Junior Specialist- Hastings Lab

Dr. Paul Hastings at the Center for Mind and Brain seek to fill a full-time position at the Junior Specialist level starting November 15, 2025. This position is full-time (100% appointment, 40 hours/week) for one year with the possibility of a second year.

Educational Background: The successful candidate will have completed an undergraduate degree in Psychology, Human Development, Physiology, Nutrition, or a related field, and will have experience collecting and working with human physiological (i.e., electrocardiography, ECG; impedance cardiography, IMP; electrodermal activity, EDA) or neuroimaging data (i.e., magnetic resonance imaging, MRI; diffusion tensor imaging, DTI).

Reporting: The junior specialist will work under the supervision of Dr. Paul Hastings.

Position Description: The junior specialist will work on the study titled "Effects of early-life nutritional supplementation on the brains, bodies, and behaviors of Ghanaian youths in middle adolescence". Responsibilities will include coordinating data transfer between data collection sites in Ghana and UC Davis; processing autonomic physiological data; training of colleagues, staff and students at UC Davis and University of Ghana in physiological data processing; assisting with implementation of data collection activities involving parents and adolescents in Ghana; collecting and reviewing journal articles in developmental psychophysiology, nutrition and global human development; management of article database in Zotero; engaging in discussions on research and the interpretation of research results; contributing to reports of results as publications in scholarly journals (e.g., Child Development; American Journal of Clinical Nutrition) and/or presentations at conferences (e.g., Society for Research in Child Development; American Society for Nutrition), with potential for authorship credits and/or lead author/presenter roles; and university service in the form of undergraduate student supervision. Responsibilities may include learning to conduct statistical analyses in R, SPSS, SAS and/or MPlus; refining and debugging code in R scripts; pre-processing and analyses of MRI and DTI data; travel to Ghana for working directly with team members and research participants; assisting with preparation of grant proposals in support of additional research; working on other studies and datasets for the purpose of conference presentation or manuscript preparation, contingent on interests and the pace of the primary research responsibilities.

Responsibilities may include:

Research 50%

*Develop and/or coordinate procedures for international collaborative processing of data; facilitate activities of colleagues in remote locations.

*Participate in weekly discussions of relevant literature, and conduct literature reviews relevant to the work being conducted

*Attend live or remote conferences to present the results of the research.

*Conduct independent and/or collaborative data analysis.

*Contribute to the writing and preparation of manuscripts for publication.

*Train students and staff in Davis, Bangladesh and/or New York on physiological and/or neuroimaging data collection procedures with participants (i.e., children, adolescents, pregnant women).

*Train team members live and remotely on processing and preparation of physiological data.

*Processing of physiological data to provide feedback to data collection team in Bangladesh about quality of data and improving procedure administration.

Professional Competence 30%

*Monitoring lab supplies, ordering supplies as needed.

*Preparing and maintaining IRB materials and ensuring compliance with those protocols.

*Preparing figures and text for presentation at research conferences and for manuscripts to be submitted for publication.

University and Public Service 20%

*Train and mentor undergraduate students on data coding and analyses protocols.

* A Bachelor's degree in psychology or neuroscience.

* Prior experience working with cardiac physiological data.

* Availability to work flexible job hours.

* Excellent interpersonal skills and strong writing skills.

* Excellent organizational and time management skills.

* Proficiency in typical software used in research (Microsoft Excel & Word, Google Calendar, Google Voicemail).

* Experience with statistical analysis (e.g., using R)

* Previous research experience with Mindware hardware and ACQ, HRV, IMP and EDA software

* Hands-on data collection with human research participants.

• 2-3 letters of reference required

As a condition of employment, the finalist will be required to disclose if they are subject to any final administrative or judicial decisions within the last seven years determining that they committed any misconduct, are currently being investigated for misconduct, left a position during an investigation for alleged misconduct, or have filed an appeal with a previous employer.

• "Misconduct" means any violation of the policies or laws governing conduct at the applicant's previous place of employment, including, but not limited to, violations of policies or laws prohibiting sexual harassment, sexual assault, or other forms of harassment, discrimination, dishonesty, or unethical conduct, as defined by the employer.
• UC Sexual Violence and Sexual Harassment Policy
• UC Anti-Discrimination Policy for Employees, Students and Third Parties
• APM - 035: Affirmative Action and Nondiscrimination in Employment

To implement this process, UC Davis requires all applicants for any open search to complete, sign, and upload the form entitled, "Authorization to Release Information" into UC RECRUIT as part of their application. If an applicant does not include the signed authorization with the application materials, the application will be considered incomplete, and as with any incomplete application, will not receive further consideration.

UC Davis is a smoke and tobacco-free campus (http://breathefree.ucdavis.edu/).

The University of California is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, age, protected veteran status, or other protected status under state for federal law.

Under Federal law, the University of California may employ only individuals who are legally able to work in the United States as established by providing documents as specified in the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986. Certain UC Davis positions funded by federal contracts or sub-contracts require the selected candidate to pass an E-Verify check. More information is available at: http://www.uscis.gov/e-verify

The University of California, Davis (UC Davis) is committed to creating a welcoming and inclusive environment for all employees and students. Our excellence in research, teaching, and service are embodied by members of our academic community who share our commitment to these values. A variety of resources and programs are available to academics, staff, and students that reflect the core values reflected in our strategic plan: "To Boldly Go," our Principles of Community, the Office of Academic Affairs' Mission Statement, and the UC Board of Regents Policy 4400.

UC Davis also is making important progress towards our goal of achieving federal designation as a Hispanic-Serving Institution (HSI). There are numerous links available on the About Us webpage where you can learn more about our administration, campus rankings, locations, campus safety, sustainability, visiting UC Davis and UC Davis Health.

The university is consistently ranked among the top institutions in the world for campus sustainability practices by the UI Green Metric World University Rankings. UC Davis is focused on achieving net-zero greenhouse gas emissions and repeatedly shown its commitment to preserving a healthy and sustainable environment for generations to come.

As a University employee, you will be required to comply with all applicable University policies and/or collective bargaining agreements, as may be amended from time to time. Federal, state, or local government directives may impose additional requirements.