Post Doctoral Fellow

Mass General Brigham relies on a wide range of professionals to advance our mission as a not-for-profit supporting patient care, research, teaching, and community service. We strive to provide exceptional care and believe high-performing teams drive groundbreaking medical discoveries.

About the role

McLean Hospital is seeking a Postdoctoral Research Fellow focused on investigating the neurobiology of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and related emotional disorders using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), including functional MRI. The fellow will be mentored by Nathaniel Harnett, Ph.D. and Isabelle Rosso, Ph.D., with access to the academic and scientific environments of McLean Hospital and Harvard Medical School.

The fellow will work on funded studies exploring neural mechanisms underlying PTSD, depression, and anxiety, with opportunities to analyze functional and other MRI data. A major focus will be the analysis of resting-state fMRI data using multiple approaches (GICA, seed-based, network-based) across datasets. The position offers substantial opportunities for scientific development, including leading manuscripts, presenting at conferences, contributing to grant applications, and building an independent research program.

The fellow will join a multidisciplinary, collaborative research environment of neuroscientists, psychologists, psychiatrists, statisticians, and clinical researchers.

About McLean Hospital

McLean Hospital is a comprehensive psychiatric hospital providing superior mental health services in the Boston area and beyond. Since 1811, McLean has been a world leader in treating mental illness and chemical dependency, researching causes of mental illness, and training mental health care providers. McLean’s programs treat a broad range of psychiatric illnesses across the full continuum of care.

All team members are expected to demonstrate the values of integrity, compassion, respect, diversity, teamwork, excellence, and innovation.

A postdoctoral fellow typically holds dual affiliations at McLean Hospital and Harvard Medical School. Additional information about research at McLean is available at https://www.mcleanhospital.org/research.

Responsibilities

• Conduct independent and specialized human-subjects research
• Process, analyze, and interpret MRI data, with emphasis on resting-state fMRI data
• Apply and develop advanced neuroimaging and statistical analysis methods
• Contribute to the design and implementation of research protocols
• Troubleshoot methodological and analytic problems; instruct colleagues in specialized techniques
• Synthesize and interpret results
• Maintain organized research records, analysis pipelines, code, and documentation
• Present research findings at lab meetings and national/international conferences
• Prepare and submit research manuscripts to peer-reviewed journals
• Contribute to grant applications and other scientific proposals
• Assist in supervising research assistants and trainees
• Perform other research-related duties as assigned

Qualifications

Required:

• PhD, MD/PhD, or equivalent doctoral degree in neuroscience, psychology, biomedical engineering, computational neuroscience, or a related field
• Experience with human neuroimaging research, including processing and analyzing resting-state fMRI data
• Evidence of strong scientific productivity and writing skills, including peer-reviewed publications
• Strong quantitative, analytical, and problem-solving skills
• Excellent interpersonal and oral communication skills
• Ability to work both independently and collaboratively in a multidisciplinary environment
• Strong organizational skills and attention to detail

Preferred:

• Experience with task-based fMRI and/or multimodal neuroimaging (e.g., diffusion MRI, MRS)
• Experience with neuroimaging analysis software and computational workflows
• Programming experience in Python, R, MATLAB, shell scripting, or related languages
• Experience with advanced statistical or computational approaches to neuroimaging data
• Research experience in PTSD, trauma-related disorders, depression, anxiety, affective neuroscience, or related areas
• Interest in developing an independent line of research and pursuing career-development funding

Working environment

Work will be performed in a fast-paced, collaborative research environment requiring independence, teamwork, flexibility, and effective communication. The fellow will work closely with Principal Investigators, faculty, postdoctoral fellows, research assistants, trainees, and collaborators across McLean Hospital and Harvard Medical School.

Pay

The salary range for this position is $62,400 to $72,800 annually. At Mass General Brigham, base pay is determined by skills, relevant experience, education, certifications, and other essential factors. In addition to competitive pay, we offer comprehensive benefits, career advancement opportunities, differentials, premiums, and bonuses as applicable.

Schedule

• Scheduled weekly hours: 40
• Employee type: Regular
• Work shift: Day
• Work location: Onsite at 115 Mill Street, Belmont, MA

Physical Requirements

• Standing: Frequently
• Walking: Frequently
• Sitting: Occasionally
• Lifting: Frequently
• Carrying: Frequently
• Pushing: Occasionally
• Pulling: Occasionally
• Climbing: Rarely
• Balancing: Frequently
• Stooping: Occasionally
• Kneeling: Occasionally
• Crouching: Occasionally
• Crawling: Rarely
• Reaching: Frequently
• Gross Manipulation (Handling): Frequently
• Fine Manipulation (Fingering): Frequently
• Feeling: Constantly
• Foot Use: Rarely
• Vision - Far: Constantly
• Vision - Near: Constantly
• Talking: Constantly
• Hearing: Constantly