Interested in Joining Our Lab?

The Shuffrey Lab in the Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at NYU Grossman School of Medicine is recruiting a Research Associate.

Dr. Lauren Shuffrey’s research program examines the role of the prenatal environment on vulnerability for both perinatal maternal mental health concerns and child neurodevelopmental disorders in order to identify mechanisms, objective markers, and modifiable factors associated with resiliency. Dr. Shuffrey’s ongoing projects are primarily focused on the effects of prenatal maternal metabolic disorders, prenatal maternal mood disorders, and substance exposure on child brain-behavioral development from birth through early childhood. Research methodologies broadly include peripheral marker assays (e.g. immunoassays), electroencephalography (EEG), eye-tracking, and behavioral paradigms.

The research associate will receive conceptual and hands-on training in longitudinal biobehavioral research with pregnant individuals and infants. The research assistant will participate in activities related to recruitment and retention of study participants and administration of all study procedures under the supervision of Dr. Shuffrey. Duties will include recruiting participants from local obstetric clinics, scheduling visits, collecting maternal blood samples (training provided), developing REDCap surveys, collecting infant behavioral and EEG data, and data quality control pipelines.

Required education and expertise: Bachelor’s degree in Psychology, Neuroscience, Cognitive Science, Human Development, or related field. Prior experience working with pregnant individuals, infants, or young children in a research context is required. The position requires excellent organizational skills, attention to detail, and strong interpersonal skills. Bilingual and bicultural Spanish-English speaking applicants are especially encouraged to apply. The position is available beginning July 2026 and requires a two-year commitment. 

Please use the link below to apply for the Research Associate position.

 Postdoctoral Fellow in Infant Behavior. Drs. Lauren Shuffrey and Moriah Thomason are recruiting a joint postdoctoral fellow to work on a pending NIH-funded project investigating infant gaze and behavioral predictors of subsequent externalizing problems. The ideal candidate will have experience in web-based or in-person eye-tracking and behavioral coding/assessment of infants or young toddlers, as well as strong data analysis and programming skills in multiple languages (e.g., R, MATLAB, and/or Python) and expertise in processing physiological data (e.g., eye tracking). The fellow will be highly motivated to publish first-author papers in collaboration with Dr. Shuffrey and other lab members. Responsibilities will include supervising data collection and design, implementing and deploying quality control procedures, leading data processing and analysis, writing manuscripts, preparing conference presentations, and developing mentored grant proposals. Required qualifications include a PhD in Psychology, Computer Science, Biomedical Engineering, Cognitive Science, Human Development, Biobehavioral Sciences, or a related field. The position will begin in September 2025, requires a two-year commitment, and offers the opportunity to work closely with an interdisciplinary research team. Interested individuals should send a cover letter and CV to shuffreylab@nyulangone.org with “Postdoctoral Fellow” as the subject line.

 HBCD MA/MS Level Psychometrician. The Multiple Principal Investigators (MPIs) of the NYU Langone site of the NIH HEALthy Brain and Child Development (HBCD) Study, Drs. Moriah Thomason, Lauren Shuffrey, and Uju Berry, are recruiting a full-time or part-time psychometrician. The HBCD Study is a multi-site pregnancy consortium that will follow over 7,000 families from pregnancy through early childhood with the goal of better understanding prenatal teratogenic, environmental, and social exposures on child developmental outcomes. This position will be 75% administering infant, toddler, and early childhood behavioral and developmental assessments for children enrolled in the HBCD Study (e.g., Bayley Scales of Early Learning, NIH Baby Toolbox, ERIKA) and 25% administrative work (e.g., data management, supervision of BA/BS-level Research Associates). The ideal candidate will have extensive experience in early developmental assessment, and bilingual English–Spanish speakers capable of administering assessments in Spanish are strongly preferred but not required. Required qualifications include an MS or MA in Clinical Psychology or a related field. The position is available beginning September 2025, requires a one-year commitment, and may be full-time or part-time; graduate students interested in a part-time role will also be considered. Interested individuals should send a cover letter and CV to Maya Ruiz at  maya.ruiz@nyulangone.org with “HBCD Psychometrician” as the subject line.

Thank you for your interest in becoming a Non-Traditional Volunteer (NTV) in our lab! In the DOLPHIN Study, our research examines the role of the prenatal environment in vulnerability to both perinatal maternal mental health concerns and child neurodevelopmental outcomes, to identify mechanisms, objective markers, and modifiable factors associated with resiliency. 

NTVs assist in activities related to the recruitment and retention of study participants and the administration of study procedures. Duties will primarily include assisting in the collection of infant behavioral and EEG data under the supervision of our Research Associates. Due to the extensive training we provide our NTVs (which enables you to be involved in various aspects of our research), we require a two-semester commitment. We also ask that you commit to a minimum of 6 hours per week.

Most of our NTVs are current undergraduate or masters level students who are pursuing degrees in Psychology, Neuroscience, Cognitive Science, Human Development, or a related field and have an interest in gaining research experience. Because we work with young infants and pregnant persons, a flexible schedule and strong interpersonal skills are a must. We are currently seeking bilingual Spanish-speaking volunteers!

Interested individuals should email shuffreylab@nyulangone.org with a copy of their resume and a brief description of relevant experience.