Postdoctoral Associate (Neuropsychology)

Training Setting: Training will be within the UF Health Center which is the largest and most comprehensive academic Health Center in the Southeast. The UF Health Center encompasses six colleges, a statewide network of affiliated hospitals and clinics, and the neighboring North Florida/ South Georgia Veterans Health System. The Clinical and Health Psychology’s Neuropsychology Service is housed in a free-standing clinic (https://chp.phhp.ufl.edu/patient-information/) that has close programmatic interactions with the UF Departments of Neurology, Neurosurgery, Trauma, and other medical/surgical departments as part of the UF Health comprehensive care programs (https://ufhealth.org/). Supervising faculty: Dahomey Abanishe, Ph.D., Franchesca Arias, Ph.D., Breton Asken, Ph.D., Erika Cascio, Psy.D., Joseph Gullett, Ph.D., Kristin Hamlet, Ph.D., Shelley Heaton, Ph.D., Shellie-Anne Levy, Ph.D., Catherine Price, Ph.D., ABPP/CN, Aliyah Snyder, Ph.D., Erin Trifilio, Ph.D., and John Williamson, Ph.D., ABPP-CN.

Training Opportunities: Our primary goal is to provide a comprehensive training opportunity where postdoctoral associates acquire competence in adult neuropsychological assessment, feedback, and inpatient/outpatient collaborative team consultations. Expertise will be acquired with a variety of questions addressing acquired neurological conditions (e.g., TBI, stroke, multiple sclerosis, central nervous system cancers, encephalopathy), neurodegenerative disorders (e.g., Alzheimer disease, frontotemporal lobar degeneration), and various movement disorders (e.g., Parkinson disease, dystonia, pre-post deep brain stimulation, essential tremor). Experiences will also be acquired with psychiatric conditions (Tourettes, OCD, psychogenic disorders), epilepsy, forensic cases, and pre-/post-operative cognitive evaluations.  Some rotations involve integrated multidisciplinary clinics with neurology, psychiatry & neurosurgery, and perioperative anesthesiology. Trainees can participate in various cognitive intervention programs including a neuropsychology-informed treatment clinic aimed at improving recovery for conditions such as concussion/brain injury, functional neurologic disorders, and long-COVID (known as the HI-BHaR Clinic), and can gain experience running a fast-paced Brain Health/Triage Clinic for older adults. A secondary goal is for each trainee to acquire mentored clinical supervision experiences; i.e., postdoctoral associates will provide mentored supervision to varying levels of graduate and intern trainees. Relevant teaching experiences are also available.

Didactic Experience: Postdoctoral associates participate in an in-house, bi-monthly Advanced Neuro Didactics Seminar with neuropsychology interns in addition to weekly didactic meetings hosted by UF ANST. Many unique didactic opportunities exist in addition to these recurring meetings. Some of the most popular experiences include Clinico-Pathological Conference (CPC) conducted in conjunction with the McKnight Brain Institute (MBI), Neuro Patient Review conducted in conjunction with UF Neurology and Psychiatry at the Fixel Institute, weekly meetings from the Center for Neuropsychological Studies, UF Neurology Grand Rounds, and clinical case/research discussions within the Center for Movement Disorders and Neurorestoration. Postdoctoral associates are encouraged to assist with Wada administration and interpretation, observe Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) lead implantation, and observe surgeries associated with common patient referrals (e.g., left ventricular assist device placement) and other surgeries that indirectly change brain function (e.g., cardiac surgery, orthopedic surgery, abdominal surgeries). The Postdoctoral Associate will participate in a monthly training seminar with other postdoctoral associates in the Department of Clinical and Health Psychology. Associates will be encouraged to attend a variety of Departmental and Health Science Center seminars.

Research Opportunities: Postdoctoral associates are expected to complete a faculty mentored research project that can vary in scope and topic, depending on the associate’s interest. Numerous research opportunities are available with current UF faculty.

Gainesville Community: Gainesville, Florida, is a beautiful Central Florida town (http://www.cityofgainesville.org/) with excellent cost of living, affordable housing, schools, and numerous outdoor activities.