Research Scientist II

Job Title: Research Scientist II

Grade: 22

Salary: $79,116-$98,435

The Research Foundation for Mental Hygiene is seeking a qualified candidate to fill a full-time position of Research Scientist at the New York State Psychiatric Institute. The role of this Research Scientist will be to perform research in a neuroscience laboratory investigating mechanisms underlying human brain disorders using rodent models of these disorders. The research focuses on understanding the neural circuits underlying normal cognitive function and exploring how they are disrupted in human mental illness.

Duties and Responsibilities:

This research employs neural recording and optogenetic manipulations in mice to investigate neural circuit structure, function, and impact on behavior. Responsibilities will vary depending on experimental demands and may include:

• Handling research rodents.
• Performing stereotaxic surgeries and monitoring during recovery.
• Conducting behavioral testing.
• Performing anatomical circuit tracing and neurohistology.
• Conducting electrophysiology and calcium imaging recordings in behaving rodents.
• Performing optogenetics in rodents during behavior and neural recording.
• Analyzing and computational modeling of data. Additional Requirements:
• Flexible scheduling, including availability for evening and weekend work.
• Excellent organizational skills and meticulous record-keeping, and aid others in the laboratory with data

Minimum Qualifications:

• Bachelor's degree and (3) years of professional research experience in an appropriate field; or a master's degree in an appropriate field may substitute for (1) year of experience; and a Ph.D. in an appropriate field may substitute for an additional year of experience.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Recent completion of a PhD level education or equivalent in neuroscience-related field.
• At least (2) years of experience in at least (3) of the above-listed techniques. (from Duties and Responsibilities)
• Technical Expertise (as demonstrated by peer-reviewed publications employing these techniques):
  • Proficiency in rodent in vivo electrophysiology and/or advanced imaging methods.
  • Familiarity with programming in MATLAB and Python.

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

To Apply: Submit an application through our website at https://rfmh.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. Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer - Disabled/Veteran, 41 CFR 60-741.5(a) and 41 CFR 60-300.5(a) compliant.