Postdoctoral Associate in Pain & Addiction Neuropsychopharmacology
The Pain and Addiction Interaction Neurosciences (PAIN) Lab, located within the Division of Addictions of the Department of Psychiatry at the Yale University School of Medicine, is seeking to hire a postdoctoral associate to work on developing novel pain and addiction therapeutics, through translating advances in neuropsychopharmacological research. The ideal candidate should have recently completed a Ph.D. or M.D., with a background in psychiatry or psychology, and experience in behavioral data analysis, with proficiency in R or similar programs.
The postdoctoral associate will have the opportunity to work on Phase 1/2 human laboratory studies aiming to understand the pharmacodynamics and pharmacokinetics of substances that have both analgesic and addictive potential (e.g., phytocannabinoids, NDMA antagonists, psychedelics). The postdoctoral associate will work on studies recruiting healthy persons and persons with substance use disorders. Potential experiences include contributing to ongoing data collection; working on data already collected within the lab; and applying data analysis skills to larger, nationwide datasets.
The postdoctoral associate will receive training in state-of-the-art behavioral pharmacology techniques (delivering psychoactive substances using various routes of administration and manipulating processes that are clinically relevant for pain and addiction treatment); computerized quantitative sensory testing (QST) of pain; and real-world clinical trial methods. These training opportunities are bolstered by the rich intellectual environment of the Yale Division of Addictions with adjacent PI’s Mehmet Sofuoglu (expertise in addiction psychopharmacology), Mohini Ranganathan (expertise in cannabinoid science) and R. Ross MacLean (expertise in ecological momentary assessment applied to the study of co-occurring pain and addiction).
Expectations of the postdoctoral associate include the processing and analysis of complex behavioral data, aiming towards publishing manuscripts and generating novel scientific directions. Additional opportunities include behavioral and psychophysical task design and pharmacokinetics modeling.
The ideal candidate should be self-driven, creative, ethical, and collaborative, and able to integrate feedback. Ultimately, there will be project flexibility based on the interests and motivation of the postdoctoral associate, and a lack of formal experience should not preclude the motivation to be trained. Experience in multidimensional assessment of pain, clinical neuroscience, or prior work with populations with pain and/or addiction are a plus.
The starting date is negotiable. The duration of the position will be two years, with the opportunity to extend if agreed upon by the post-doctoral associate and the PI.
If interested, please email a letter of interest, CV or resume, and the names of three references to: [email protected] and [email protected].