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Position Definition:

The Stress, Trauma, and Resilience Program (STaR Lab) at the San Francisco VA Health Care System (SFVAHCS), in partnership with Northern California Institute for Research and Education, Inc. (NCIRE) and University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), is seeking a motivated Staff Research Associate I (SRA I) to support clinical and experimental studies on trauma- and stressor-related disorders in Veterans, with a particular focus on PTSD, sleep disturbance, traumatic brain injury (TBI), and fear learning.

Our overarching goal is to deepen the mechanistic understanding of these conditions and to develop mechanism-informed, pharmacologically augmented psychotherapies that directly target the neural systems involved, with a focus on enhancing fear extinction and related learning processes. Ultimately, we aim to translate this work into more targeted, effective treatments for Veterans with PTSD, insomnia, TBI, and other trauma-related difficulties.

This position is ideal for someone early in their research career who wants hands-on experience in clinical research and psychophysiology, and who may be considering graduate or medical school (e.g., Clinical Psychology, Neuroscience, Public Health, or related fields). The role includes a mix of research tasks and study operations/administrative support, with extensive training and supervision provided.

This position is flexible to full-time, part-time, and intermittent employment.

Essential Functions:

Research Support

Under close supervision of the PI and senior staff, the SRA I will:

• Assist with augmented psychotherapy trials that combine evidence-based PTSD treatments (e.g., exposure-based therapies) with medications targeting mechanisms underlying the disorder, including those that facilitate fear extinction.
• Help administer, pilot, and monitor remote psychophysiological fear-conditioning paradigms, including online and lab-based experimental tasks.
• Assist in setting up and monitoring psychophysiological recording sessions using systems such as Biopac and Lab Streaming Layer (LSL)-based data pipelines (training provided).
• Help acquire, process, and organize multi-modal psychophysiological signals, including electrodermal activity (EDA), electromyography (EMG), heart rate (HR), heart rate variability (HRV), facial coding outputs, and remote photoplethysmography (PPG) signals derived from video.
• Administer and score self-report questionnaires and, with training and supervision, assist with structured clinical interviews assessing PTSD symptoms, trauma exposure, mood, and sleep-related functioning.
• Help collect, process, and organize sleep-related data, including actigraphy and EEG-based measures (training provided).
• Assist with data management and basic analysis (e.g., entering data in REDCap, checking data quality, preparing spreadsheets, running simple scripts or analyses with supervision).

Study Operations & Administrative Support

• Help with participant recruitment, screening, scheduling, and visit reminders, including phone, mail, and electronic outreach.
• Assist in maintaining regulatory documents (e.g., consent forms, logs) and support IRB-related tasks under the guidance of senior staff.
• Communicate professionally with Veterans, clinicians, and research team members to support smooth study operations.
• Track and update study logs, enrollment trackers, and visit windows; help prepare materials for progress reports and other study documentation.
• Provide general support for NCIRE and VA administrative processes, such as organizing study materials, assisting with onboarding of volunteers, and helping prepare meeting agendas or summaries.

Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree in Psychology, Neuroscience, Biology, Public Health, or a related field (required).
• Strong organizational skills, attention to detail, and reliability in following protocols and procedures.
• Excellent interpersonal, written, and verbal communication skills.
• Demonstrated interest in trauma/PTSD, fear learning, psychophysiology, and/or sleep-related processes (coursework, volunteering, or prior research experience are all helpful).
• Prior research experience (e.g., as an undergraduate RA, volunteer, or intern) is preferred but not required; we are willing to train a highly motivated candidate.
• Interest in learning clinical research and clinical trial procedures (e.g., tracking visit windows, following standardized protocols, working with regulatory documents).
• Interest in learning psychophysiological data collection and analysis (e.g., Biopac, LSL, EDA, EMG, HR/HRV, facial coding, remote PPG from video); prior experience is a plus but not required.
• Comfort using basic computer tools (e.g., Excel/Google Sheets, REDCap, or similar). Experience with MATLAB, Python, or R is helpful but not required—training and mentorship will be provided.
• Comfort working with Veterans and individuals with trauma histories, with sensitivity and professionalism.

VA Onboarding Requirements:

NCIRE is an affiliate organization of the San Francisco VA Health Care System (SFVAHCS), which requires all candidates to complete SFVA onboarding in addition to NCIRE's onboarding process. The SFVA is a federal agency that requires a federal background check, occupational health clearance, vaccines and immunizations, and drug testing for certain positions. Drug testing may include screening for marijuana which remains an illegal substance according to federal law.  The failure to pass required drug testing will disqualify candidates from employment.

The base wage range for this position is $24.11 - $28.87 per hour. The wage actually offered to a successful candidate will take into account various relevant and non-discriminatory business factors including, without limitation, the candidate’s geographic location, job-related experience, knowledge, and skills, and education, as well as internal equity considerations. A successful candidate may also be eligible to earn additional compensation including bonuses.

NCIRE is an Equal Opportunity Employer.  This position requires access to United States Government research under the Veterans Administration. Per Veterans Administration regulations surrounding access to US research, qualified US Citizens will be selected over other individuals eligible to work in the United States.  If you are eligible to work in the United States, you may still be considered for this position but only if no qualified US citizens apply.

How to Apply:

To apply, please complete your application in NCIRE's UltiPro system and email the following materials to Dr. Sabra Inslicht at sabra.inslicht@va.gov (with the subject line: STaR Lab SRA I Application):

1. CV/Resume
2. Brief cover letter describing your interests and fit
3. Names and contact information for 2 references 

We strongly encourage applications from individuals from diverse backgrounds who are excited to learn, grow, and help advance mechanistic science that can be translated into better-targeted, more effective care for Veterans affected by trauma.