Scholarships World

Research Assistant position in Decision Neuroscience
O’Doherty lab, Trinity College Institute of Neuroscience, Trinity College Dublin, Ireland.

A post-graduate research assistant position is available in the laboratory of Prof. John P. O’Doherty at Trinity College Dublin. The position, part of a research programme funded by Science Foundation Ireland, will involve contributing to the organization of a research programme concerned with uncovering the neural mechanisms underlying choice, reward-learning and decision making in the brain. Duties include helping with subject recruitment, running experiments (brain imaging and behavioural studies) and contributing to data analysis.

An undergraduate degree in psychology, neuroscience, computer science, mathematics or a related discipline would be a pre-requisite, and evidence of strong quantitative skills in computer programming, mathematics and statistics would be essential. Some prior exposure to cognitive, behavioural or computational neuroscience would be an advantage. The project will be carried out using state of the art MRI facilities at the Trinity College Institute of Neuroscience, Trinity College Dublin, Ireland. The position is available for a period of 2 to 3 years.

Start date: As soon as is practicable.

Interested candidates should send a CV, brief statement of research interests, and contact details for two referees to John O’Doherty: odoherjp at tcd.ie. Informal enquiries are also welcome.

Applications will be accepted until the position is filled.
Trinity College Dublin is an equal opportunity employer.

Postdoctoral and PhD Student Positions in Neurochoice, the University of Zurich, Switzerland

SystemsX.ch, the Swiss initiative in systems biology, has initiated a new project entitled “Neurochoice: Neural Correlates of Collective Decision Making”, with principal investigators located at the Universi-ties of Zurich, Bern, and Geneva, and the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne. One part of the project, focusing on fMRI studies of the role of risk during human decision-making, will be completed under the direction of Prof. Ernst Fehr and Kerstin Preuschoff at the Institute for Empirical Research in Economics in Zurich. We are presently seeking applicants for the positions of post-doctoral researcher and PhD student.

These positions require a background in neurobiology, economics, psychology or computer science, and an interest in neuroeconomics and/or mathematical modeling of behavioral and neuroimaging data. Previous experience in neuroimaging techniques and fMRI data analysis is a major advantage. Candidates should have an interest in designing and conducting experiments in neuroeconomics and social neuroscience. Finally, candidates should have programming experience, e.g. in MATLAB or similar languages.

Employment can begin immediately but is negotiable. The Institute for Empirical Research in Economics offers an exciting and interdisciplinary work environment and excellent research facilities, including a 3T MRI scanner dedicated to research and a large and well-equipped laboratory for conducting behavioral experiments.

Application may be made electronically or by post. Please submit your CV, copies of all relevant diplomas, a statement of interest, and the names and email addresses of two referees to the following address by December 14, 2008: Sally Gschwend, Institute for Empirical Research in Economics, Blümlisalpstr. 10, 8006 Zürich , Switzerland, s.gschwend[ at ]iew.uzh.ch

The University of Zurich is an equal opportunity employer, and as such welcomes applications from women and minority candidates.

Postgraduate Studentship
Modelling Coronary Blood Flow Dynamics
Department of Mathematics

STUDENTSHIP covers fees (University and College) and maintenance.

Applications are invited for a postgraduate studentship, funded by the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology Global Research Partnership [KAUST GRP], to work on “Modelling Coronary Blood Flow Dynamics” under the supervision of Dr Nic Smith and Prof. Jon Chapman. This DPhil studentship will start on 1 October 2009, is available to all nationalities, covers maintenance and full overseas fees and will be based in the newly established Oxford Centre for Collaborative Applied Mathematics (OCCAM).

OCCAM has been established with substantial funding from the KAUST GRP. The Centre, which is part of the Mathematical Institute, will be allied to a global network of mathematicians. Aiming to meet the ever-increasing global demand for quantitative understanding of complex scientific phenomena, OCCAM has been built on the strength of four pre-existing groups of applied and computational mathematicians working in Oxford: the Oxford Centre for Industrial and Applied Mathematics, the Centre for Mathematical Biology, the Numerical Analysis Group and the Computational Biology Group. It has a symbiotic relationship with other scientific communities which have a need for problem-solving mathematics both within the University of Oxford and beyond. Over the first five years the centre will employ 40 new staff and students.

Coronary heart disease remains the leading cause of death in the western world. Recent advances in high performance computing and medical imaging have lead to the development of detailed models of vascular structure and blood flow respectively. These techniques now enable the simulation of perfusion through three dimensional representations of vascular geometry. However, there are two difficulties with these classes of models: (1) the computational simulation of flow through complete vascular beds from feeding vessels to capillaries is computationally prohibitive and (2) it is impossible to measure flow in all vessels and thus fully validate such models for clinical application. Recent developments in Perfusion MRI and Nuclear Medicine by our clinical collaborators at St Thomas’ Hospital now provide the ability to accurately measure blood volume in cardiac tissue. This presents an opportunity to develop a novel modelling framework to explicitly address these limitations by linking vascular structure to whole organ perfusion through the application of a multi-scale porous-flow model.

The goal of this project will be to develop models with the potential to directly interpret clinically acquired perfusion images and guide revascularisation strategies in the heart. The methodology will be based on homogenizing discrete vascular structures by applying previously developed asymptotic approach. A key mathematical challenge will be adapting the multiple scales technique to the hierarchical branching structure of blood vessels. This may lead to a continuum sub-model for each generation of vessel (e.g. capillaries, arterioles, small/large coronary vessels) which are coupled to produce a full multi-domain and multi-scale representational of coronary perfusion. These predicted perfusion fields will be mathematically validated via comparison with the perfusion fields determined using the discrete model whose structure was used to define the porosity tensor. Finally the model will be applied to human data collected at St Thomas’ to assess the clinical potential of the approach.

The collaborators on this project are Professor Jos Spaan (Department Medical Physics, University of Amsterdam) and Professor Eike Nagel (Guy’s and St Thomas’ Hospital).

The studentship is attached to St Anne’s College.
For information about OCCAM please visit the official website: www.maths.ox.ac.uk/occam

Applications can be made online at www.ox.ac.uk/admissions/postgraduate_courses/apply/how_to_apply.html and should include a CV, covering letter, three references and a transcript of your undergraduate degree. Alternatively, applications can be sent to Margret Sloper at the Mathematical Institute using the University’s application form for graduate study, which can be downloaded from the above link. Applications must arrive by end of day Friday 27th February 2009. The reference for this application is BK/08/058; make sure that you state this in the covering letter. Applicants must arrange for their referees to send references directly to the Graduate Studies Assistant (fax or e-mail is sufficient) by the closing date. For further details about the projects, including the application process, please see the Further Particulars link below, or contact Graduate Studies, email graduate.studies [ -a-t- ] maths.ox.ac.uk. Oxford University is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

Full Time Research Degree Studentship
Growing up sustainably? Young people and ‘sustainable’ urban development

£12 500 per annum (including £1000 research expenses budget) and tuition fees for 3 years

The University of Northampton invites applications for a 3-year PhD studentship, to support a research project investigating impacts of ‘sustainable’ urban development upon children and young people’s everyday geographies and environmental behaviours.

The successful applicant will be based in the Centre for Children and Youth, a nationally flagged centre of excellence based at The University of Northampton. Supervisory support and research training shall be provided by staff from the Centre for Children and Youth and from the University’s Field of Environmental Science (based in the School of Applied Sciences).

The Doctoral research project will entail a programme of quantitative and qualitative research regarding new urban developments in the English East Midlands. It is envisaged that this research will entail:
short, semi-structured interviews with young people;
in-depth, qualitative projects with young people (perhaps involving discussion groups, diary-work or visual methods);
consultation with key decision-makers and planners involved in local processes of ‘sustainable’ urban development.

It is anticipated that the research project will lead to new empirical/theoretical understandings relating to one or more of the following areas: sustainability; environmental behaviours; nature-society relations; youth; urban development.

Applicants should possess a good Honours or Masters Degree in Geography or a cognate discipline. They should have demonstrable experience of qualitative and quantitative social research, and a commitment to researching with young people.

Deadline for applications: 09:00 GMT, 11th August 2008

It is intended that interviews will be held during the last two weeks of August 2008.
Start date: September/October 2008
For an application pack, please email: david.watson[a-t]northampton.ac.uk, or call 01604 892812.
Additional informal enquiries can be made to john.horton[a-t]northampton.ac.uk
Please quote reference: UN08SUSTAIN

The Cluster of Excellence “Asia and Europe in a Global Context: Shifting Asymmetries in Cultural Flows” at the University of Heidelberg is offering;

2 PhD scholarships within the Junior Research Group “Asymmetries in Cultural Information Flows: Europe and South Asia in the Global Information Network since the Nineteenth Century”.

The PhD students will be expected to develop a PhD project with the Junior Research Group’s research focus. The research group primarily examines how the emergence of a global telecommunication network in the late nineteenth century altered information flow patterns between South Asia and Europe and transformed action and event horizons on both sides of the communication process.

The PhD students will work within the framework of these subprojects:

“‘Telegram Style’: Shifts in Transcultural Knowledge and Colonial Decision-Taking” (British colonial history, South Asian history and/or communication studies)
“Shifting Horizons: The Local Impact of Telegraphy in Nineteenth-Century South Asia” (History, South Asian Literature/). Mastery of a local language will be necessary.

General information on the Cluster of Excellence can be found at http://www.vjc.uni-hd.de. It is highly recommended to contact the JRG leader, Roland Wenzlhuemer, to obtain further details about the research design of the Junior Research Group and the subprojects.

Applicants will have an excellent academic standing and be interested in completing a doctoral degree at the University of Heidelberg. Applicants are required to hold a Masters degree or equivalent by 1 October 2008. The positions available are open to both EU and overseas students.

The scholarships will start on 1 October 2008 or as soon as possible thereafter. They are awarded for two years with a possible renewal for another year after successful evaluation. The scholarship includes a stipend of EUR 1.000 per month and access to travel funds. Applications from women, ethnic minorities and individuals with disabilities are encouraged. For further information please contact roland.wenzlhuemer[a-t]staff.hu-berlin.de.

Please send a CV, copies of university degrees, two letters of recommendation and a short PhD project outline of no more than 1.000 words to the address below. Electronic applications are welcome. Interviews will begin on 18 August 2008 and continue until the positions are filled.

Contact details for enquiries and submission of application:
Dr. Roland Wenzlhuemer
Centre for British Studies
Mohrenstrasse 60
10117 Berlin, Germany
Tel. +49 (0) 30 2093 5330
Email: roland.wenzlhuemer[a-t]staff.hu-berlin.de