Research Associate II - Anastassiou Lab - Department of Neurosurgery

Are you a hardworking and dedicated research professional interested in being part of breakthrough Research?

When you join Cedars-Sinai, you become part of a team that is at the forefront of medical advancements and life-saving medical and scientific breakthroughs. Cedars-Sinai is one of the leading institutes for driven research funding from the National Institutes of Health.

Principal Investigator, Costas Anastassiou, PhD is searching for a Research Associate II to join the team!

The Anastassiou Laboratory is affiliated with the Department of Neurosurgery and Neurology, the Center of Neural Sciences and Medicine and the Regenerative Medicine Institute. The laboratory studies how the molecular and cellular composition of neurons translates to their phenotype and how these properties combine in brain circuits to produce function or, in the case of disease, dysfunction.

As a Research Associate, you will be working in close cooperation and in consultation with the Principal Investigator, Costas Anastassiou, PhD. You will be an essential team member in their ongoing effort to understand human brain function spanning across spatiotemporal scales. The core responsibility for this position is to setup computational simulations and data analysis workflows from slice and in vivo brain physiology in humans.

The Research Associate will be responsible for the design of biophysical simulations using bio-realistic neural networks and analysis of simulated and experimental data using state-of-the-art statistical analyses to establish structure-function relationships.

Working under direct supervision, the Research Associate II performs routine and increasingly complex laboratory tasks and procedures and develops technical expertise in one or more areas relevant to research projects. The Research Associate member will participate in research activities involving all aspects of the research process, to include, but not limited to; investigation, technical, testing/validation of results, and report findings. The incumbent will perform a variety of routine experimental protocols and procedures to support the objectives of laboratory research projects. The Associate will observe and follow safety standards and procedures, assist in preparation of data for publication and/or presentation at scholarly meetings, and assist in general laboratory maintenance. This position does not have supervisory responsibilities.

Primary Duties and Responsibilities:

• Keeps accurate and detailed records of experiments and results and assists in identifying and troubleshooting of unexpected results.
• Orders laboratory supplies and supports laboratory operations.
• Maintains lab equipment and related records and may coordinate use of lab equipment.
• Assists in the operation of specialized equipment, as required by the area of research.
• Assists in preparation of data for publication and/or presentation at scholarly meetings.
• Observes and complies with safety standards and procedures.
• Orients research laboratory assistants or lower-level research associates and undergraduate student researchers on day-to-day lab operations and routine procedures.

Department-Specific Duties:

• Designs, implements, and conducts single-neuron and network simulations of human neurons.
• Contributes to ongoing efforts in computational framework development (simulation and data analysis) as well as to scientific questions relevant to the system under investigation.
• Contributes to adjacent projects related to human pathophysiology and neurotherapies.
• Publishes/presents findings in peer-reviewed journals/scientific conferences.
• Prepares written and oral reports on a regular basis.
• Maintains clear and accurate communication with supervisor, team members, and external collaborators.

Education:

• Bachelor's degree in a Science related field, required.

Experience and Skill:

• One year of laboratory experience, required.
• Experience in Computational Biophysics or Neuroscience, highly preferred.
• Experience in writing code for research purposes in innovative programming language (e.g. python, R) or software (e.g. Matlab) is a plus!
• Experience with routine laboratory procedures, experimental protocols, and overall lab organization.
• Ability to work independently.
• Must have outstanding interpersonal, communication and organization skills to work across company fields and functional units, and computer application experience.
• Must possess digital literacy.
• Ability to simultaneously manage multiple tasks with attention to details.
• Strong background in scientific computing.
• Proven independent thinking and flexibility.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills.