The Group of Psychiatric Neuroscience at the University of Bari Aldo Moro offers a fully funded 3-year PhD scholarship in the framework of a partnership with technology SME Itel srl. The collaboration is aimed to develop neuroimaging analysis protocols for longitudinal data analysis in a locally recruited cohort of individuals with at risk mental state for psychosis. The official call can be found here. The deadline is July 25^th and the expected starting date is November 2019.

We will also publish a call for a postdoctoral neuroimaging position (1 year renewable up to 4 years, funding already secured), within the same project on at risk mental state for psychosis. Expressions of interest are welcome before September 30th. Candidates who are in the process of writing up their PhD thesis are encouraged to apply. The expected starting date is February 2020. 

The Group of Psychiatric Neuroscience is headed by Prof. Alessandro Bertolino and investigates the association of genetic variability with systems-level phenotypes, including structural and functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Diffusion Tensor Imaging, Arterial Spin Labeling, and Magnetoencephalography (for recent articles from the lab, see [1], [2], [3]). Prof. Giuseppe Blasi and his team have access to and routinely tests patients, relatives of patients, and individuals at risk for psychosis. The department has an in-house Elekta Triux magnetoencephalography installed in October 2016 with a dedicated technician. Two 3T MRI scanners are available in collaborating hospitals. Successful candidates will work in the lab of Brain Imaging, Networks, and Data mining (BIND) directed by Dr. Giulio Pergola. The environment is interdisciplinary, including psychologists, biotechnologists, and MDs, and internationally oriented, e.g., including Marie Curie awardees Dr. Giulio Pergola and Dr. Linda A. Antonucci, along with several other members trained for > 1 year in UK, USA, and Finland. 

The ideal PhD candidate is a young graduate interested in neuroimaging, with a Master’s Degree in Neuroscience, Psychology, Medicine, Biotechnology, Applied Physics, Computational Science, or related fields. Experience with statistics is a plus. We expect the successful candidate to be motivated and research-oriented. It is equally important to have a team-working attitude and a motivation to fit in the group. Proficiency in Italian is not required. 

The ideal postdoctoral candidate is a neuroimager with international experience and a PhD in Neuroscience, Cognitive Sciences, Neuropsychology, Computational Science, or any quantitative research field. Coding experience (Matlab, Python, or R) is required, whereas machine learning and graph theory expertise are a plus. Successful candidates are expected to have at least one published and two submitted lead author papers.

The University of Bari Aldo Moro, with about 50.000 students, 1500 permanent professors and researchers, 1500 units of technicians and administrative staff, is one the largest Italian universities, and the second largest in Southern Italy. Bari is a sunny city located by the sea, and the third greatest Italian city south of Rome. The cost of living is low relative to Italian standards. According to Italian law, fellowships after taxes are about 1100 EUR for PhD students and minimum 1450 EUR for early stage researchers (< 4 years experience); postdoc salaries can be higher.

Please contact Dr. Giulio Pergola sending a CV and the contact details of at least two references if you would like to have more information on the position and on the ongoing projects ([log in to unmask]).