HIRING: Data Scientist / Data Analyst
+ ++The Unit on Computational Decision Neuroscience (CDN) at the National +Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) Intramural Research Program is seeking a +full-time Data Scientist/Data Analyst. The NIMH is the leading federal agency for research on mental disorders and neuroscience, and part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). +
+ ++The lab is focused on understanding the neural and computational bases +of adaptive and maladaptive decision-making and their relationship to +mental health. Current studies investigate how internal states lead to +biases in decision-making and how this exacerbated in mental health +disorders. Our approach involves a combination of computational +model-based tasks, questionnaires, biosensor data, fMRI, and +intracranial recordings. The main models of interest come from +neuroeconomics, reinforcement learning, Bayesian inference, signal +detection, and information theory. +
+ ++The main tasks for this position include but are not restricted to computational modeling of behavioral data from decision-making and other cognitive tasks, statistical analysis of task-based, clinical, and physiological and neuroimaging data, as well as data visualization for the purposes of scientific presentations, public communication, and academic manuscripts. The candidate is expected to demonstrate experience with best practices for the development of well-documented, reproducible programming pipelines for data analysis, that facilitate sharing and collaboration, and live up to our open-science philosophy, as well as to our data management and sharing commitments at NIH. +
+ ++No prior experience with psychiatry research is needed but a familiarity with the constructs and models of interest in the lab (value-based learning and decision-making, metacognition, belief updating, emotion regulation, and/or effort-cost estimation) is desirable, as these are universally important for understanding adaptive healthy functioning and psychiatric disease. +
+ + + +About the position
+ ++The data analyst will work under the supervision of Dr. Silvia +Lopez-Guzman on projects that aim to understand (1) the process of +adaptively evaluating options and committing to a choice; (2) how +changes in internal and motivational states may abnormally shape +decisions in individuals with and without psychopathology; and (3) how +cognitive and metacognitive resources support these adaptive or +maladaptive decision-making processes. The CDN lab leverages the rich +clinical resources and computational expertise across the NIH, and +collaborates actively with labs that specialize on addiction, +depression, anxiety, and pain. The lab is an active part of a growing +community of expert labs on learning and decision-making who work +together to improve our understanding from the circuits and behavioral +neuroscience level to the human cognitive and clinical levels, making +this a unique opportunity for any scientist with an interest in +decision science and computational psychiatry. +
+ ++This is an exciting opportunity for a candidate with established programming and analytic skills to work at the cutting edge of psychiatry research and computational cognitive neuroscience. +
+ +Job Requirements
+ +-
+
- Assisting with setting up and managing analysis pipelines + +
- Conducting advanced analysis of behavioral, physiological, and + imaging data, including but not limited to computational modeling + and machine learning + +
- Integrating complex datasets across multiple modalities, + including fMRI, electrophysiology, biosensor data + neuroendocrinology, behavior, and self-report + +
- Assisting in data visualization for manuscripts and presentation + of results at scientific meetings + +
- Supporting/co-mentoring junior members of the lab on data + analysis practices + +
Qualifications
+ +The successful candidate will meet the following requirements, including: + +-
+
- A PhD in neuroscience, cognitive science, psychology, computer + science, data science, statistics, engineering, or a related field + +
- Strong programming skills (ideally in Python, and/or MATLAB, R) + +
- Experience working within Linux environment and cloud computing + +
- An ability to work well in multidisciplinary and highly + collaborative teams + +
- An interest in translational research + +
- A track record or potential for scholarly productivity + +
- Effective independent problem-solving and task prioritization + +
-
+
- Computational modeling + +
- Dynamic analysis of longitudinal or time series data + +
- Machine learning + +