Staff Research Associate - Bilingual - RMAS - 140025

UCSD Department of Radiation Medicine and Applied Sciences is one of the most innovative and productive academic departments in the country, offering challenging career opportunities in the diverse areas of advanced educational programs, cutting-edge research, and state-of-the-art clinical services. The department is committed to offering a dynamic learning environment and growing opportunities to its talented and dedicated employees.

This research study uses neuropsychological assessment in combination with multimodal neuroimaging to predict preoperative cognitive performances and postoperative cognitive decline in patients with epilepsy and brain tumors.

Under supervision, the individual will work as a Staff Research Associate for studies bridging clinical neuropsychology, advanced neuroimaging, and cognitive neuroscience, primarily in patients with epilepsy and brain tumors. Duties will include: A.) Patient facing interactions: Neuropsychological testing and scoring, recruitment and scheduling of patients and healthy controls, data collection and collation, database creation and management; B.) Administrative support functions as needed; C.) Professional development, to include assisting with poster and paper presentations for publication and professional research conferences, manuscript preparation, and grant writing.

Incumbent will collaborate with a team of neuropsychologists, neuroradiologists, cognitive scientists and neurologists, as well as postdoctoral fellows, graduate students, and medical residents. Performs other duties as assigned.

• Theoretical knowledge in neuropsychology, clinical psychology, psychiatry, or a related field.

• Ability to communicate in both English and Spanish for written and verbal communication.

• Bilingual Spanish and English neuropsychological assessment experience.

• Experience in administering computerized neurocognitive tasks and standard neuropsychological tests.

• Experience in scoring neuropsychological and experimental tests using normative and control data.

• Ability to establish rapport, manage test anxiety, and maintain patient engagement during testing sessions.

• Familiarity with normative data sets and appropriate application when scoring and interpreting standardized tests.

• Precise attention to detail in observing, recording, and accurately scoring quantitative and qualitative data during assessments.

• Effective interviewing skills to accurately screen potential participants for inclusion and exclusion criteria.

• Strong written and in-person interpersonal communication skills.

• Experience in accurate data entry, cross-validation, and quality control procedures.

• Master's degree.

• Foundational knowledge of epilepsy and brain tumors and how they may impact cognitive test performance.

• Foundation in descriptive and inferential statistics to effectively assist researchers with data analysis.

• Competence in statistical analysis programs.

• Familiarity with UNIX / LINUX based computer operating systems.

• Knowledge of LINUX / Matlab / Python / R.

• Experience with MRI acquisition and processing.

• Proficiency in designing, building, and maintaining secure, multi-variable data capture forms in REDCap.

• Working knowledge of Institutional Review Board (IRB) policies, procedures, and ethical regulatory compliance.

• Employment is subject to a criminal background check and pre-employment physical.

• Must be able to work various hours and locations based on business needs.