Thursday, January 19, 2023

Thursday, January 12, 2023

Ref 6581/22, Postdoctoral Research Fellow, MARCS Institute for Brain, Behaviour & Development

About Western


Western Sydney University is a modern, forward-thinking, research-led university, located at the heart of Australia’s fastest-growing and economically significant region, Western Sydney. Boasting 11 campuses – many in Western Sydney CBD locations – and more than 200,000 alumni, 49,500 students and 3,500 staff, the University has 14 Schools with an array of well-designed programs and degrees carefully structured to meet the demands of future industry.

The University is ranked in the top two per cent of universities worldwide, and as a research leader, over 85 per cent of the University’s assessed research is rated at ‘World Standard’ or above.

 About the Role

The MARCS Institute for Brain, Behaviour and Development is seeking to appoint a Postdoctoral Research Fellow to join the Brain Sciences research program at Western Sydney University.

This two year Postdoctoral Research Fellow position is funded by an ARC Discovery grant, “Investigating the characteristics of older adults' conversation behaviour” awarded to Chief Investigators (CIs) Professor Chris Davis and Professor Jeesun Kim at the MARCS Institute for Brain, Behaviour and Development, Western Sydney University, in collaboration with Partner Investigators (PI) Emeritus Professor Valerie Hazan at University College London. 

This project will investigate the production and perception of naturalistic conversations by young and older adults. In particular, the interest is in probing individualised semantic processing. The aim of the project is to understand factors that affect the engagement of older adults in conversations. 

In this role you will work with the team to develop, pilot, and apply new methods for probing individual-specific semantic processing and on the collection of sensory, perceptual, cognitive and electrophysiological (EEG) data. You will also implement procedures for analysing the data. The successful applicant will work closely with the above investigators and the rest of the research team, conducting studies and participating in supervising and/or training PhD students, Research Assistants, Honours students, and interns enlisted into the project.

For further information about the role please refer to the attached Position Description. 

This is a full time, 2 year fixed term contract. Located in the new Westmead Innovation Quarter (WIQ) – a visionary research, health, education and business hub located in the Westmead Health Precinct.  

About MARCS

The MARCS Institute for Brain, Behaviour and Development is an interdisciplinary research institute of Western Sydney. The vision for the Institute is to optimise human interaction and wellbeing across the lifespan. To strive to solve the problems that matter most through the themes: sensing and perceiving, interacting with each other, and technologies for humans. Researchers in MARCS come from many disciplines including cognitive science, developmental psychology, language science, music science, cognitive neuroscience, and biomedical, electrical, electronic and software engineering. 

Further information is available from our website - http://www.westernsydney.edu.au/marcs 

About You

You will hold a relevant doctoral qualification, or substantial progress toward a PhD in Psychology, Cognitive Neuroscience, Computational linguistics or a related discipline. You must have experience in conducting neuroimaging and behavioural experiments.

Culture

Western Sydney University highly values equity and inclusiveness. We have a proud history of doing so and consider this an important part of our social and civic responsibilities as a University. We strive to contribute to tackling inequalities and promoting wellbeing within our own institution, the Greater Western Sydney region, nationally and internationally. 

Remuneration Package:
Academic Level A: $103,304 to $124,808 p.a. (comprising Salary of $87,293 to $105,464 p.a., plus Superannuation and Leave Loading)

Academic Level B: $131,136 to $154,738 p.a. (comprising Salary of $110,811 to $130,846 p.a., plus Superannuation and Leave Loading)

Position Enquiries:  Please contact Professor Chris Davis via email at chris.davis@westernsydney.edu.au

Closing Date: 8:30pm AEDT, Sunday, 12 February 2023

Immigration Sponsorship: Employer Visa sponsorship will be provided if required.

Click here to view Position Description 

How to Apply:

·        Start your application by clicking the "begin" button.

·        Login to an existing account or reset your password 

·        Preview Application Form 

Western Sydney University is committed to diversity and social inclusion. Applications from people of culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds; equity target groups including women, people with disabilities, people who identify as LGBTIQ, and people of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander descent are encouraged. 

Thursday, January 5, 2023

FUNDED POSTDOCTORAL CANDIDATE POSITION –BRAIN RHYTHMS AND COGNITION GROUP at the BCBL- Basque Center on Cognition Brain and Language (San Sebastián, Basque Country, Spain)

FUNDED POSTDOCTORAL CANDIDATE POSITION –BRAIN RHYTHMS AND COGNITION GROUP at the BCBL- Basque Center on Cognition Brain and Language (San Sebastián, Basque Country, Spain) www.bcbl.eu

  1. INFORMATION ABOUT THE POSITION 
  • Position: Post-doc
  • Researcher Profile: R2, Recognised Researcher (PhD holders or equivalent who are not yet fully independent) / R3, Established Researcher (Researchers who have developed a level of independence)
  • Number of vacancies: 1
  • Project: Neurospeech
  • Location:  Spain > San Sebastian
  • Research Field: Neuroscience > Cognition and Language
  • Type of contract/Duration of Contract : Temporary >  until November 30th 2025
  • Job Status: Full-time
  • Hours per week: 35
  • Starting date: As early as possible
  • Application deadline: January 31st

Information about the project: The project is based on a collaboration between teams in Spain (BCBL) and the U.S. (University of Connecticut and Oregon State University) to yield new theoretical insight into the cognitive, neural, and computational bases of mono- and multilingual language representation and processing. The aims are the following:

1. Adapt a cutting-edge neural network model of human speech recognition to multiple languages to develop concrete predictions about cross-language interaction during mono- vs multilingual language processing in single and multi-language contexts.

2. Use speech-tracking analysis of MEG and neural network responses to single words to assess cross-language interaction during mono- vs. multilingual processing in single and multi-language contexts.

3. Determine impact of continuous speech context on cross-language interaction in MEG (and neural network) responses during mono- and multilingual processing in single and multi-language contexts.


Job description: The selected candidate will be involved all the different aspects of the MEG experimental activities. Experiment planning, participants selection, stimuli preparation, data collection, data analysis and preparation of scientific reports. This will take place in the MEG lab at the BCBL and under the supervision of the PIs of the project. All these activities will be coordinated with the U.S. researchers, to pursue state-of-the art analysis of the MEG data in response to natural speech stimuli.


PI and research group: Nicola Molinaro, Brain Rhythms and Cognition group

 

  1. CANDIDATES’ PROFILE AND SELECTION CRITERIA

Required skills: 

  • Knowledge of the relevant literature
  • Demonstrated ability to conceptualize relevant theoretical questions, and design appropriate experimental tests of these questions
  • Solid relevant statistical ability
  • Strong written and spoken English
  • Previous experience with neuroimaging methods (EEG, fMRI, MEG)
  • Programming skills (e.g., Python, Matlab, R, and/or ability to program experiments)

Desirable skills: 

  • Knowledge of Spanish and/or Basque (or a willingness to learn some) is a plus

 

  1. WORKING CONDITIONS

Salary: Gross salary € 28.000 - € 30.000 

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.

 

  1. OTHER RELEVANT INFORMATION:

Language policy

  • The corporative language at the Center is English but the national language will be an asset for this particular position
  • The center provides initial level Spanish and Basque lessons to all the international staff members
  • The interview will be conducted entirely in English

 

  1. APPLICATION PROCESS: 

Submission of the application and documentation:

To submit your application, please follow this link:  applying for “Postdoc_NEUROSPEECH_2023” and attach the following documentation:

  • A curriculum vitae
  • A statement outlining research interests and motivation to apply for the position
  • Two letters of recommendation

Application process timetable:

  1. Deadline for application: 30/01/2023
  2. Evaluation by committee: 01/02/2023-15/02/2023
  3. Interviews: 15/02/2023-20/02/2023
  4. Final decision: 20/02/2023
  5. Feedback to all applicants: 20/02/2023-22/02/2023
  6. Work contract start date: as soon as possible

Contact details for enquiries: hr@bcbl.eu