Join us!

We are excited to build our team and support you in defining and succeeding in your professional goals. We invite you to learn about our research and lab community philosophies and see if we might be a good fit!

Open Positions

Postdoctoral job opening: “Functional analysis of histone modifier Autism Spectrum Disorders-linked genes in vertebrate development.” (NICHD-funded project.) Ideal start date around spring/summer 2025 (flexible). Details available here.

Postdoctoral job opening: “Genetics of vertebrate brain cell evolution.” Ideal start date around spring/summer 2025. Details available here.

General Recruitment

Staff Research Associate (technician, post-grad)

We are recruiting for a Staff Research Associate (SRA) to provide technical and service support to our lab as we start up. This is an ideal position for a recent graduate with a bachelor’s degree and some research experience, who is interested in contributing to numerous open projects during a 1-2 year position before pursuing an advanced degree. If interested, please e-mail Val your CV, a short cover letter (suggested template here), and contact information for 2-3 references.

Graduate Students

Please note: my lab does not and cannot directly admit graduate students. If you are interested in applying to PhD positions, please see how to apply to UCLA’s Graduate Programs in Biosciences. All faculty of the Integrative Biology & Physiology are members of the Molecular, Cellular & Integrative Physiology (MCIP) Ph.D. program. IBP also offers a two-year, research-oriented Master’s Program (M.S. in Physiological Science). Please note that the Institute for Society and Genetics (ISG) does not have a Ph.D. degree-granting program.

If you are a current UCLA graduate student interested in a rotation, please e-mail Val. 

Resources about applying to graduate schools and finding fellowships available on Resources page.

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Postdoctoral Researchers

Please e-mail Val your CV, a cover letter (suggested template here), and contact information for 3 references. Postdocs may join through IBP or ISG.

Ideal for candidates who have expertise or want to train in: cell/developmental/molecular/evolutionary biology, genetics, genomics, neurodevelopment, animal models, proteomics, computational biology, and/or bioethics/neuroethics and society.

Resources about applying for academic postdoctoral positions and finding fellowships available on Resources page.

Undergraduate students

Our lab sometimes has work study positions open, which will be updated here. We are also open to working with students in the UCLA PEERS program. We are not yet recruiting other undergraduate researchers. You may submit your interest through this link. Please also check out the Resources page for more information. At the Undergraduate Research Center - Life Sciences, you can find information on getting started, important due dates, programs and scholarships. You can also find active postings on the Undergraduate Research Portal. Please note our lab does not accept volunteers. We’ll post any updates here!

Don’t see anything here yet, but you think you might be a good fit?

Feel free to contact Val with your ideas!

UCLA is an equal opportunity employer. Equal Employment Opportunity requires that all personnel decisions such as hiring, promotion, reclassification, etc., are made without any consideration of race, color, national origin, religion, sex, gender identity, pregnancy, physical or mental disability, medical condition (cancer-related or genetic characteristics), genetic information (including family medical history), ancestry, marital status, age, sexual orientation, citizenship or service in the uniformed services.

Contact us!