Postdoctoral Research Fellow in Neuroimaging

Postdoctoral Research Fellow in Neuroimaging

Boston, Massachusetts – Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Sadhguru Center for a Conscious Planet (SCCP).

Launched in November 2020, SCCP is a multidisciplinary research center focused on understanding and enhancing human consciousness, cognition and compassion. It is located in the Department of Anesthesia, Critical Care and Pain Medicine at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, a Harvard teaching hospital. The Center works closely with colleagues across the Harvard Medical School system.

The SCCP seeks a passionate and highly skilled researcher to join as a Harvard Medical School post‑doctoral fellow. The researcher will work in a large interdisciplinary team, contributing to projects in perioperative cognitive sciences and the effect of mind–body interventions (yoga and meditation) on cognition, sleep and brain health. The postdoc is encouraged to propose independent projects aligned with the Center’s mission.

• Receive mentorship from senior faculty, Scientific Advisory Board members and the collaborative network.
• Dedicate effort and use SCCP, BIDMC and HMS resources toward professional career development and potential transition to a faculty position at HMS.
• Access a wide range of subject populations (clinical, healthy, meditators) to conduct robust studies exploring consciousness, cognition and well‑being in various settings.
• Contribute to the core team during the early stage of SCCP and help shape the center’s direction and growth, especially in cognitive neuroscience and neuroimaging.
• Participate in educational and outreach activities of SCCP and broaden experience, expertise and network beyond academic research.
• Enhance mentorship skills by guiding research assistants and student interns at SCCP.
• Abide by institutional policies of BIDMC regarding health & safety, equality of opportunity, data storage and management.
• Actively pursue research under the supervision of a principal investigator and develop skills for independent work.
• Formulate research questions, design experiments, conduct studies and evaluate results.
• Prepare and publish scientific manuscripts under the direction of the PI.
• Develop expertise in lab skills, informatics, physics and clinical research and become increasingly independent throughout the fellowship.
• Maintain research databases, perform analysis and summarize scientific literature.
• Demonstrate strong organizational and data‑management skills, attention to detail and project‑management abilities.

• PhD in cognitive neuroscience or a related field.
• Track record of experimental design, data collection, analysis, publication and communication of scientific results.
• Verifiable programming skills in MATLAB, Python, R or similar languages; ability to program experiments in Psychtoolbox, Psycho Py or other stimulus‑presentation toolboxes for behavioral, fMRI and EEG studies.
• Clear communication skills.
• Ability to take initiative and work both independently and in collaborative teams.
• Ability to proactively seek help for interdisciplinary problems.
• Doctoral degree required; 0–1 year related experience required.

• Familiarity with research in consciousness, yoga, meditation, mindfulness or related mind‑body interventions.
• Experience with neuroimaging modalities (MRI, fMRI, EEG, MEG) and analysis of fMRI and M/EEG data.
• Clinical or theoretical research in sleep, stress, cognitive disorders.
• Experience with grant and research proposal writing.
• Experience presenting and interacting with researchers in multidisciplinary groups.
• Experience mentoring research assistants and students.

Light work:
Exerting up to 20 pounds of force frequently. Some sedentary periods; standing and movement required.

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