Staff Research Associate II

Essential Functions

• Coordinate and support augmented psychotherapy trials that combine evidence-based PTSD treatments with medications targeting mechanisms underlying the disorder, including those that facilitate fear extinction.
• Administer, pilot, and analyze remote psychophysiological fear-conditioning paradigms, including online and lab-based experimental tasks.
• Set up, monitor, and troubleshoot psychophysiological recording sessions using systems such as Biopac and Lab Streaming Layer (LSL)-based data pipelines.
• Acquire, process, and organize multi-modal psychophysiological signals, including electrodermal activity (EDA), electromyography (EMG), heart rate (HR), heart rate variability (HRV), facial coding outputs, and remote photoplethysmography (PPG) signals derived from video.
• Conduct and score clinical interviews and self-report measures assessing PTSD symptoms, trauma exposure, mood, and sleep-related functioning (training provided as needed).
• Collect, process, and analyze sleep-related data, including actigraphy and EEG-based measures.
• Assist with and increasingly take ownership of data management and analysis (e.g., REDCap, spreadsheets, data quality checks, and basic statistical software).
• For candidates with appropriate clinical training, there may be opportunities to be involved in structured clinical assessment and to receive training in manualized, exposure-based psychotherapy protocols, delivering supervised, protocol-guided treatment components as part of the trial.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Psychology, Neuroscience, Biology, Public Health, Social Work, or a related field; a Master’s degree or PhD is a plus.
• At least 2–3 years of experience in research or clinical trial settings, preferably involving mental health, neuroscience, or related clinical populations.
• Strong organizational skills, attention to detail, and ability to manage multiple tasks and deadlines.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Demonstrated interest in trauma/PTSD, fear learning, psychophysiology, and/or sleep-related processes.
• Experience with clinical trial management or coordination (e.g., tracking visit windows, managing protocols, interfacing with sponsors/regulatory teams) is strongly preferred.
• Experience with psychophysiological data collection or analysis (e.g., Biopac, LSL, EDA, EMG, HR/HRV, facial coding, or remote PPG from video) is strongly preferred; enthusiasm for further developing these skills is essential.
• Experience with data analysis or programming tools (e.g., MATLAB, Python, R) is highly desirable.
• Clinical experience with trauma-exposed populations (e.g., Veterans, survivors of interpersonal violence, first responders) is highly beneficial for this role.
• Comfort working with Veterans and individuals with trauma histories, with professionalism, empathy, and strong interpersonal skills.