About us
Applications are invited for a postdoctoral research fellow to join the Integrated Clinical-Computational Affective Research Unit (ICARUS). The unit is led by Dr Liam Mason (Associate Professor of Clinical Psychology and MRC Clinician Scientist Fellow). The post is based in the Research Department of Clinical, Educational and Health Psychology. This is a large and vibrant community where research and teaching activity aim to improve wellbeing through the application of psychological science to practice. Psychology at UCL was ranked 1st in the UK and 4th in the world in the 2023 Shanghai Ranking of World Universities. This reflects excellent links between teaching, professional training and research, the wide range of research expertise represented and the excellent opportunities for collaboration and interdisciplinary research provided at UCL. This is an excellent environment for an early-career researcher, where opportunities for collaboration and learning abound.
About the role
The role involves undertaking high quality research as part of an exciting new internationally funded research grant investigating the neural and computational basis of reward and circadian dysregulation in bipolar disorder.
You will be responsible for: overseeing behavioural, ambulatory smartphone-based and neuroimaging assessments with clinical participants with a diagnosis of bipolar disorder; conducting computational modelling and multi-level modelling analyses; working closely with the head of the lab and the other team members, and inputting on supervision and line management of current and future research assistants, PhD students and masters students.
The post is for 12 months in the first instance with the possibility of extension. Starting salary on the UCL Grade 7 scale of £46,732 - £50,585 per annum.
A job description and person specification can be accessed at the bottom of the page. To apply for the vacancy please click on the ‘Apply Now’ button below. Please ensure you attach your CV, including a list of publications and note explicitly any restrictions to start date and/or work pattern.
About you
We are looking for someone with excellent quantitative research skills, particularly in computational modelling and/or multi-level modelling analyses, in the intersection of affective and reward processes. with recruiting clinical participants into longitudinal studies and in using functional MRI and scripting based languages (e.g. MATLAB, R, Python).
You will need to hold a PhD in Neuroscience, Economics, Psychology, Decision Sciences or related discipline, ideally researching reward processes. The role involves co-ordinating a large study and liaising and assessing clinical participants, so communication and organisational skills are a must.
We will begin shortlisting on 13 January 2025 and may close the advert prematurely at this point if we have appointable candidates, so please be mindful of this when applying.
What we offer
The role offers an opportunity to conduct impactful, collaborative and rigorous research that can make a real difference to the lives of people with bipolar disorder. The post holder will receive support and supervision from the study team, and input from other academics collaborating on this work. This is an excellent position for an early-career researcher as it provides: (1) opportunities for publication; (2) the chance to develop knowledge and skills in neuroimaging analysis; and (3) experience of working with digital mental health and smartphone-based assessment tools. There will also be opportunities in the wider community of researchers at UCL to develop new networks.
As well as the exciting opportunities this role presents, we also offer some great benefits some of which are below: a. 41 Days holiday (27 days annual leave 8 bank holiday and 6 closure days) b. Additional 5 days’ annual leave purchase scheme c. Defined benefit career average revalued earnings pension scheme (CARE) d. Cycle to work scheme and season ticket loan e. Immigration loan f. Relocation scheme for certain posts g. On-Site nursery h. On-site gym i. Enhanced maternity, paternity and adoption pay j. Employee assistance programme: Staff Support Service h. Discounted medical insurance Visit
https://www.ucl.ac.uk/work-at-ucl/rewards-and-benefits to find out more. For job board postings use the condensed plain text: As well as the exciting opportunities this role presents, we also offer great benefits. Please visit
https://www.ucl.ac.uk/work-at-ucl/rewards-and-benefits to find out more.
Our commitment to Equality, Diversity and Inclusion
As London’s Global University, we know diversity fosters creativity and innovation, and we want our community to represent the diversity of the world’s talent. We are committed to equality of opportunity, to being fair and inclusive, and to being a place where we all belong. We therefore particularly encourage applications from candidates who are likely to be underrepresented in UCL’s workforce. These include people from Black, Asian and ethnic minority backgrounds; disabled people; LGBTQI+ people; and for our Grade 9 and 10 roles, women.
Our department holds an Athena SWAN Silver award, in recognition of our commitment and demonstrable impact in advancing gender equality. We are committed to advancing gender equality within our department. You can read more about our commitment to Equality, Diversity and Inclusion here:
https://www.ucl.ac.uk/equality-diversity-inclusion/
