Research Associate 2 (SRI) - Physical Sciences - Regular Full-Time 2026-19189

One of Canada's Top 10 Research Hospitals, Sunnybrook Research Institute is developing innovations in care for the more than 1.3 million patients the hospital cares for annually.

Sunnybrook Research Institute is the research enterprise of Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, a teaching hospital fully affiliated with the University of Toronto. Research spans three Toronto-based campuses, eight programs and three scientific platforms. Our main aims are to understand and prevent disease, and to develop treatments that enhance and extend life. Our vision is to invent the future of health care. Each year, we conduct about $100 million in research across 500,000 square feet, including in the world’s first Centre for Research in Image-Guided Therapeutics.

Brain, Body, and Perception Lab Overview

The Brain, Body, and Perception Lab at Sunnybrook Research Institute (SRI) is seeking an experienced and highly motivated individual for a full-time Research Associate Level II position under the supervision of Dr. Jamie Feusner.

The successful candidate will join a diverse, multidisciplinary research team investigating the neural and perceptual mechanisms underlying body image and obsessive-compulsive related disorders, including anorexia nervosa and body dysmorphic disorder. Our research integrates multimodal neuroimaging, eye-tracking, behavioural experiments, clinical assessments, and neuromodulation techniques to investigate brain function and develop novel therapeutic interventions.

The Research Associate Level II will play a senior role in supporting the scientific and operational direction of the laboratory, overseeing the implementation and management of multiple concurrent research projects, coordinating research personnel and resources, and contributing to research development, grant applications, and scientific dissemination. The successful candidate will provide leadership and oversight to research staff, including other research management personnel, while working closely with the Principal Investigator and collaborators to advance the laboratory's research objectives.

Summary of Duties:

• Providing scientific and operational leadership across multiple concurrent research projects, including strategic planning, study design, implementation, project timelines, resource allocation, and oversight of research deliverables.

• Overseeing day-to-day laboratory operations and research administration, including supervision and coordination of research management staff, research assistants, coordinators, and trainees.

• Supporting the development of research grant applications, including scientific writing, literature reviews, study design, methodological development, budget preparation, and coordination of supporting documentation.

• Overseeing research finances, including management of grant budgets, monitoring expenditures, financial forecasting, resource allocation, and coordination with institutional finance and research administration departments.

• Overseeing research ethics and regulatory compliance, including REB submissions, amendments, renewals, institutional approvals, and adherence to research protocols, privacy requirements, and funding agency guidelines.

• Providing scientific and technical expertise in neuroimaging research, including MRI/fMRI study design, data acquisition, preprocessing, quality control, statistical analysis, and interpretation of findings.

• Supervising and mentoring research staff and trainees in scientific methodologies, experimental procedures, neuroimaging analysis, data management, and research dissemination.

• Overseeing research data management and infrastructure, including REDCap databases, secure data storage and transfer, reproducible computational workflows, and coordination of research computing resources.

• Contributing to scientific manuscripts, conference abstracts, presentations, research reports, and collaborative publications.

• Facilitating collaborations with internal and external investigators, clinical teams, institutional research services, and other stakeholders to support research development and program objectives.

• Overseeing efforts to streamline or automate lab tasks using AI

Qualifications:

• Completion of a Ph.D. in Cognitive Neuroscience, Psychology, Neuroscience, Medical Biophysics, Biomedical Engineering, or a closely related discipline.

• A minimum of four years of relevant professional research experience in an academic, hospital, or clinical research laboratory, including experience coordinating complex research projects and multidisciplinary teams.

• Demonstrated experience managing multiple concurrent research studies, including project planning, implementation, personnel coordination, budget oversight, and research administration.

• Demonstrated experience supervising and mentoring research staff and trainees, including coordinating the work of other research management personnel.

• Expertise in neuroimaging research, including structural and functional MRI, neuroimaging data processing, statistical analysis, and interpretation of brain imaging findings.

• Proficiency in scientific programming and analysis tools, including MATLAB, Python, R, Tableau, SQL, and/or neuroimaging software such as FSL, SPM, AFNI, or similar platforms.

• Demonstrated experience developing research grant applications, scientific manuscripts, conference presentations, and other research outputs.

• Knowledge of research ethics and regulatory requirements, including REB processes, research privacy requirements, and institutional research administration procedures.

• Strong financial and project management skills, including experience developing research budgets, monitoring expenditures, and coordinating resources across multiple funded projects.

• Excellent organizational, leadership, interpersonal, and written and verbal communication skills, with demonstrated ability to independently manage competing priorities and collaborate with multidisciplinary research teams.

• Experience with eye-tracking during fMRI, behavioural experiments, REDCap, and high-performance computing environments is required.