Job Vacancy Announcement – Staff Scientist 1 - Neurophysiology Imaging Facility (NIF)

Program Overview

The National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), a major research component of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), is seeking exceptional candidates for a Staff Scientist 1 position in the Division of Intramural Research Programs (IRP), Neurophysiology Imaging Facility (NIF). The NIF core is a shared intramural resource contributed by three institutes (NIMH, NINDS, and NEI), centered on two MRI scanners dedicated to brain imaging of nonhuman primates (NHPs): A Siemens Prisma 3T for scanning the macaque and a Bruker Biospec 7T for scanning the marmoset. The NIF core facilitates both routine anatomical scans as well as longer-term functional MRI projects for a wide range of NIH intramural investigators, incorporating the latest in cutting-edge imaging technology through continual upgrades, equipment acquisitions, and internal technology development. NIF is a dynamic, interactive, and transdisciplinary research environment with a diverse team of researchers that include physicists, neuroscientists, engineers, and data scientists. The NIF staff works with users to help plan, collect, organize, and analyze MRI data of various types for NHP imaging.

The Staff Scientist’s primary responsibilities will include 1. overseeing the management of the MR systems, by ensuring each system is operating effectively and efficiently, 2. advancing the expansion of technical capabilities, by developing, implementing, and adapting new MRI sequences, coil hardware, and multimodal data acquisition techniques in NHP studies, 3. meeting users’ needs, by providing technical guidance and support on MRI projects that are conducted in the facility, by developing and optimizing scan protocols in novel projects and training new users in their routine scanning, 4. conducting independent or collaborative research that support the facility’s mission, performing analysis and writing manuscripts, and 5. performing other facility-related duties as requested. Salary will be commensurate with education and experience.

Qualifications

Candidates must hold an advanced degree (Ph.D.) in physics, biomedical engineering, electrical engineering, or equivalent. They must have a minimum of 2 years postdoc or equivalent experiences in MRI field. The incumbent must have pulse sequence and/or image reconstruction development experiences, along with a deep understanding of MR physics, sequence design, and image reconstruction algorithms. The incumbent must provide evidence of having a direct role and contribution to previous research in the MRI field (publications in peer-reviewed scientific journals, presentations at imaging-related conferences and/or developed software codes). Candidates must also have excellent written and verbal communication skills and demonstrated teamwork spirit. Priority will go to candidates with previous preclinical (animal scanning) experience using Siemens and / or Bruker systems and their sequence / reconstruction programming environments (IDEA, ICE, ParaVision). Ideally, a candidate would have familiarity with both preclinical and human MR research environments.

Benefits

The current salary range for this position is $80,354 –- $191,900 per annum. A full federal government benefit package (including retirement, health, life and long-term care insurance, Thrift Savings Plan participation, etc.) is available, learn more: https://hr.nih.gov/benefits .

How to Apply

The position is open to both U.S. and non-U.S. citizens. The position is subject to a background check. Interested candidates must submit a current curriculum vitae, a statement of research background and interests, and three letters of recommendation to Dr. David Leopold via e-mail at NIMHIRPSearch@mail.nih.gov. Applications will be accepted until the position is filled.

HHS and NIH are equal opportunity employers

The NIH is dedicated to building a diverse community in its training and employment programs and encourages the application and nomination of qualified women, persons from underrepresented groups, and persons with disabilities are strongly encouraged.