Staff Research Associate II

Position Definition:

The Stress Trauma and Resilience Program (STaR Lab) at the San Francisco VA Health Care System (SFVAHCS) in partnership with Northern California Institute for Research and Education Inc. (NCIRE) and University of California San Francisco (UCSF) is seeking an experienced Staff Research Associate II (SRA II)to support and help manage clinical and experimental studies on trauma- and stressor-related disorders in Veterans with a particular focus on PTSD sleep disturbance traumatic brain injury (TBI) and fear learning.

Our overarching goal is to develop mechanism-informed pharmacologically augmented psychotherapiesthat directly target the neural systems involved in these conditions with a focus on enhancing fear extinction and related learning processes. Ultimately we aim to translate this work into more targeted effective treatments for Veterans with PTSD insomnia TBI and other trauma-related difficulties.

This role is ideal for someone seeking a 50% research / 50% administrativeposition who has solid prior research experience and wants to play a central role in clinical trial coordination psychophysiology data collection and multi-site study operations. Highly motivated candidates may have opportunities to co-author publications and contribute to presentations.

This opportunity is open to full-time or part-time.

Essential Functions:

Research (50%)

• Coordinate and support augmented psychotherapy trialsthat combine evidence-based PTSD treatments (e.g. exposure-based therapies) with medications that target 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 sessionsusing systems such as Biopacand 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 measuresassessing PTSD symptoms trauma exposure mood and sleep-related functioning (training provided as needed).
• Collect process and analyze sleep-related data including actigraphyand 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 assessmentand to receive training in manualized exposure-based psychotherapy protocols delivering supervised protocol-guided treatment components as part of the trial.

Administrative (50%)

• Coordinate day-to-day study operations including participant recruitment screening scheduling and follow-up ensuring that visit windows and protocol requirements are met.
• Maintain and organize regulatory documents(IRB submissions amendments renewals consent forms) in collaboration with the PI and regulatory staff.
• Serve as a key liaison with a multidisciplinary teamof investigators clinicians coordinators and collaborators across sites.
• Track enrollment timelines and milestones; assist with and help prepare progress reports RPPRs and other grant-related documentation.
• Support NCIRE and VA administrative processes including onboarding of staff/volunteers purchasing and meeting organization (e.g. agendas notes action items).

Qualifications:

• Bachelors degree in Psychology Neuroscience Biology Public Health Social Work or a related field; a Masters degree or PhD is a plus. Individuals with clinical training particularly in fields such as social work clinical psychology or counseling psychology would also be a good fit especially if they are interested in integrating clinical assessment and structured psychotherapy into research.
• At least 23 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 communicationskills.
• 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 beneficialfor this role.
• Comfort working with Veterans and individuals with trauma histories with professionalism empathy and strong interpersonal skills.

VA Onboarding Requirements:

NCIRE is an affiliate organization of the San Francisco VA Health Care System (SFVAHCS) which requires all candidates to complete SFVA onboarding in addition to NCIREs onboarding process. The SFVA is a federal agency that requires a federal background check occupational health clearance vaccines and immunizations and drug testing for certain positions. Drug testing may include screening for marijuana which remains an illegal substance according to federal law. The failure to pass required drug testing will disqualify candidates from employment.

The base wage range for this position is $25.24 - $40.60 per hour. The wage actually offered to a successful candidate will take into account various relevant and non-discriminatory business factors including without limitation the candidates geographic location job-related experience knowledge and skills and education as well as internal equity considerations. A successful candidate may also be eligible to earn additional compensation including bonuses.

NCIRE is an Equal Opportunity Employer. This position requires access to United States Government research under the Veterans Administration. Per Veterans Administration regulations surrounding access to US research qualified US Citizens will be selected over other individuals eligible to work in the United States. If you are eligible to work in the United States you may still be considered for this position but only if no qualified US citizens apply.

Position Details & How to Apply

To apply pleasecomplete your application in NCIREs UltiPro systemand email the following materials to Dr. Sabra Inslicht at (with the subject line:STaR Lab SRA II Application):

1. CV/Resume
2. Briefcover letter describing your interests and fit
3. Names and contact information for 2 references

We strongly encourage applications from individuals from diverse backgroundswho are excited to help advance mechanistic science and translate it into better-targeted more effective care for Veterans affected by trauma.

Required Experience:

Staff IC