PhD-fellowship

Join the University of Oslo as a PhD Research Fellow Collaborate on impactful research in memory and task-based functional imaging (fMRI).

A 3-year position as Ph.D. Research Fellow is available at the Center for Lifespan Changes in Brain and Cognition (LCBC), at the Department of Psychology, University of Oslo. The position will fit a motivated candidate with interest in memory and task-based functional imaging (fMRI). The primary objective of the position is to uncover the neural mechanisms underlying age-related memory change.

The research centre

The goal of LCBC is to understand differences and changes in brain and cognition across the entire lifespan, and to identify how brain function and cognition can be optimized. LCBC is an active, multidisciplinary research center with around 25 full-time staff members, including four professors, two researchers, several postdoctoral fellows and PhD candidates, chief and senior data engineers, full- and part-time research assistants, administrative support, and several affiliated international researchers.

LCBC has excellent research infrastructure, including access to a 3T Siemens Prisma MRI scanner, PET and EEG facilities, and comprehensive neuropsychological and somatic testing facilities. English is the main working language at the center.

LCBC has secured several large grants, including four European Research Council (ERC) grants, a Horizon 2020 and a Horizon Europe grant, and several grants from the Research Council of Norway, the National Health Association of Norway, and the University of Oslo. In 2015, the group was designated “world-leading” and is one of only five such groups at the University of Oslo. More information is available on the LCBC website: https://www.lcbc.uio.no.

The Ph.D. fellow will work primarily on existing experimental fMRI data collected in the project "Lifespan Memory Imaging", funded by the Research Council of Norway. Using longitudinal imaging of brain activity and task-based connectivity, the project aims to predict early who will show memory decline and who will maintain good function as they age. This unique longitudinal fMRI dataset of episodic memory includes encoding and retrieval scans at both baseline and follow-up 6-8 years later. The project also leverages multimodal imaging data, including DTI, PET and ASL, and longitudinal cognitive and neuropsychological assessments. The position will focus specifically on the fMRI data to identify neural mechanisms underlying individual differences in age-related memory changes.

• Process and analyze task-based fMRI data to estimate how memory processing changes throughout life.
• Integrate data from multiple sources, including longitudinal cognitive assessments and PET imaging, genetic information and other types of data.
• Write and publish scientific articles.
• Collaborate extensively with the PI/supervisor, as well as other researchers at the center and collaborators of the center, including scientists in psychology, statistics, and genetics.
• As the main purpose of the fellowship is research training leading to the successful completion of a Ph.D. degree, the research fellow must take part in the Faculty’s approved Ph.D. program.

Jarli & Jordan/ UiO

Qualifications

• Applicants must either hold a Master’s degree (or equivalent) in psychology, medicine, cognitive science, neuroscience, or a closely related field with an average grade of A or B.
• Strong interest in cognitive processes and underlying brain mechanisms.
• Applicants must have experience working with a high-level programming language such as MATLAB, Python, and/or R.
• Good written and oral proficiency in English. If the person appointed does not have skills in Norwegian, Swedish or Danish at level A2 at the time of employment, we will offer Norwegian language courses with the aim of achieving Norwegian language skills at least this level.

The following will be considered advantages

• Experience in using neuroimaging data to study brain function.
• Experience with longitudinal analyses.
• Experience with processing task-based fMRI data.
• Experience with fMRI analytic methods including network metrics.Experience with task-based connectivity methods (i.e. beta-series correlation or psychophysiological interaction [PPI]).
• Good understanding of quantitative methods.
• Experience with research in interdisciplinary environments.

In the evaluation of applicants, emphasis will be placed on the following personal skills:

• Candidate’s good co-operative skills, and the ability to successfully join in academic collaboration.
• Candidate’s professional and personal ability to work independently.

Jarli & Jordan/ UiO

We need different perspectives in our work