Research Associate-Fixed Term

Position Summary

The Lingo Lab in the Department of Communicative Sciences and Disorders at Michigan State University (directed by Courtney E. Venker, Ph.D., CCC-SLP) has an opening for a post-doctoral fellowship (in-person or remote) focused on early language development in autistic children and children with Down syndrome. The Research Associate will join a team of thoughtful, curious, and supportive researchers committed to better understanding how these children learn language and how best to support those with language delays. Desired start date is January 6, 2026, but is negotiable. The position may be renewed for a second year based on performance.

The Research Associate will be part of an NIH-funded study investigating how linguistic simplification affects language processing and word learning in autistic children and children with Down syndrome. They will contribute to numerous aspects of the project, including experimental design, data collection, data processing, visualization, analysis, interpretation, and dissemination of results. The candidate will have opportunities to mentor junior researchers and will be involved in preparing conference presentations and writing scholarly manuscripts. To the fullest extent possible, the team will support the Research Associate in pursuing the scientific aspects of the project that best contribute to the development of their own independent line of research. Funding for conference travel will be provided.

Equal Employment Opportunity Statement

All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, citizenship, age, disability or protected veteran status.

Required Degree

Doctorate -Communicative Sciences and Disorders or equivalent

Minimum Requirements

Ph.D. in Communicative Sciences and Disorders, Psychology, Child Development, (or a related field) prior to starting this position. Applicants must show evidence of scholarly productivity in the form of articles and conference presentations.

Desired Qualifications

Prior research experience in language development and neurodevelopmental disorders is desirable. Preference will be given to applicants with in-depth data processing and statistical expertise (e.g., experience with R software, data aggregation, and multi-level mixed effects modeling).

Required Application Materials

Applicants should include a letter of interest, current curriculum vitae, and letters of recommendation from two references.

Special Instructions

To apply, please refer to posting #1089001 and complete an electronic submission at the Michigan State University Employment opportunities website, https://careers.msu.edu.

Review of applications begins October 24th, 2025 and will continue until the position is filled. Direct questions to: Courtney E. Venker, Ph.D., CCC-SLP cvenker@msu.edu

Professional Misconduct Review

As an institution of higher learning, Michigan State University is committed to providing a safe environment for its students, faculty, and staff in support of its educational mission. With this commitment, the University conducts criminal background checks and professional misconduct reviews of all applicants for employment in faculty, academic staff, and executive management searches.

A professional misconduct review is a prerequisite for a candidate to be selected for this position. Applicants will be asked to disclose whether they are subject to any pending investigation, findings or sanctions related to professional misconduct. Professional misconduct includes misconduct related to a person’s employment, including, but not limited to, theft, embezzlement, research integrity, discrimination, or harassment under civil rights laws and policies, including protected identity harassment, sexual harassment, sexual misconduct (sexual assault, sexual exploitation, dating violence, domestic violence, stalking, etc.), and retaliation. All applicants will be asked to sign an authorization and release, which authorizes the University to contact the candidate’s current and former employers, for a period of 7 years prior to the date of application, related to any pending investigations, findings of responsibility and/or sanctions related to professional misconduct. Nothing will be sent to current or former employers unless the candidate reaches the semi-finalist stage.

The existence of professional misconduct history does not automatically exclude a candidate from employment. The University will assess the information, including any information provided by the candidate, in determining whether the candidate is fit for the position. The University may decline to hire a candidate based on the professional miscondu