Postdoctoral Research Associate - Psychiatry

Job Description

The Laboratory for Child Brain Development (LCBD-PI: Dr. Susan Perlman) has an opening for a postdoctoral training position to collaborate on several NIH-funded studies.  The applicant’s main appointment will be in the Laboratory for Child Brain Development (http://www.childbrainlab.com) in the Washington University- St. Louis, School of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry, William Greenleaf Elliot Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (https://childpsychiatry.wustl.edu/).  The LCBD is dedicated to using multi-modal methodology to understand the trajectories of emotional development from infancy to middle childhood (with a strong preschool focus) in order to predict the onset of mental disorder.

The postdoc will have the opportunity to train in multi-modal neuroimaging methods including MRI, NIRS, EEG. Behavioral (Eye-tracking, clinical interview), physiology (RSA), and immunology measures (hair and salivary cortisol, inflammatory markers) also included in our research program. 

Opportunities for publication include three main studies:

The EmoGrow Project: This study followed 4-5 year old children for two years to examine how early temperament predicts the onset of psychopathology and how the parent-child relationship can buffer these negative outcomes.  Data collection has finished in the complete sample of 151 children and includes MRI, NIRS, and behavioral methods (parent-child) interaction.  This longitudinal data set is available for immediate data analysis and publication.

The CARE Study: This longitudinal project, which began data collection in winter 2021, is designed to study the biological unfolding of early-life stress (parental conflict) as a precursor to psychopathology.  We will employ intensive, state-of-the-art, multi-modal, neurodevelopmental measurement in a sample of 225 4-6 year-old children and their parent, including fMRI, interpersonal neural synchronization between parent and child using fNIRS, facial expression and behavioral coding, hair and salivary cortisol, and measurement of inflammatory markers.  The CARE study recruits children experiencing attachment-related stress as a model for the biological unfolding of stress, while also examining external stressors and those that occur throughout the course of the study.  In this longitudinal study, families will be followed every 6 months across a 1.5 year time period. 

Parent-to-Child Anxiety Transmission: A new, longitudinal project, which has recently begun, will examine parental transmission of anxiety to preschool children.  This project includes fNIRS (parent-child interpersonal neural synchronization), EEG, and behavioral coding and will focus on parent-child interaction and socialization of anxious behaviors through child observation.  A sub-aim of the study focuses on anxiety transmission in fathers.

Additional collaborative studies investigate neural processes underlying emotion regulation in autism spectrum disorder, child overcontrolled temperament and development within the parent-child relationship, neural processes underlying executive function in children experiencing early adversity, and the role of physical pain in predicting pediatric psychopathology.  The postdoc will also have ample opportunity to design their own studies and collect a novel data set. The postdoctoral fellow will be an integral member of the scientific team at the Laboratory for Child Brain Development and will have rich opportunities to publish and present at conferences using all available laboratory data.  The fellow will also be encouraged and supported to develop supplementary studies via the NIH NRSA and/or K Award mechanisms in addition to smaller foundation grants.  The fellow will develop, implement, and disseminate cutting-edge fMRI and fNIRS analysis tools through Dr. Perlman’s Laboratory for Child Brain Development and in collaboration with local and national collaborators.

The Washington University-St. Louis, Department of Psychiatry provides an ideal training environment for postdoctoral fellows, including the Career and Research Development Seminars designed to promote the professional, career development, and grantsmanship skills necessary to launch an independent career through the NIH K Award mechanism.  Wash U is home to a thriving neuroimaging community and is a leader in developmental psychopathology research.  St. Louis and the local surrounding areas offer an affordable, diverse, and family-friendly community with rich university resources.

The Washington University-St. Louis, Department of Psychiatry provides an ideal training environment for postdoctoral fellows, including the Career and Researc