Yale Fellowship in Developmental and Computational Social Neuroscience

Award Description

The Yale Fellowship in Developmental and Computational Social Neuroscience will select highly qualified college graduates to participate in cutting-edge clinical, developmental, and computational research on social cognition in infants at risk for autism as well as toddlers affected by developmental disabilities at the Yale Child Study Center. The Yale Child Study Center is a leading institution for research on autism and related social disabilities, with a multidisciplinary approach to autism research spanning projects in behavioral neuroscience, neuroimaging, molecular and population genetics, and treatment. Successful applicants will be involved in a 2-year program of training involving clinical and research experiences. 

The training curriculum includes participation in an intensive summer training period in the field of autism clinical research, a weekly seminar on autism (1 semester), monthly science meetings (year-long), weekly Yale Early Social Cognition Laboratory meetings (year-long), research tutorials and courses, and other didactic experiences at the Yale Child Study Center, School of Medicine, and Departments of Psychology and Statistics. The primary training experience will be in daily activities related to behavioral and eye-tracking studies of infants and toddlers with and without autism. Fellows will be responsible for assisting in a variety of research activities in the Lab and for completing experimental protocols with infants and toddlers and their families, including administering standardized assessment procedures, coding behavioral measures, entering data, videorecording assessments, assisting in the preparation of manuscripts and conference presentations, and providing general assistance relevant to the functioning of the Lab. With research mentorship, selected applicants will be expected to guide a pre-determined project of research from the point of data collection through analysis and publication of results. Successful applicants will be directly mentored by the program directors, and involved in a highly active and productive community of clinical research scientists.

Sponsor Institution: Yale Child Study Center, Yale University

Program Directors:  Katarzyna Chawarska and Frederick Shic

Additional Faculty:   Suzanne Macari, Katherine Tsatsanis, and Fred Volkmar.

For more information on the Faculty at the Yale Child Study Center Developmental Disabilities Clinic, visit our website.

Award Amount: $30,000 per year in Year 1; $32,000 in Year 2 (plus full healthcare coverage)

Term of Award: 2 years

Submission Deadline: Feb 20, 2013

U.S. Citizenship: Not Required

Eligibility Requirements

Eligible are college graduates who will have received a bachelor's degree by June of 2013. Candidates are expected to have some experience with computer programming, familiarity with a statistical analysis package (e.g., SPSS, R), and outstanding analytic skills. Previous experience with developmental, cognitive, or clinical child psychology will be favorably reviewed. Please note that this fellowship is not offered concurrently with graduate studies. However we hope that for fellows leaving the program the fellowship will serve as an important stepping stone towards future graduate studies.

Application Information

For more specific questions, interested applicants should contact Suzanne Macari (suzanne.macari@yale.edu) Additional information about the Yale Early Social Cognition Lab at http://info.med.yale.edu/chldstdy/autism/yescog/ A complete application includes 1 copy of each of the following items:

  1. A completed application form
  2. A resume
  3. Official transcripts, undergraduate and graduate (if applicable)
  4. A 2-page personal statement containing biographic material, relevant experience, and career goals - can be single or double spaced
  5. Two sealed and signed letters of recommendation which speak directly to the candidate's potential

Mailing Your Application

Please address your application to:

Suzanne Macari
Yale Child Study Center
40 Temple Street, Suite 7D
New Haven, CT 06510
Fax: (203) 764-4373

Links to Recent Publications

For a list of recent publications, visit the Yale Early Social Cognition Lab website at http://info.med.yale.edu/chldstdy/autism/yescog/publications/index.aspx