Junior Specialist - Ghetti Lab

Full-time Research Assistant Position, Center for Mind and Brain, University of California, Davis

Dr. Simona Ghetti in the Psychology Department at the University of California, Davis seeks to fill a full-time research assistant position at the Junior Specialist level beginning August 1, 2026, or as soon as possible after that. The position will have duration of 1 year, with the possibility of extending it for another year. The successful candidate will work on research projects investigating neural development underlying word learning and retention and emerging episodic memory in infancy and early childhood.

The research assistant will gain exposure to all aspects of the research process and will have the opportunity to acquire several important research and intellectual skills.

• Recruiting and scheduling research participants by phone.
• Assisting with data collection with adult and child participants and their parents (e.g., administering behavioral assessments, taking height, weight and blood pressure readings). The position involves direct interaction with children and families.
• Conducting neuroimaging scanning sessions, which will almost exclusively occur at night.
• Behavioral and neuroimaging data cleaning, management, and processing.
• Maintaining human subject protocols and consent forms and communicating with the IRB.
• Purchasing laboratory supplies.

• Participate in frequent discussions of relevant literature, and conduct literature reviews relevant to the work being conducted.
• Contribute to the writing and preparation of manuscripts for publication.
• Contribute to the preparation and submission of presentations for international conferences.
• Preparing figures and text for presentation at research conferences and for manuscripts to be submitted for publication.
• Participating in community outreach efforts to disseminate our findings .

• Train undergraduate students on participant recruitment, data collection, coding and analyses protocols. This will provide a university service in that they will be actively facilitating the participation of undergraduate students in research activities.
• Assist in dissemination activities in the community.