Research Assistant/Associate in Tinnitus

The Role

You will lead and deliver a project that aims to fulfil a critical unmet need in tinnitus research, which is to have an objective test that can demonstrate the existence of tinnitus, and indicate what ‘subtype’ it is (i.e. which mechanism or combination of mechanisms is causing this particular case).

You will join an internationally leading auditory neuroscience group, based in Newcastle University Medical School. Your work will be overseen by a supervisory and collaborative team, in Newcastle University and Zurich, Switzerland.

The study is termed the Multiple Intensity Contrasts Tinnitus Assessment Protocol (MICTAP), which is funded by the American Tinnitus Association.

You will conduct, in its entirety, a series of studies that examine electroencephalographic (EEG) sound responses from human volunteers with and without tinnitus, and how these can be developed into objective tests to demonstrate the presence and subtype of tinnitus. You will take charge of, and run, the study, performing all activities including ethics applications, finalising and implementing study protocols, performing each round of testing, analysing data, and creating and sharing the open-source code repositories for running the experiments and analysing the data. You are expected to chair weekly project meetings, and ideally make at least one visit to the lab in Zurich to learn analytical skills.

You will implement the current pilot version of the MICTAP experimental paradigm (which takes under an hour) in a format suitable for widespread sharing without proprietary software and any research EEG system, which will take some technical skill to deliver. The PsychoPy format is intended. You will recruit groups of volunteers with tinnitus, and rigorously age/sex/hearing matched controls, and test the MICTAP paradigm on them, analysing the data, and making any refinements to the paradigm necessary. You will develop transparent and automated analysis pipelines that will be shared with the research community after the project’s completion.

After this initial phase, you will work with a research group in Zurich, led by Prof. Patrick Neff, to help them replicate the same findings in an independent cohort of volunteers.

The project is ambitious and time-critical. You must have established technical skills and expertise in the use of EEG and evoked potential methodology, eye tracking, the conduct and analysis of auditory cognitive/perceptual neuroscience studies, skills in clinical audiological assessment, and ideally significant experiences working with tinnitus populations. You must also have strong organisational skills, independence, and be strong in interpersonal communication and teamworking.

We follow the Researcher Development Concordat: Researcher Development | Our Research | Newcastle University. We enable all colleagues to fulfil their research potential regardless of career stage. This commitment secures our thriving research culture and vibrant research environment. Our offer to each individual and their researcher development includes mentoring, annual research planning discussions, pooled research funding to support career development and research activities, peer review support for the development of research and innovation funding applications’.

If you have any questions, please reach out to Dr William Sedley at william.sedley@newcastle.ac.uk

To apply, please submit a CV and covering letter indicating how you meet the key requirements for the post.

Shortlisted applicants will be interviewed over online video conferencing.

Find out more about the Faculty of Medical Sciences here

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