Job Opportunity

Volunteer position at the Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging and the Psychiatric Neuroimaging Division of the Psychiatry Department at Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, MA

Project: Sleep-dependent Memory Processing in Schizophrenia

PI: Dara S. Manoach, Ph.D.

This volunteer opportunity will involve working on projects investigating the role of sleep in memory consolidation, how these processes go awry in schizophrenia, and the efficacy of interventions to normalize sleep and sleep-dependent memory processing.  Our work has linked a specific cognitive deficit in schizophrenia (impaired sleep-dependent memory consolidation) to a particular mechanism (sleep spindles) and we have preliminary evidence of an effective intervention.  In collaboration with Dr. Robert Stickgold’s lab at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, we are extending and expanding this basic and clinical research program using state-of-the art tools including high density EEG (polysomnography), magnetoencephalography (MEG), functional connectivity MRI, fMRI, and behavioral studies. Volunteer responsibilities include working closely with research coordinators to recruit and screen participants, assist with MRI scanning, complete data entry and scoring, and conduct short behavioral study visits. Volunteers should be comfortable with recruiting participants via phone and working with patients with schizophrenia. If you are interested please send a cv and contact information for three references to Tessa Vuper (tcvuper@nmr.mgh.harvard.edu). A work study arrangement may also be possible.