Postdoctoral Research Associate

This ambitious project investigates the neural and behavioural mechanisms underlying social media use and overuse in young people. Funded by the Huo Family Foundation and spanning across four years, the large-scale project will use a range of methods and techniques to examine motivational and cognitive processes underlying regular and problematic social media use behaviours, including behavioural testing, psychophysiology, fMRI, as well as longitudinal (developmental) and qualitative (interview) approaches. The successful applicant will have primary responsibility for the psychophysiological and fMRI components of the project, which will involve large-scale experiments wit h older adolescents. In addition, the PDRA will have significant responsibility for the participatory elements of the project (e.g. leading focus groups with teenagers) and impact activities. Working closely with several RAs employed on the project, the PDRA will also contribute to a 2-year longitudinal study with younger adolescents and an interview study. There is a strong expectation that the role holder will make significant contributions to the programming of experimental tasks and lead the technical set-up of the paradigms. Supported by other RAs, the PDRA will lead the collection, management and analysis of large physiological, fMRI and behavioural data sets, using appropriate tools (R, Matlab, FSL, SPM) and advanced statistical techniques (e.g. linear mixed-effects models). The PDRA will have responsibility for writing up the study results for publication in high-quality journals and to disseminate them at scientific conferences or public engagement and outreach events.

The role offers a unique opportunity to work on an exciting project that is at the forefront of a fast-moving research field and has significant potential for impact. The role holder will benefit from access to cutting-edge scientific equipment and be able to contribute to the project’s focus on theoretical advancement and scientific rigour. The PDRA will receive dedicated technical support and travel funding for conferences and collaboration. At the same time, the PDRA will be involved in driving meaningful and authentic impact related to problematic social media use in young people.

You will report to Dr Niklas Ihssen as the Principal Investigator and Professor Mary Hanley as Co-Investigator of the project.

Funding for this post is available from 1st March 2026 for a fixed period of 46 months, after which the project will end.

The post-holder is employed to work on research/a research project which will be led by the Principal Investigator and Co-Investigator. Whilst this means that the post-holder will not be carrying out independent research in his/her own right, the expectation is that they will contribute to the advancement of the project, through the development of their own research ideas/adaptation and development of research protocols.

Successful applicants should be in post by 1st March 2026

For informal enquiries please contact Dr Niklas Ihssen, . All enquiries will be treated in the stricktest confidence.

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