Assistant Project Scientist Full-time NEW

Assistant Project Scientist

Salary range: $76,700-$89,000

Review timeline: Applications will be reviewed by April 30

Application Window

Open date: April 8, 2026

Next review date: Thursday, Apr 30, 2026 at 11:59pm (Pacific Time) Apply by this date to ensure full consideration by the committee.

Final date: Friday, May 8, 2026 at 11:59pm (Pacific Time) Applications will continue to be accepted until this date, but those received after the review date will only be considered if the position has not yet been filled.

Position Description

We seek an experienced scientist to advance our research at the University of California, Los Angeles Department of Neurology in the laboratory of Dr. Golshani. Dr. Golshani studies how large scale neural networks throughout the brain drive cognition and social behavior. Our research focuses how coordinated activity patterns are disrupted in models of epilepsy and autism. The successful candidate will be responsible for creating hIPSC models in 2D culture, inducing neuropsychiatric disease-relevant mutations in these cells and performing calcium imaging and optogenetics in the neurons.

Specific Responsibilities The project scientist will design experiments inducing loss of function mutations in dozens of genes implicated in neuropsychiatric diseases. The scientist will perform calcium imaging and optogenetic manipulations on these cells. They will analyze all data using Suite2P and Matlab or other analysis packages. They will generate figures and write manuscripts under the supervision of the PI. They will work with other lab personnel with expertise in imaging to learn imaging approaches.

Additional Duties Ability to work on multiple projects efficiently and effectively. Ability to work independently on scientific projects. Required to communicate well with other scientists. The candidate will report directly to the Principal Investigator and will successfully carry out experiments and analyze the data generated with minimal supervision.

Requirements:

Applicants must have an M.D or Ph.D. degree with 5 years of postdoctoral training in neuroscience in an academic setting or equivalent and experience in calcium imaging in 2D cultured neurons. Must be proficient in Suite2P for calcium imaging analysis.

Application Procedure: Apply by submitting your application to our online RECRUIT system at Browse Open Recruitments or Log In – UCLA Academic RECRUIT

Screening of applicants will begin immediately and will continue until the position is filled.

Document requirements Curriculum Vitae – Your most recently updated C.V. Cover Letter (Optional) Statement of Research (Optional) Reference check authorization release form – Complete and upload the reference check authorization release form

The posted UC salary scales set the minimum pay determined by rank and step at appointment. See T37 B

The shared values of the DGSOM are expressed in the Cultural North Star, which was developed by members of our community and affirms our unswerving commitment to doing what's right, making things better, and being kind. These are the standards to which we hold ourselves, and one another. Please read more about this important DGSOM program at Medical School | Cultural North Star | UCLA Medical School

All aspects of searches are confidential and all candidates are expected to review and abide by UC Regents Policy 1111 on Statement on Ethical Values and Standards of Conduct

The University of California is committed to creating and maintaining a community dedicated to the advancement, application, and transmission of knowledge and creative endeavors through academic excellence, where all individuals who participate in University programs and activities can work and learn together in a safe and secure environment, free of violence, harassment, bullying and other demeaning behavior, discrimination, exploitation, or intimidation. With this commitment as well as a commitment to addressing all forms of academic misconduct, UCLA conducts targeted employment reference checks for finalists to whom departments or other hiring units would like to extend formal offers of appointment into Academic Senate faculty positions. The targeted employment reference checks involve contacting the finalists' current and prior places of employment to ask whether there have been substantiated findings of misconduct that would violate the University's Faculty Code of Conduct. To implement this process, UCLA requires all applicants for Academic Senate faculty positions to complete, sign, and upload the form entitled “Authorization to Release Information” into RECRUIT as part of their application. If the applicant does not include the signed authorization to release information with the application materials, the application will be considered incomplete. As with any incomplete application, the application will not receive further consideration. Although all applicants for faculty recruitments must complete the entire application, only finalists (i.e., those to whom the department or other hiring unit would like to extend a formal offer) considered for Academic Senate faculty positions will be subject to targeted employment reference checks.

Qualifications

Basic qualifications

Applicants must have an M.D or Ph.D. degree

Additional qualifications

5 years of postdoctoral training in neuroscience in an academic setting or equivalent and experience in calcium imaging in 2D cultured neurons. Must be proficient in Suite2P for calcium imaging analysis.

Application Requirements

Document requirements

• Curriculum Vitae – Your most recently updated C.V.
• Cover Letter (Optional)
• Statement of Research (Optional)
• Reference check authorization release form – Complete and upload the reference check authorization release form
• UCLA Mission Statement – As the nation's premier public research university, UC's mission is the creation, dissemination, preservation and application of knowledge for the betterment of our global society. We have a particular responsibility to the people of California which we express in the excellence of the education we provide, the impact of the research we do, the comprehensive, life-saving medical services we provide, and the public service mission we are devoted to. The University of California promotes the social mobility of its students, equips them with the tools and experience that furthers their ambitions, and regards their accomplishments across the life span as evidence of the profoundly positive impact of higher education.

  The UCLA campus has expressed these goals in its strategic plan as follows:

  Deepen our engagement with Los Angeles Expand our reach as a global university Enhance our research and creative activities Elevate how we teach Become a more effective institution

  Prompt for candidates for recruitment:

  Reflecting on your personal and professional experiences, highlight your past contributions and future commitments to advancing UCLA's mission as embodied in the 2023-28 strategic plan. These accomplishments and ambitions may be discussed in the context of describing your teaching, scholarship, and service

Reference requirements

• 3-5 required (contact information only)

Only references of final candidates will be contacted

Apply link: [Please click the Apply button for the link or address]

Help contact: jshinn@mednet.ucla.edu

Job Location

Los Angeles, CA