Join Us

University of California Santa Barbara
Jacobs Lab, Department of Psychological & Brain Sciences

The Jacobs Lab, in conjunction with the Ann S. Bowers Women's Brain Health Initiative, invites applications for a postdoctoral position in women’s brain health research across the lifespan.

The successful candidate will focus on neurobiological changes during adolescence, pregnancy, and/or menopause. Applicants must have demonstrated expertise in MRI acquisition and analysis. The postdoctoral researcher will contribute to ongoing projects, as well as develop independent lines of inquiry within a collaborative, interdisciplinary environment.

Candidates should hold a Ph.D. in neuroscience, psychology, or a related field and demonstrate a strong commitment to advancing women’s health research.

Interested parties are encouraged to send their CVs to info@wbhi.ucsb.edu.

Position Description

The Translational Reproductive Neuropsychiatry and Data Science (TReNDS) Lab is seeking a Postdoctoral Fellow to advance research on maternal brain plasticity and risk for perinatal mood and anxiety disorders. The postdoctoral fellow will work on projects including MatMap, a large-scale study leveraging >5,000 clinically-acquired brain MRI scans and electronic health record data to map brain changes across pregnancy and the postpartum, and PMADS, a longitudinal maternal brain mapping study using multimodal MRI and deep phenotyping. This position is ideal for a candidate interested in perinatal neuroimaging, clinical data science, precision functional mapping, reproductive psychiatry, machine learning, and multimodal approaches to understanding the brain across pregnancy and the postpartum period. 

Responsibilities

• Lead analyses of neuroimaging and clinical data from perinatal imaging studies.
• Supervise and mentor research assistants and students involved in related projects.
• Develop models perinatal brain trajectories, with a focus on identifying normative trajectories and deviations associated with psychiatric risk.
• Prepare manuscripts for publication and present findings at national and international conferences.
• Participate in study design and the development of new research directions within the lab.
• Contribute to a collaborative, inclusive, and supportive research environment.

Minimum Qualifications

• PhD, MD/PhD, or equivalent doctoral degree in neuroscience, psychology, psychiatry, biomedical engineering, biostatistics, computer science, or a related field.
• Strong quantitative, analytic, and written communication skills.
• Demonstrated interest in neuroscience, women’s mental health, reproductive psychiatry, or neuroendocrine transitions.
• Ability to work both independently and collaboratively within a multidisciplinary research team.

Preferred Qualifications

• Strong publication record in human neuroimaging, clinical neuroscience, computational psychiatry, maternal brain health, or a related field.
• Experience with MRI preprocessing and analysis tools such as fMRIPrep, XCP-D, FreeSurfer, AFNI, SPM, or related software.
• Proficiency in Python, R, MATLAB, shell scripting, or related programming environment.
• Strong organizational and leadership skills, including experience mentoring research assistants, students, or junior trainees.

Start Date

The ideal start date is July 1st, 2026 although the start date is flexible.

Location

The position will be based in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, PA. Hybrid work arrangements may be possible depending on project needs and institutional policies.

Salary and Benefits

Salary will be commensurate with experience and institutional guidelines. The anticipated salary range for this position is $68,000–$85,000, depending on years of postdoctoral experience and fellowship funding. A summary of benefits is available through the University of Pennsylvania Human Resources website. 

Application link.

Position Description

The Translational Reproductive Neuropsychiatry and Data Science Lab is part of the Department of Psychiatry, the Neurodevelopment & Psychosis Section, and the Lifespan Brain Institute (LiBI). Our goal is to personalize early interventions in reproductive psychiatry. To do this, we use non-invasive neuroimaging and advanced computational methods to understand mechanisms underlying sex differences in psychopathology and identify neuroendocrinologic markers of risk vs. resilience for psychiatric disorders. The Neuroimaging Data Analyst Junior will provide support for managing and analyzing data.

Neuroimaging Data Analyst Junior

The Neuroimaging Data Analyst Junior provides support for managing and analyzing neuroimaging data.  Analysts play a central role on large-scale projects that seek to understand sex differences in brain development and the biological basis of hormonally-driven psychiatric symptoms such as perinatal depression.  Within these projects, they work in a team environment with a diverse, multi-disciplinary group of faculty and trainees from psychiatry, psychology engineering, statistics, and computer science.  Primary responsibilities include management, processing, and analysis of high-dimensional imaging data.   Additional responsibilities will be assigned based on the successful candidate's skills and interests. All analysts additionally lead independent projects (i.e., meta-analyses of neuroimaging studies) where they write first-author manuscripts.  

Qualifications

The ideal candidate has a Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Statistics, or Computer Science, 0-1 years of research experience or equivalent combination of education and experience is required. To succeed in the highly collaborative environment, excellent interpersonal and communication skills are required.  Program and data analysis skills are strongly preferred, including Python, linux/bash, and R.  Experience with machine learning, clinically-acquired neuroimaging, neuroimaging tools (SPM, AFNI, FSL), and Epic databases (Clarity, databricks, Caboodle) is strongly preferred but not required.

Background check required. Position contingent on funding.

Job Location - City, State
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Department/School
Perelman School of Medicine

Pay Range
$26.66 - $33.00 Hourly Rate

Salary offers are made based on the candidate’s qualifications, experience, skills, and education as they directly relate to the requirements of the position, and in alignment with salary ranges based on external market data for the job’s level. Internal organization and peer data at Penn are also considered.

Application link.