Research Support Assistant

New York State Psychiatry Institute; New York (NY); On-site; USD 42,000 - 52,000; Full time

Job summary

A prestigious research organization in New York seeks a full-time Research Support Assistant for cutting-edge studies on stress-related psychiatric disorders. The role includes hands-on research tasks such as calcium imaging, behavioral experimentation, and animal handling. Ideal candidates have a neuroscience background and lab experience, and will contribute to impactful mental health research.

Benefits

Excellent Benefits Package

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in neuroscience required.
• 6 months lab experience and knowledge in rodent experiments.
• Experience with in vivo imaging techniques preferred.

Responsibilities

• Maintain transgenic mouse colonies and perform genotyping.
• Conduct behavioral experiments and analyze data.
• Perform stereotactic brain surgery and calcium imaging.

Skills

Mice handling

Behavioral experimentation

Data analysis

Education

Bachelor's degree in neuroscience

Tools

In vivo calcium imaging

Microscopy

Transcranial perfusion techniques

Job description

Job Title: Research Support Assistant

Grade: 10

Salary: $42,843 - $51,079

The Research Foundation for Mental Hygiene is seeking a qualified full-time Research Support Assistant to contribute to the Anacker lab's ongoing studies on the neurobiology underlying stress-induced psychiatric disorders in mouse models of chronic psychosocial stress and early life adversity. The research assistant will contribute to all aspects of the projects, including in vivo calcium imaging of neural activity in freely moving mice, biosensor imaging of neurotransmitter signaling in the in vivo brain, rodent behavioral experiments of cognitive flexibility and fear generalization, stereotactic surgery, mouse colony maintenance, brain tissue processing, and microscopy of brain tissue markers of activity-regulated genes.

Duties and Responsibilities:

• Mice handling and transgenic mouse colony maintenance
• Genotyping
• Behavioral experimentation
• Rodent models of stress and early adversity
• Stereotactic brain surgery in mice
• In vivo calcium imaging of neural activity using miniature microscopes and fiber photometry in freely moving mice
• Transcranial perfusions
• brain extractions
• brain tissue processing
• immunohistochemistry
• Microscopy and data analysis

Minimum Qualifications:

• Bachelor's degree in neuroscience
• At least (6) months cumulative experience working in a laboratory environment
• At least (6) months of experience with rodent behavioral experiments, transcranial perfusions, brain tissue processing, and data analyses.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience with in vivo Ca2+ imaging techniques and advanced data analysis approaches (e.g. using R or Python)

Work Location: 1051 Riverside Drive, New York, NY 10032

To Apply: Submit an application through our website at https://nyspi.applicantpro.com/jobs/. Please note only applications submitted through our website will be considered.

The Mission of the Research Foundation for Mental Hygiene, Inc. (RFMH) is to promote the mental health of all New Yorkers, with a focus on providing hope and supporting recovery for adults with serious mental illness and children with serious emotional disturbances. Applicants with lived mental health experience are encouraged to apply. RFMH is deeply committed to supporting underserved individuals, organizations, and communities. To this end, RFMH is focused on implementing activities and initiatives to reduce disparities in access, quality, and treatment outcomes for underserved populations. A critical component of these efforts is ensuring that RFMH is a diverse and inclusive workplace where all employees' unique attributes and skills are valued and utilized to support the mission of the Agency. RFMH is an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer.

The Research Foundation is a private not-for-profit corporation and is not an agency or instrumentality of the State of New York. Employees of the Research Foundation are not state employees, do not participate in any state retirement system, and do not receive state fringe benefits. Excellent Benefits Package. Employer/Minority/Women/Disabled/Veteran Employer. VEVRAA 41 CFR 60-300.5(a) compliant.