Baby's First Years
The first study in the United States to assess the impact of poverty reduction on family life and infant and toddlers’ cognitive, emotional, and brain development
Opportunities
research assistants sought in multiple cities: New York city, Omaha, and new Orleans
The Baby's First Years study team is seeking several full-time Research Assistants with a
bachelor’s degree in Psychology, Neuroscience, Child Development, or a related field in three
sites: New York City, Omaha, and New Orleans. This individual will be involved in collecting data
at lab-based and occasional out-of-lab visits from 6-year-olds and their mothers.
responsibilities:
Primary responsibilities include successfully scheduling study participants for university-based
data collection, administering study visits, uploading data, and engaging in quality control
procedures. Duties may include light travel to participant homes. Data collection at age 6 will
include standardized assessments of children’s cognitive development, measures of child brain activity (EEG/ERP), children’s nail cortisol, epigenetics, maternal executive functioning, and
administration of a survey on health and family life.
Study description:
The Baby’s First Years study is a pathbreaking random-assignment study of the impact of
monthly unconditional cash gifts to low-income mothers of infants during the first four years of
their child’s life. The aim is to understand the causal effects of poverty reduction on early
childhood development and family life. One thousand racially and ethnically diverse mothers
were recruited from hospitals shortly after giving birth in each of four metropolitan areas —
New York City, New Orleans, Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota, and Omaha, Nebraska.
Participating mothers in each site were randomized to receive either $333/month or
$20/month. More about the study can be found at www.babysfirstyears.com. Data are collected from participating families annually around the focal child’s birthday. At Age 6, families will be invited to local university settings so that we may directly assess children's cognitive and emotional development and brain function.
Minimum qualifications:
The ideal RA candidate will be/have:
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Bachelor’s degree in Psychology, Neuroscience, Child Development, or a related field
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Experience working in a research setting
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Bilingual in English and Spanish (required for NYC; strongly preferred for Omaha; not necessary for New Orleans)
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Experience working with young children
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Able to commit to the position starting spring/summer 2024 full-time for at least 12 months
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Willing to work weekends and flexible hours to accommodate study families
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Extremely detail-oriented and adept at multitasking
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Trained in basic research methods
preferred but not required qualifications:
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Experience administering standardized cognitive assessments
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Experience with EEG
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Experience working with families from low-income communities
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Experience working with REDCap
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Understanding of Institutional Review Board operations
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Transportation for out-of-lab visits
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Individuals who are members of the local communities will be strongly considered
to apply:
Please send a CV and cover letter to info@babysfirstyears.com. Please indicate in the message if you have a preferred site or limited flexibility on the location of the position.
The Baby's First Years study team seeks a Research Assistant (RA) with a BA in Psychology, Neuroscience, or a related field. This individual will pilot and subsequently run the lab-based visits in NYC at age 3. Will assist the postdoc in piloting and training others on the tasks.
Primary responsibilities include assisting with the development and pilot testing of study procedures, administering study visits, and assisting the Project Director with operational activities. Budget-related responsibilities include reconciling expenses to the correct grants and processing invoices. Individuals in this role may also train and manage research assistants, and have opportunities to assist with data analysis and conference/manuscript preparation. Duties may include light travel to study sites.
Click here for more information and to learn how to apply.
POSTDOCTORAL SCIENTISTS
The Baby's First Years study team seeks two full-time postdoctoral research scientists. These positions will be overseeing site-based data collection for our capstone wave of data collection when children in the study are approximately four years old. One position will be based in Omaha, Nebraska and the other in New Orleans, Louisiana, with close collaboration with both local lab supervisors and, remotely, with study leadership.
To be considered, candidates must have research experience with administering standardized cognitive assessments to young children in the lab setting. Qualified candidates will be highly organized, have good leadership skills, be detail-oriented, and will be proficient at interacting with young children and families.