Postdoctoral Researcher

New York State Psychiatry Institute • New York, NY

3d • Onsite

About The Position

The Research Foundation for Mental Hygiene is seeking a qualified candidate to fill a full-time Postdoctoral Researcher position. The Department of Psychiatry at Columbia University Irving Medical Center (CUIMC) and the New York State Psychiatric Institute, New York, NY is seeking a full-time postdoctoral researcher in the field of Translational Neuroscience. The postdoctoral scientist will work in the laboratory of Dr. Milenna van Dijk investigating how genetic susceptibility and early-life experiences shape risk for and resilience to depression by integrating basic neuroscience, human neuroimaging, statistical genetics, and large-scale population datasets. The successful candidate will join an NIH-funded research program focused on hippocampal mechanisms underlying depression following early-life adversity. The postdoc will perform analyses of large human neuroimaging and genomic datasets, including cross-species translation and integration of mouse and human post-mortem gene expression signatures with human neuroimaging and genetics in large cohort studies. This position offers the opportunity to work at the interface of neuroscience, genetics, epidemiology, and computational biology while contributing to research aimed at identifying biological pathways that can inform prevention strategies for youth at risk for depression. The postdoctoral scientist will be encouraged to develop independent research questions, lead publications, and collaborate with an interdisciplinary network of neuroscientists, geneticists, and clinicians.

Requirements

• PhD or MD/PhD with graduate degree in neuroscience, epidemiology, psychology, genomics, bioinformatics or related discipline.
• Strong statistical and/or computational skills: a minimum of (2) years working with R, Python or similar data analytic software

Nice To Haves

• Proficiency or significant experience with one or more the following: neuroimaging analysis, statistical genomics and/or bioinformatics including experience with analysis of RNA sequencing data.
• A collaborative, curious, and highly organized work ethic.
• Excellent written and oral communication skills.

Responsibilities

• Investigate how early life adverse events interact with novel hippocampal gene expression based polygenic scores to increase risk for hippocampal dysfunction and depression development in 2 human longitudinal cohorts.
• Work in a collaborative research environment and take a leading role on the day-to-day execution of the project, guided by Dr. van Dijk.
• Perform analysis of already existing data sets, although side projects could include new data acquisition.
• Collaborate with multidisciplinary teams including neuroscientists, statisticians, genomics and epidemiology researchers
• Literature review of the topic.
• Genomic analyses across mouse and human big data sets, including Weighted Gene Correlation Network Analysis on RNA sequencing data from mouse and human postmortem data and polygenic score calculation in large human cohorts.
• (Secondary) analysis of neuroimaging markers with respect to genetic and environmental risk factors and depression development.
• Data analysis and interpretation.
• Mentorship of students and staff.
• Present data in oral and written format (e.g. presentation at scientific meetings, manuscript preparation for publication.)

Benefits

• Excellent Benefits Package.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Entry Level
• Education Level: Ph.D. or professional degree