Postdoctoral Training Opportunity –Neuroimaging Data Analysis at the Herrold Lab
The Herrold Lab is seeking a postdoctoral fellow to perform neuroimaging data analysis for studies related to repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) treatment for co-occurring alcohol use disorder and mild traumatic brain injury. This is a VA fellowship at Hines VA in Hines IL, with dual postdoctoral fellow appointments at Hines and Northwestern University, Chicago, IL. Successful completion of this postdoc position will set up the individual to be competitive for a VA Career Development Award (CDA, equivalent and yet higher funding rates than an NIH K) or an NIH K award.
Dr. Herrold is a neuroscientist focused on developing and optimizing neuroscience-informed neuromodulatory treatments for substance use disorders co-occurring with mild traumatic brain injury. Read more about Dr. Herrold's research here.
The objectives of this study are to:
- identify neural targets (i.e. site of stimulation) associated with both alcohol-related characteristics and self-reported functional disability, and
- assess preliminary efficacy and sustainability of a high-frequency rTMS protocol applied to these customized neural targets relative to the commonly used left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) site.
Neuroimaging metrics will be assessed through a multi-modal, functional, and structural Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) scan. Participants will complete a scan protocol including a 3D T1/MPRAGE, fMRI alcohol cue-reactivity task, 20min resting state scan, and DTI.
Setting:
The postdoctoral fellow will be supervised by the project PI Dr. Amy Herrold at Edward Hines Jr. VA Hospital and Northwestern University Dept. of Psychiatry. Dr. Herrold works with an excellent interdisciplinary research team including experts in the fields of neuroimaging (Dr. Todd Parrish, Dr. Tim Durazzo) and traumatic brain injury (Dr. Theresa Bender Pape). Imaging data for this project will be acquired at the state-of-the-art, research-dedicated Center for Translational Imaging at Northwestern University using a 3-T Siemens PRISMA scanner. We will utilize the Northwestern University Neuroimaging Data Archive (Alpert et al. 2016 Neuroimage 124: 1131-1136) for archiving, quality assessment, and to assist with data processing.
Funding & Duration:
This position will be funded by the VA Office of Academic Affairs Traumatic Brain Injury/Polytrauma Advanced Research Fellowship. The fellowship is 2 years with an optional third year. Dr. Herrold will work with the potential fellow to craft this application and the fellow’s own research project.
Requirements:
- US Citizenship
- Highly motivated & Independent self-starter
- PhD in neuroscience, psychology, engineering, or related fields
- Proficiency in one or more of the following: task-based and resting state fMRI, DTI, T1-based structural analyses.
- Proficiency in Linux-based shells and scripting languages. Preferred experience with Python, MATLAB, SPM, FSL, Afni, and FreeSurfer.
- Excellent technical skills/aptitude (troubleshooting software failures)
- Must be willing to travel between Edward Hines Jr., VA Hospital and Northwestern University’s Chicago Campus
Fellowship Expectations:
- Work with mentor, Dr. Herrold, towards developing your own research questions that are complementary to the funded project.
- Submit 1-2 first-author papers
- Present research at 1 international scientific meeting such as the Society for Neuroscience, the Society for Biological Psychiatry, the Research Society on Alcoholism, or the American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine.
- Collaborate on co-authored publications
- Obtain early career/training grant funding, subsequent fellowship, or junior faculty position at the end of the fellowship.
The role provides different training opportunities, depending on your career goals:
- advance your own clinical research platform for early career grants
- advance skills as a clinical research manager
- establish collaborations as a team-based technical neuroscientist
Herrold Lab Intentional Values and Culture:
- Equality – value people’s thoughts, contributions, and needs equally
- Inclusion and Diversity – diversity enhances our ability to do science, engender a welcoming environment for all, commit to doing better and acknowledge mistakes
- Mission-driven hard work – commitment and giving your all to achieving lab goals during lab time and establishing/communicating healthy boundaries for non-lab time
- Thoughtfulness – make decisions carefully evaluating available evidence and determining what will be the most efficient and meaningful solution
- Neuroscience excellence – in touch with state-of-the-art findings and methods, applying scientific rigor to all we do
- Collegiality & Professionalism – value relationships with colleagues, treat others with respect and consideration, engender a positive working environment
- Collaboration & Teamwork – value assets and skills that others bring, help and support and add to knowledge translation
- Training – shared learning opportunities and mentoring across career stages - students, post-docs, fellows, early career scientists, team-members
Interested applicants, please contact:
Dr. Amy Herrold
Amy.Herrold@northwestern.edu
312.978.1341
708.539.8671