Research Assistant I or II

Job Summary

Dr. Saul Frankford is hiring a full‑time Research Assistant I or II for his lab in the School of Behavioral and Brain Sciences at the University of Texas  lab’s research focuses on using behavioral and neural techniques to understand the interplay between sensation and speech production in individuals with neurological speech and voice disorders.

Current projects involve neurotypical adults and adults with Parkinson’s disease, exploring auditory processing of speech timing and acoustic measures of speech timing from various speaking tasks. Future work will incorporate structural and functional neuroimaging, altered auditory feedback, and brain stimulation to probe mechanisms of speech motor control. You will be involved in collecting and writing up data from these multimodal studies.

This position provides technical assistance supporting various research projects and conducting research activities according to protocol. Activities may include patient recruiting and screening, laboratory experiments and activities, and neuroimaging data collection.

This is an ideal position for someone interested in building skills before applying for graduate school in the next few years. You will gain in‑depth experience in multidisciplinary research, intensive neuroimaging training, data skills, publications, conferences, and professional connections.

The appointment is for one year, with the possibility of renewal contingent upon continued funding and satisfactory performance.

Research Assistant I:

• Bachelor’s degree in one of the basic sciences or an equivalent combination of education and experience.

Research Assistant II:

• Bachelor’s degree; three years related experience; or any equivalent combination of education and experience.

• BA or BS in speech, language, and hearing sciences; psychology; neuroscience; cognitive neuroscience; data science; or a related field.
• Strong applicants from other academic fields may also be considered.
• Prior experience with experimental design, behavioral task programming, neuroanatomy, neuroimaging (MRI), human subject data collection, and/or data analysis.
• Previous work or volunteer experience in a human research setting is highly competitive.
• Experience with clinical populations, neuroimaging or neuromodulation, or computer programming is a plus.
• Technical skills such as Matlab, Python, or R are highly desired but not required.
• Prior team‑management experience and/or an interest in neurological speech and voice disorders is also beneficial.

To the extent this position requires access to critical infrastructure as defined in Section 117.001(2) of the Texas Business and Commerce Code, the holder must have the ability to maintain the security or integrity of that infrastructure.

FLSA Status:
Non‑Exempt
Salary Range: $37,000 – $39,500

Minimum Requirements:

Bachelor’s degree in one of the basic or biomedical sciences or an equivalent combination of education and experience.

Duties and Responsibilities:

• Management of large multimodal datasets
• Assisting with the implementation and analyses of cognitive, behavioral and fMRI experiments
• Coordinating research projects (recruiting, scheduling, running participants)
• Coordinating and training research assistants
• Preprocessing and analysis of functional and structural neuroimaging data
• Managing practical/administrative tasks (e.g., IRB)
• Assist PI with lab management, including ordering supplies and maintaining inventory
• Maintaining protocols and compliance paperwork for the lab
• Participating actively in lab meetings and departmental events
• Other duties as assigned

FLSA Status:
Non‑Exempt
Salary Range: $39,500 – $42,000

Minimum Requirements:

Bachelor’s degree; three years related experience; or any equivalent combination of education and experience.

Duties and Responsibilities:

• All duties assigned to RA I, plus:
• Develop research designs, data collection methods and strategies for data management
• Write and edit technical reports and manuscripts for publication or presentation
• Assist in research…