The Bridge to Faculty Scholar is expected to: 1) establish a robust program of research, 2) participate in the intellectual life of the department, 2) meet regularly with faculty mentors; 3) participate in professional development opportunities, and 4) collaborate across the college and institution when appropriate. The scholar will have access to institutional and departmental resources specifically designed to support their readiness for a tenure-track position.  

 The successful candidate will have a PhD in Psychology, Psychological Sciences, Neuroscience, or an area relevant to neuroscience or psychological sciences. We anticipate that the candidate will work closely with 1-2 primary research mentor/s to accelerate transdisciplinary efforts in basic, clinical, and/or intervention research in neuroscience and/or health equity and will meet regularly with other advisors and mentors within the department and across the university to gain professional development skills. This individual should aspire to become an independent researcher and productive faculty member at an R1-level university. The successful candidate must be committed to teaching and mentoring diverse students at the undergraduate and graduate levels.  

 We encourage applicants in the areas of neuroscience and/or health equity to apply to complement existing and growing department strengths in these areas. The University has a highly interactive cognitive and behavioral neuroscience community that encourages collaborations, and there are existing strengths in early detection of and interventions for neurodevelopmental disorders, ‘Big Data’ analytics, molecular mechanisms of neurodevelopment, and deep phenotyping across rare disorders (e.g., fragile X, Down syndrome).  

 There are parallel Bridge to Faculty searches in other USC departments and colleges (e.g., Biology, Women’s and Gender Studies, Social Work) that will provide the postdoctoral scholar with a vibrant cohort of colleagues with shared goals. There are also a large number of planned postdoctoral and faculty hires across disciplines in the next few years, to continue to diversify the faculty at USC.