Open-rank Faculty Position in Computational and Behavioral Neuroscience in the UCLA Department of Psychology

The UCLA Department of Psychology invites applications for a full-time, tenure-track or tenured faculty position at the rank of Assistant Professor, Associate Professor, or Professor specializing in computational neuroscience and the use of advanced mathematical methods and theoretical approaches to understand behavior and brain processes. Potential applicants who have questions about how their specialization aligns with the position can inquire to Prof. Kate Wassum, search committee chair, at SearchCommittee@psych.ucla.edu.

The UCLA Department of Psychology is located within the Division of Life Sciences, part of the College of Letters and Science that serves undergraduate and graduate students. The search is particularly geared toward candidates who share our belief that, as professors at a leading public university, we strive for excellence in teaching, service, research, and in promoting equity, diversity and inclusion. We are eager to welcome an outstanding scientist and mentor who will create opportunities designed to advance development of the next generation of diverse scientists, while also contributing to the collaborative and supportive environment that characterizes our Department.

Applicants must hold a Ph.D. in Psychology, Neuroscience, Computer Science, Cognitive Science, Physics, Applied Mathematics, Engineering, Statistics, or any relevant discipline before the time of hire. Applicants should demonstrate a strong track record of productive and impactful research relative to their career stage, with a substantive focus on multi-level modeling including synaptic, cellular, and/or network-level resolution of neuronal activity, behavior, and the relationship between the two. We are open to candidates who conduct in vivo or in vitro experiments to test aspects of their models, as well as those who conduct in silico (simulation) experiments to quantitatively describe principles and generate hypotheses regarding brain functions that then can be tested by experimentalists in vivo. In either case, applicants should demonstrate a strong track record of or potential for working with experimentalists to generate predictions about behavior and neural activity, separately and/or in combination, understanding psychological processes and their brain mechanisms, and iterative experimental testing of those predictions. Areas of emphasis are open, though we are particularly interested in candidates who can contribute to fundamental behavioral neuroscience research in non-human animal models and synergize with our existing strengths in learning, memory, and/or decision making. The candidate should have a demonstrated interest in collaboration with researchers in behavioral neuroscience. Applicants should demonstrate an outstanding record of research and potential for extramural research support. The successful candidate will also demonstrate a history of or the potential for contributing to the teaching, mentoring, service, and diversity missions of the Department and University. This includes computational and statistical techniques that are foundational to behavioral and brain processes. Applicants with a history of commitment to culturally competent mentoring and supervision of students from underrepresented groups are strongly encouraged to apply. We welcome candidates whose experience in research, mentoring, teaching, and service have prepared them to contribute to our commitment to diversity and excellence. We are eager to welcome a colleague who is prepared to contribute to our efforts to cultivate and collaborate with a diverse group of scholars and foster a culture of growth, inclusion, and belongingness. The Psychology Department and broader UCLA Neuroscience community will offer the candidate a rich and diverse intellectual environment with myriad opportunities for productive collaboration.

We strongly encourage applications from women, individuals from racial and ethnic groups historically excluded in higher education, and individuals from groups who remain underrepresented, across national origin, physical ability, gender and sexual identity, age, socioeconomic status, and other minoritized identity groups. UCLA offers a diverse campus community and is a leader in advancing strategies to diversify its faculty. This includes recent initiatives such as Rising to the Challenge, Hispanic-Serving Institution initiative, and Native American/Pacific Islander Bruins Rising. UCLA aims to achieve federal designation as a Hispanic Serving Institution by 2025. UCLA is home to a diverse student body of 46,000 undergraduate and graduate students and is ranked highest among the top 20 national universities for social mobility - a measurement of the achievement of students from challenging socioeconomic backgrounds. UCLA also has programs to assist in partner employment, childcare, schooling, and other family concerns. For additional information, visit the UCLA Academic Affairs and Personnel Office website https://apo.ucla.edu/faculty-career-development/work-life-balance or the UC Office of the President's website https://www.ucop.edu/faculty-diversity/resources/family-friendly-practices-and-policies/family-friendly-policies-and-issues.html and https://www.ucop.edu/faculty-diversity/resources/faculty-diversity-policies/index.html.

To ensure full consideration, the online application should be completed and submitted by October 31, 2024. Applications should include a cover letter, curriculum vitae, contact information for three recommenders, three relevant publications, and three personal statements, each of no more than three pages. Letters of recommendation will be requested at a later date from applicants who progress to a later stage of review. UCLA and the UCLA Department of Psychology are firmly committed to the principles of equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI). Therefore, in addition to research and teaching statements, we require applicants to submit an EDI statement that addresses their past, present, and future (planned) contributions to EDI in their scholarship, teaching, and service. Applicants should indicate their history of commitment to mentoring students from underrepresented groups in their cover letter or EDI statement. Additional information about the EDI statement is available at https://ucla.app.box.com/v/edi-statement-faqs. Requests for information should be sent to the search committee chair at SearchCommittee@psych.ucla.edu.

The posted UC salary scales https://www.ucop.edu/academic-personnel-programs/compensation/index.html set the minimum pay determined by rank and step at appointment. See Table 1. The salary range for this position is $78,200-$205,400.

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