Research Fellow

About us

UCL is ranked number one in the UK for research in psychology, psychiatry and neuroscience. You will be embedded within the Clinical Psychopharmacology Unit at UCL; a world-leading multidisciplinary research unit that examines novel drug and behavioural approaches to improving treatments for mental health disorders. You will also work with the Department of Clinical and Movement Neurosciences at the Queen Square Institute of Neurology, where the majority of data collection will take place. This is a world-leading group that brings together expertise across the clinical and basic science spectrum of the physiology and pathology of human movement and movement disorders. We are dedicated to maintaining a supportive, collaborative and inclusive research culture.

About the role

We are looking for a technically-capable post-doctoral to join a ground-breaking study into how aversive memories can be suppressed, destabilised and weakened using transcranial magnetic stimulation. The study combines neuroimaging (fMRI), psychophysiology (pupillometry, skin conductance, heart rate and sensorimotor stimulation) with neurostimulation (transcranial magnetic stimulation) and behavioural analyses to understand how associative threat memories are formed and embedded in the sensorimotor cortex in humans. We will test whether continuous theta-burst stimulation can impair sensorimotor fear memory when administered after learning, by preventing consolidation and reconsolidation of these memories. This is a fixed-term role for 42 months.

About you

We are looking for someone capable of leading independent research, with excellent organisational, technical and interpersonal skills. You will be responsible for the technical design of protocols, and general running of the project, working closely with Dr. Das and Prof. Bestmann. You will oversee a research assistant and students working on the study. Following completion, you will be centrally involved in analysis and preparation of publications. The successful will need excellent organisational skills and be able to take initiative to meet our ambitious recruitment targets.

Eligible candidates must have a research-based PhD in human neuroscience, psychology or behavioural or cognitive science and relevant hands-on research experience. You will be required to collect and process a variety of psychophysiological and neural signals. You will therefore need experience with at least one of the following techniques: 1) neuroimaging (fMRI), 2) psychophysiology (skin conductance, heart rate and/or eye-tracking) 3) TMS or 4) aversive conditioning procedures. Training can be provided, although those with prior with more than one of these will be highly competitive for the post. Experience. Candidates should also possess strong data processing and analytic skills, and familiarity with R, MATLAB and code in Python.

What we offer

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.

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