Economics professors Dan Benjamin (UCLA), David Cesarini (NYU), Patrick Turley (USC), statistical geneticist Alex Young (UCLA) and their co-authors employ full‐time research assistants at UCLA to start in fall of 2023. We would like to hire students interested in social-science genomics: the identification of genetic variation that is associated with variation in behavior and other social-science-relevant phenotypes. Prior experience is not necessary. Research assistants should have an interest in applying to a quantitative Ph.D. program (e.g., Economics, Statistics, Data Science, Genetics, Sociology) and pursuing an academic research career. The previous research assistants from across Dan Benjamin's Full-Time Research Assistant positions have gone on (in the last six years) to top PhD programs in Economics and related disciplines at Harvard (4x), MIT, MIT Sloan, Stanford, Yale (2x), UChicago (2x), UChicago Booth, Columbia (2x), NYU (2x), Wharton, UCSD, UMD, and UCSF.
Current projects include identifying genetic variants with causal effects on educational attainment and many other traits, creating optimal genetic predictors for a range of traits, and developing new statistical methods. For examples of past research, see the "Research" tab at https://www.danieljbenjamin.com/publications. Research assistants are directly involved in the entire research process, including:

• Developing new methods to analyze genetic data
• Data analysis in R and Python
• Background research and literature reviews for paper writing
• Drafting sections of manuscripts for publication
• Visualizing data for manuscripts and presentations

Percentage of Time:
100
Shift Start:
8:00 am
Shift End:
5:00 pm
Qualifications for Position
11
Records
Qualifications
Required/Preferred
Knowledge of one or more of R, Python, or STATA.
Required
Strong work ethic and organizational skills.
Required
A bachelor's degree in economics, genetics, computer science, statistics, or mathematics; and / or equivalent experience / training.
Required
Ability to work independently and with minimal guidance.
Required
Interested in genoeconomics.
Required
Strong writing skills.
Required
Undergraduate degree in related area and / or equivalent experience / training.
Required
Master's Degree preferred.
Preferred
Knowledge of MATLAB (or other programming languages such Java, C, C , or Julia) and Latex.
Preferred
Experience with Unix commands.
Preferred
Familiarity with various statistical analyses such as OLS, MLE, and PCA.
Preferred
Additional Posting Information
Bargaining Unit:
99-Policy Covered
Application Deadline:
10-21-2023
External Posting Date: