Research Fellow in Computational Psychiatry

About us

We are seeking a Postdoctoral Research Fellow to join the Computational Psychotherapy Lab (cpt-lab.org), led by Dr Isabel Berwian and based in the Department of Clinical, Educational and Health Psychology and the Max Planck UCL Centre for Computational Psychiatry and Ageing Research. The CPT-Lab is an interdisciplinary, collaborative team focused on understanding and improving psychological interventions.

The postholder will join a Wellcome Trust–funded international collaboration with Princeton University investigating the mechanisms underlying anxiety and its treatment. The position is based at UCL, ranked first in the UK for research power in Psychology, Psychiatry, and Neuroscience (REF 2021).

About the role

The postholder will contribute to a five-year project examining why fear returns after exposure therapy and how it can be prevented. The role includes developing behavioral tasks and computational models, collecting and analysing behavioral, neuroimaging and clinical data, and contributing to publications across three linked studies. The postholder will work closely with an international team and gain training in advanced computational, experimental, and neuroimaging methods.

The salary for this position is offered at £45,103 - £48,679 per annum (inclusive of London allowance) depending on experience. Funding is currently in place for one year and is anticipated to run at least until September 2030, but is dependent on the successful delivery of yearly project milestones.

Appointment at Grade 7 (Research Fellow) is dependent upon having been awarded a PhD; if this is not the case, initial appointment will be at Grade 6B (salary £39,148 - £41.833 per annum) with payment at Grade 7 being backdated to the date of final submission of the PhD Thesis. However, to be considered eligible for this post, applicants must have formally submitted their PhD thesis and must either have successfully completed their viva examination or have an agreed viva date scheduled within 3 months of the post’s commencement date.

This role meets the eligibility requirements for a skilled worker certificate of sponsorship or a global talent visa under UK Visas and Immigration legislation. Therefore, UCL welcomes applications from international applicants who require a visa.

In the event we get a high number of applications, we may close the advert early before the published closing date. As a minimum we will keep all adverts open for 2 weeks.

About you

You will have (or be close to completing) a PhD in psychology, neuroscience, computational modelling, or a related field, with strong quantitative skills and experience in behavioural research. Experience with either neuroimaging and decoding or computational modelling and clinical research experience are essential. You will contribute independently to study design and implementation, data analysis, and publication, work effectively within an interdisciplinary team, and support delivery of project milestones.

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.

You can read more about our commitment to Equality, Diversity and Inclusion here: https://www.ucl.ac.uk/equality-diversity-inclusion/

Customer advert reference: B02-10780

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