You will be working at the Department of Psychological Sciences, Birkbeck, and the Wellcome Centre for Human Neuroimaging, UCL, funded by a Leverhulme Trust Project Grant. The position is based within the lab headed by Prof. Clare Press (http://www.bbk.ac.uk/psychology/actionlab/ https://www.fil.ion.ucl.ac.uk/team/action-and-perception/), and represents a collaboration between Prof. Press, Dr. Matthew Davis, University of Cambridge (https://www.mrc-cbu.cam.ac.uk/people/matt.davis/) and Dr. Peter Kok, UCL (https://www.fil.ion.ucl.ac.uk/team/visual-perception-team/). The start date is from April 2023 onwards, with the possibility of negotiating a later start.
Project details
The project aims to test a new account of how the oscillatory rhythm of sensory sampling is determined. Specifically, our sensory systems are bombarded with a continuously-changing stream of noisy information. Given our limited capacity systems, we cannot process every sight and sound perfectly. Organisms thereby face a monumental challenge in determining what to sample from this dynamic signal and generating useful percepts from these sensory inputs. Intriguingly, different perceptual disciplines – vision (action and object perception) and audition (speech perception) – have proposed contrasting accounts of how we achieve this feat. We believe that these contrasting theories have emerged via a focus on different adaptive functions of perception, that in fact apply equivalently across domains. We therefore propose to establish how we really sample our environment by cross-pollinating these ideas across disciplines and testing a novel idea resulting from the direct comparison.
We seek a highly motivated individual to join our team, for a project combining examination of theta range oscillations using M/EEG with psychophysics and computational modelling. The lab places high value on the development of robust, testable models of the mind and brain (see Press, Yon, and Heyes, 2022, “Building Better Theories”; https://www.cell.com/current-biology/pdf/S0960-9822(21)01551-7.pdf) and the applicant should exhibit an interest in such development. The successful applicant will play a key role in shaping the questions we ask, the approach we take to answering them, and development of the theoretical accounts.
Entry requirements
Applicants must have a BSc (high 2.1 minimum, or equivalent) or MSc (merit minimum, or equivalent) in a related discipline. An MSc in a neuroscience related discipline is desirable. It is essential that the applicant exhibits strong coding skills. Experience of coding experiments and analyses using MEG and/or EEG is desirable.
Deadline 27th February, 12 noon. Shortlisted candidates will be interviewed in mid/late March.
How to apply:
Applicants should submit 1) a CV, 2) a cover letter summarising the nature of their research projects to date, why they are particularly interested in this position and what they bring to it, and their plans for the future (2 pages max), 3) a copy of their strongest single piece of academic work (e.g. thesis, publication), and 4) contact details of two referees. Please merge all documents into one file and label with “Press_LeverhulmePhD2023_ [your surname]”. Please send this file to Prof. Press ([Email Address Removed]) by 27th February, 12 noon. Prof. Press welcomes informal enquiries.
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