Research Scientist IV

Job Title: Research Scientist IV

Grade: 27

Salary: $105,922-$126,392

The Research Foundation for Mental Hygiene is seeking a qualified candidate to fill a full-time Research Scientist IV position. This position involves leading a research team in a pre-clinical project that is federally funded. The goal of the research project is to identify, at the neural circuit level, the sustained changes caused by early life stress that induce reward-deficits later in life. The specific aims of the project are:

• To determine if produces deficits in the activity of distinct populations of cells in the ventral pallidum (VP)
• To examine if early life stress disrupts VP-Nac afferent activity during hedonic encoding.
• To test if the VP to Nac projections mediate the early life stress induced hedonic deficits.

Duties and Responsibilities:

• The candidate will lead a small team of researchers including 1 full-time technician and 3-4 undergraduate research assistants.
• They will be responsible for training the team members and supervising their daily work.
• Specifically, the candidate will train the technician and students in all methods of data collection and analysis. this will include (not limited to), stereotaxic surgery, mouse husbandry, in vivo e-Phys recordings, behavioral testing, data analysis.
• The candidate will be responsible for data management, interpreting the results and preparing them for publication.
• The candidate will also be responsible for ensuring that all experiments are conducted according to federal state, city, university and NYSPI regulations.

Minimum Qualifications:

• Bachelor's degree and (5) years of professional research experience in an appropriate field or master's degree in an appropriate field may substitute for (1) year of experience, or Ph.D. in an appropriate field may substitute for an additional year of experience.

Preferred Qualifications:

• PhD in neuroscience or related area of biology.
• A minimum of 5 years of postdoctoral experience and a minimum of 5 years working with rodent models of neuropsychiatric conditions.
• At least in 5 years of experience with rodent models of stress in defined developmental periods.
• At least in 5 years of experimental and analytic methods of in vivo electrophysiology.

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.