PhD position: Exploring perceptual organisation with psychophysics and fMRI

 

Applicants are invited for a fully funded PhD studentship at the School of Psychology (Cardiff University) and the Cardiff University Brain Research Imaging Centre, jointly supervised by Dr Christoph Teufel and Dr Elisabeth von dem Hagen. The studentships will commence in October 2016.

 

Application deadline: 16 March 2016.

 

For details and information on how to apply, please click on one of the links below or contact Christoph Teufel: [log in to unmask]

 

http://psych.cf.ac.uk/degreeprogrammes/postgraduate/research/specificprojects.html

 

http://master.findaphd.com/search/ProjectDetails.aspx?PJID=73348&LID=281

 

 

The project

Visual cells in the eye and early visual system respond to small, local parts of images. The advertised PhD project will focus on how our brain organises this patchwork of local neural activity to turn it into global and coherent percepts. A particular emphasis will be on the role of top-down influences from higher levels of visual processing onto early visual function. The project will use both psychophysical and  neuroimaging techniques to explore this question. There is the potential for work with clinical populations (for more details, please contact Christoph Teufel: [log in to unmask]).

 

The successful candidate

We are looking for an enthusiastic, motivated, and innovative individual with an excellent degree in psychology, biology, neuroscience, or engineering/computer science (with good knowledge of human sensory systems). Research experience in psychophysics/neuroimaging and programming skills (e.g., C/Java/Matlab/Python) are desirable but not essential as long as you have the enthusiasm and aptitude to learn.

 

You will:

-        receive a full scholarship covering your tuition fees and maintenance, as well as research costs and conference funding

-        receive training in psychophysics, neuroimaging, and modelling

-        be part of a world-class research community in vision science/cognitive neuroscience

-        have access to state-of-the-art psychophysics and neuroimaging research facilities, including high-end visual stimulus presentation and eye-tracking technology, 3T and 7T MRI scanners, and EEG/MEG testing labs.

 

About us

We are based both at the School of Psychology (http://psych.cf.ac.uk/) and the Cardiff University Brain Research Imaging Centre (http://sites.cardiff.ac.uk/cubric/). The School of Psychology at Cardiff is one of the largest and strongest in the UK. In the 2014 research excellence framework, Cardiff was one of the UK's top three universities for its world-leading research in psychology, psychiatry and neuroscience. The newly opened imaging centre is one of the largest and technologically most advanced in Europe. The School and the Imaging Centre have state-of-the art testing facilities, a world-class community of vision science/cognitive neuroscience researchers and a thriving postgraduate research group. Our labs have close collaborations with Clinicians at the Neurosciences & Mental Health Research Institute and the MRC Unit for Neuropsychiatric Genetics & Genomics, both based in Cardiff.