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Postdoctoral Research Opportunity – Neurodevelopmental Diversity: Autism and FMR1-Mutation Conditions

January 9, 2025

Northwestern University’s Neurodevelopmental Diversity Laboratory, directed by Dr. Molly Losh  is seeking a postdoctoral scholar to join their research team. The lab’s projects focus on understanding language-related features of autism, and studying how autism-related traits can express in the general population and across related genetic conditions, to help us to understand gene-brain-behavior connections. This postdoc position will have opportunities to work on research across several NIH-funded research projects, which focus on studying autism and genetically-related phenotypes such as fragile X syndrome, FMR1 premutation, and the broad autism phenotype using clinical, behavioral, neural, computational, data science, and cross-population approaches. The successful applicant will also have the opportunity to develop and pursue an independent research program through grant applications. The lab’s multidisciplinary and international team of collaborators within and across institutions offer a multitude of research possibilities. This postdoctoral role is expected to play a leadership role coordinating research activities and assisting with supervising team members.

Principal Accountabilities

  1. To conduct experiments and analyses on linguistic, cognitive, neurophysiological and clinical properties of autism and FMR1-mutation conditions.
  2. To develop new ideas, research methodologies, and analytic approaches to our lab’s research programs.
  3. To help write grants and compete for funding.
  4. To help write and contribute to publications resulting from research done in the lab.

Minimum Qualifications/Competencies: 

  • PhD in communication sciences and disorders, psychology, linguistics, neuroscience, computer science, or a related field.
  • Interest in research on autism and/or fragile X.
  • Evidence of first-author peer-reviewed publications.

Preferred Qualifications/Competencies: 

  • Experience in language-related research and evidence of project development.
  • Experience on research and clinical training related to neurodevelopmental conditions are strongly preferred, but not a necessity.
  • Skillsets on computational, AI (broadly defined), and data science analytic approaches are an advantage.
  • Excellent communication and writing skills.

Interested applicants should email their application to Anne Taylor. 

For full consideration, please submit application materials by Wednesday, January 15. You will need to submit:

  1. A cover letter that makes clear how your work is relevant to research programs in the lab; 
  2. A current CV;
  3. Up to two publications or manuscripts most relevant to the lab’s scope of research.
  4. You will also be asked to provide the name and contact information for 2–3 people willing to submit recommendation letters on your behalf.