Clinical Research Fellow - Neuroscience and Mental Health

About us

The UCL Division of Psychology and Language Sciences is ranked second in the world for psychology and UCL is the top-ranked university in the UK for research power in Psychology, Psychiatry and Neuroscience (Research Excellence Framework 2021).

The aim of the Neuroscience and Mental Health group at the UCL Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience is to understand the neural and cognitive mechanisms underlying psychiatric symptoms. We utilise experimental techniques drawn from cognitive psychology, functional neuroimaging, psychopharmacology, and computational modelling.

About the role

The post-holder will carry out research in the area of cognitive neuroscience relating to mental health and physical exercise, working on the LIFE study (https://wellcome.org/news/how-does-exercise-help-depression), a clinical trial investigating the antidepressant effects of physical exercise.

The post-holder will primarily be responsible for running positron emission tomography (PET – at Kings College London) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans, and other cognitive neuroscience experiments with humans, as well as performing mental health assessments. They will also be expected to record and assist with: data analysis; recruiting and maintaining a secure database of study participants; assisting with administrative tasks relating to experiments, and the research group; and writing peer-reviewed papers.

About you

The candidate should have MBBS (or equivalent qualification), current GMC registration, and clinical experience in psychiatry (e.g. have commenced psychiatry training in the UK). They need excellent organisational and interpersonal skills, required for conducting experiments efficiently, interacting with participants and working as part of a team. Experience conducting psychological or neuroscience experiments is highly desirable. Experience in quantitative analysis (e.g. using SPSS/Matlab/R) is also desirable.

What we offer

As well as the exciting opportunities this role presents, we also offer some great benefits some of which are below: • 41 Days holiday (27 days annual leave 8 bank holiday and 6 closure days) • Additional 5 days’ annual leave purchase scheme • Defined benefit career average revalued earnings pension scheme (CARE) • Cycle to work scheme and season ticket loan • Immigration loan • Relocation scheme for certain posts • On-Site nursery • On-site gym • Enhanced maternity, paternity and adoption pay • Employee assistance programme: Staff Support Service • Discounted medical insurance Visit https://www.ucl.ac.uk/work-at-ucl/reward-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.

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