Funded PhD Candidate Position - PERCEPTUAL INFERENCE GROUP - Neural encoding of temporal expectations

21 Mar 2024
Job Information

Organisation/Company

BCBL BASQUE CENTER ON COGNITION BRAIN AND LANGUAGE

Research Field

Neurosciences

Researcher Profile

First Stage Researcher (R1)

Country

Spain

Application Deadline

31 May 2024 - 23:59 (Europe/Madrid)

Type of Contract

Temporary

Job Status

Full-time

Hours Per Week

35

Offer Starting Date

2 Sep 2024

Is the job funded through the EU Research Framework Programme?

HE / ERC

Is the Job related to staff position within a Research Infrastructure?

No

Offer Description

The freshly established Perceptual Inference Group at the BCBL studies how the subcortical and early cortical stages of the brain work together to make sense of the sensory world. This project will investigate how the brain learns to predict the onset of incoming sounds with high temporal precision, conforming the sensations of rhythm in speech and music. The project will make use a combination of modelling and high-resolution fMRI to explore the encoding of time in the human brain. This is a fantastic opportunity for cognitive neuroscientists who wish to learn modelling techniques, or for computational neuroscientists who want to learn human neuroimaging. Part of this project will be developed in collaboration with the Department of Psychology of the Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences in Leipzig, Germany, and there will be opportunities for placements in Leipzig.

Job description:

• Designing and conducting behavioural and fMRI experimental research
• Designing and implementing computational models of cognition
• Writing research papers under the supervision of the PI, aiming to publish at top-tier journals
• Dissemination of results at international scientific conferences

PI and research group:

Perceptual Inference Group is a freshly established interdisciplinary research group at the BCBL in San Sebastian, Spain. The group combines tools from Machine Learning, Computational Neuroscience, and state-of-the-art Human Neuroimaging to explain how our expectations and subjective priors shape our experience of reality. The group has a large network of international collaborations with experimental and computational labs in Leipzig, Dresden, Basel, Pennsylvania, and Cambridge. The PI, Alejandro Tabas, is currently holding an ERC Starting Grant, and the lab has plenty of funding for conference trips and research visits to our collaborators abroad.

Requirements

Research Field

Neurosciences

Education Level

Master Degree or equivalent

Skills/Qualifications

Required skills:

• A master degree in a quantitative discipline (cognitive sciences, experimental psychology, computer science, physics, machine learning, etc).
• Programming experience in python or MATLAB
• Fluent knowledge of English
• Good communication skills and ability to collaborate in interdisciplinary environments
• Keen interest in Neuroscience research

Specific Requirements

Desirable skills:

• Experience with neuroimaging data analysis in Nipype and/or fMRI prep
• Experience designing and implementing experimental paradigms in psychopy or psychtoolbox
• Notions of Bayesian-based statistical analysis

Languages

ENGLISH

Level

Excellent

Additional Information
Benefits

Salary: 21,000€/year gross on average across the four years of the contract

Entitlements and other benefits: https://www.bcbl.eu/en/join-us/what-is-like-to-work-bcbl

 

Training opportunities and Career development plan: Researchers at any stage of their career, regardless of their contractual situation, are given an opportunity for professional development and for improving their employability through access to a Personal Career Development Plan which includes

(1) Training through individually personalized research projects under senior supervision

(2) Exchanging knowledge with the scientific community and the general public

(3) Network-wide training in theory and methods

(4) Complementary training courses

(5) Involvement in proposal writing, task coordination

(6) Development of skills for the organization of training and scientific events

BCBL seeks to foster an environment where all talents can flourish, regardless of gender, age, cultural background, nationality or impairments. If you have any questions relating to accessibility or support contact us.

 

Selection process

To submit your application, please follow this link  applying for “PhD Neural encoding of temporal expectations” and attach the following documentation:

• A curriculum vitae
• A statement outlining research interests and motivation to apply for the position (max 2 pages)
• Transcript of records for the master and bachelor degrees
• Two letters of recommendation

Additional comments

Application process timetable:

• Deadline for application: 31/05/2024
• Evaluation by committee: 03/06/2024-14/06/2024
• Interviews: 18/06/2024-27/06/2024
• Final decision: 30/06/2024
• Feedback to all applicants: 01/07/2024
• Work contract start date: 01/09/2024

Contact details for enquiries: [email protected]

Alejandro is also very happy to hold informal chats on the project and the position with prospective candidates: [email protected]

Website for additional job details

https://www.bcbl.eu/en/join-us/job-offers/funded-phd-candidate-position-percept…

Work Location(s)

Number of offers available

1

Company/Institute

BCBL

Country

Spain

State/Province

Gipuzkoa

City

Donostia-San Sebastian

Postal Code

20009

Street

Paseo Mikeletegi 69

Geofield

Where to apply

Website

https://www.bcbl.eu/en/join-us/job-offers/funded-phd-candidate-position-percept…

Contact

State/Province

Guipuzcoa

City

Donostia

Website

https://www.bcbl.eu

Street

Paseo Mikeletegi 69

Postal Code

20009

E-Mail

[email protected]

STATUS: EXPIRED