integration)
• Mindfulness teaching for study participants and in group settings
• Quantitative and qualitative data analysis
• Mentorship of undergraduate and graduate students
• First‑and co‑authorship of empirical and theoretical papers
• Contribution to grant writing and protocol development

Qualifications

• Doctoral degree in clinical psychology (PhD or PsyD); licensed or license‑eligible in California
• Prior experience or strong interest in psychedelic research, mindfulness‑based interventions, or consciousness science
• Familiarity with clinical trial methodology and statistical analysis
• Neuroimaging experience welcome but not required

Location: USC Brain & Creativity Institute, Los Angeles, CA | Start: ASAP | Duration: 2 years (renewable)