Sleep and Chronobiology Research

The Walter Reed Army Institute of Research (WRAIR) is the largest biomedical research institute in the Department of Defense with a 125-year history in militarily relevant infectious diseases and brain health research. WRAIR has served as a model for the world in the development of vaccines, therapeutics and diagnostics for the most pressing infectious diseases of concern to soldier health and global health. All components of infectious diseases research and development are conducted at the Institute laboratories and facilities. WRAIR also hosts summer education programs for middle and high school students in science, technology, education and mathematics.

The mission of the Behavioral Biology Branch is the exploration and development of strategies and technologies for monitoring, preventing, and/or reversing the decrementing effects of sleep loss, stress, and fatigue on cognitive performance to enhance Warfighter operational judgment and decision-making. Participants will have the opportunity to be involved in human subjects research which involves sleep deprivation, sleep restriction, drug effects, brain imaging, and working with operational units. The research involves all aspects of sleep and the circadian system and could include nights, weekends, and holidays as studies are often run with multiple in-laboratory phases and are 24-hour operations. Participants will administer cognitive computer, paper & pencil tasks to participants; apply and maintain polysomnographic (PSG) electrodes and equipment; apply electrocardiogram (EKG) electrodes and equipment; prepare biological samples for processing (blood, urine, saliva); screen potential subjects for research studies; and perform data entry and literature reviews.  Participants will have the opportunity to be involved with research investigators to perform data analysis, protocol and task development.  Participants may have the opportunity to participate in operational field research which involves working with military units to administer and collect surveys, collect biological samples, perform ambulatory assessment of sleep/wake patterns, and collect real world physical and cognitive performance data.  This is a great opportunity for individuals seeking higher degrees such as master's, doctoral, and medical. This is on ongoing opportunity posting and applicants will be reviewed on an as needed basis by WRAIR. Please note that there are no deadlines for application submission.

This appointment is a twelve month research appointment, with the possibility to be renewed for additional research periods. Appointments may be extended depending on funding availability, project assignment, program rules, and availability of the participant.

Participants will receive a stipend to be determined by WRAIR. Stipends are typically based on the participant’s academic standing, discipline, experience, and research facility location. Other benefits may include the following:

The participant will not enter into an employee/employer relationship with ORISE, ORAU, DOD, or any other office or agency. Instead, the participant will be affiliated with ORISE for the administration of the appointment through the ORISE appointment letter and Terms of Appointment.

Educational Background in the following areas is preferred: neuroscience, computer science, psychology, engineering, and/or biology

Desired skills: experience with statistical software packages (i.e. SAS, SPSS, GraphPad Prism); experience with MATLAB, ePRIME, R; proficient in Microsoft Office products (i.e. MS Word, Excel, PowerPoint); human subjects protection training will be required; basic life support (BLS) will be required.