Research Assistant I - Laboratory of Dr. Talmo Pereira

As a Research Assistant I will support the laboratories of Dr. Pereira and Dr. Azim at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies.

The Research Assistant I will be part of our team focusing on cutting-edge research in computational and behavioral neuroscience through the development and implementation of behavioral monitoring systems and analysis. The Research Assistant I will have the unique opportunity to work at the intersection of neuroscience and artificial intelligence, utilizing the latest technologies to extract quantitative measures of unrestrained behavior over timescales of the lifetime of the animals. This role will assist with implementation of the hardware and software pipelines to produce multi-terabyte-scale datasets at unprecedented resolution.  The Research Assistant I will work closely with software engineers and computer scientists; they will implement behavioral data analysis pipelines capable of scaling to thousands of hours of high-resolution behavior quantified using deep learning and computer vision. Simultaneously, working closely with neurobiologists, this role will identify key behavioral metrics that will be used to characterize neural mechanisms and disease progression in various models of disease, including amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).

Who We Are

The Salk Institute is an internationally renowned research institution that values all members of our scientific community. We seek bold and interactive leaders passionate about exploring new frontiers in science. Our collaborative community embraces perspectives across discipline, professional acumen, and unique life experiences, fostering innovation, and a sense of belonging. Together, we strive to improve the wellbeing of humanity through groundbreaking research.

Founded by Jonas Salk, developer of the first safe and effective polio vaccine, the Institute is an independent, nonprofit research organization and architectural landmark: small by choice, intimate by nature, and fearless in the face of any challenge. Salk's vibrant community has many talented individuals from varied backgrounds, each playing a crucial role in driving our mission forward. From visionary leaders to dedicated administrators and brilliant faculty members, the Institute is united by a shared passion for scientific exploration and innovation. 

What Your Key Responsibilities Will Be

• Carries out tasks pertaining to hardware assembly of behavioral monitoring systems.
• Carries out tasks pertaining to data annotation, and development and implementation of computational pipelines in Python.
• Carries out guided data analysis tasks to extract and visualize patterns from high-dimensional and large-scale behavioral data.
• Participates in team meetings to discuss project progress.
• Reads relevant academic literature and synthesizes for group presentations.
• Coordinate with other Salk labs and In Vivo Scientific Services.
• Assist with supervision of undergraduate students and other lab members.
• Perform additional duties as required.
• Performs other related duties as assigned by management.

SUPERVISORY RESPONSIBILITIES:

• This job has no supervisory responsibilities.

What we Require

• No professional experience is required.
• Education: Bachelor's degree in Biological Sciences or related scientific discipline required. A minimum of 2 years of experience in a scientific role is required for consideration of a Bachelor's degree in a different discipline.
• Prior experience or internships in a laboratory setting preferred.
• Computer skills required: Microsoft Office.

• Competitive candidates for this position will have intermediate to advanced experience with data analysis in Python, a strong interest in behavior and neuroscience, and an eagerness to learn the computational and analytical techniques required to conduct this research.

• We STRONGLY recommend that applicants provide a link to their GitHub profile with examples of their previous programming experience to receive full consideration (including previous research code or class projects).

What We Can Offer

The expected pay range for this position is $18.03 to $21.00 hourly.  Salk Institute provides pay ranges representing its good faith estimate of what the institute r