University of Edinburgh
Job title:
Postdoctoral Research Assistant
Company:
University of Edinburgh
Job description
Job Category: AcademicJob Description:Grade UE07 £40,497- £ 48,149 per annum
College of Arts, Humanities and Social Science / School of Philosophy, Psychology and Language Sciences
Fixed Term: 33 months
Full Time: 35 hours per weekThe Psychology Department is seeking a PDRA with an interest in neuropsychology, clinical psychology or clinical health research to investigate decision making and mental capacity to consent to assisted dying in people with motor neuron disease. This post is full time, fixed term and is available from September 2025.The Opportunity:This opportunity is for a post-doctoral psychology researcher with a strong interest in clinical neuropsychological research, to join the cognition in MND research team, at the University of Edinburgh, and to be supervised by Professor Sharon Abrahams. The project “Assisted Dying in Motor Neuron Disease (MND): Implications of Neuropsychological Changes on Decision Making”, funded by the Motor Neuron Disease Association (MNDA).The post holder will be responsible for all key aspects of the project including set up and coordination of the research, undertaking neuropsychology interviews of people with MND, data collection and analysis and dissemination.Your skills and attributes for success:
- Hold a PhD in a relevant field or a Doctorate in Clinical Psychology
- Experience in all key aspects of clinical research including participant recruitment, data collection, analysis and write up.
- Experience of assessment/interviewing people with neurological or mental health problems or physical disability.
- Sensitivity in interviewing vulnerable people on a topic which some may find difficult to discuss.
- Current knowledge of the neuropsychology of neurodegenerative diseases
- Experience writing manuscripts for publication.
- Excellent time management, problem solving, organisation and communication skills.
This job requires:
- Protection of Vulnerable Groups Scheme (PVG) Registration
Application information:We ask you to include a current CV and cover letter with names of three referees who may be contacted at a later date (please note if you do not wish for anyone to be contacted until after an offer has been made). We invite candidates to use their cover letter to highlight professional and personal experiences that maybe relevant to role.As a School we acknowledge that people’s career paths are rarely linear and welcome applicants to expand on their professional and personal journeys where appropriate.More information on how to submit your application can be found .As a valued member of our team you can expect:
- A competitive salary of (£40,497- £ 48,149) Please note that due to external funding constraints salary offers shall be around initial spinal points of the noted University scale only. Annual increments through the scale will occur with each years continuous service.
- An exciting, positive, creative, challenging and rewarding place to work.
- To be part of a diverse and vibrant international community.
- Comprehensive Staff Benefits, such as a generous holiday entitlement, a defined benefits pension scheme, staff discounts and family-friendly initiatives. Check out the full list on our
and use our reward calculator to discover the total value of your pay and benefits.Championing equality, diversity and inclusion:The University of Edinburgh holds a Silver Athena SWAN award in recognition of our commitment to advance gender equality in higher education. We are members of the Race Equality Charter and we are also Stonewall Scotland Diversity Champions, actively promoting LGBT equality.Prior to any employment commencing with the University you will be required to evidence your right to work in the UK. Further information is available on our (opens new browser tab).The University is able to sponsor the employment of international workers in this role. If successful, an international applicant requiring sponsorship to work in the UK will need to satisfy the UK Home Office’s English Language requirements and apply for and secure a Skilled Worker Visa.Key dates to note:The closing date for applications is 16 June 2025.Unless stated otherwise the closing time for applications is 11:59pm GMT. If you are applying outside the UK the closing time on our adverts automatically adjusts to your browsers local time zone.Interviews are expected to be held in late June 2025.About Us: As a world-leading research-intensive University, we are here to address tomorrow’s greatest challenges. Between now and 2030 we will do that with a values-led approach to teaching, research and innovation, and through the strength of our relationships, both locally and globally.About the Team: Established in 1906, Psychology at Edinburgh was one of the first departments of psychology in the UK. We currently have around 45 academic staff, 30 research staff, and 70 PhD students. The department enjoys a world-wide reputation for its research, covering a range of topics from the psychology of language to individual differences. Psychology at Edinburgh ranks 2nd in the UK and 29th in the world (Times Higher Education – World University Rankings 2023 by subject: psychology).We are home to world-class research groups in human cognitive neuroscience, individual differences, psychology of language, social psychology and developmental psychology. Psychology also houses the Lothian Birth Cohorts, which is an international leader in the field, and the Alzheimer Scotland Dementia Research Centre. In the Times Higher Education rankings of the Research Excellence Framework 2021, our research is placed 1st in Scotland as part of a joint submission for psychology, psychiatry and neuroscience.We have excellent facilities for research and teaching, including a cognitive neuroscience facility with EEG/ERP, NIRS, TMS, eye and motion-tracking technologies, a developmental facility with infant eye-tracking capabilities, a psychometric test library, and general computing and experimental research facilities. Staff have access to the Wellcome Trust Clinical Research Facility and the Scottish Brain Imaging Research Centre, as well as a large volunteer panel to assist the recruitment of normal adult subject samples.Students from around the world study Psychology at Edinburgh, with 35% of our students coming from outside the UK from over 40 different countries. We have a well-established postgraduate programme, offering seven taught MSc programmes as well as PhD study. Undergraduate class sizes range from around 350 in first year (including a first year intake onto Psychology single and joint honours degree programmes of around 180 students), to more specialist third and fourth year classes of around 60-100 students. Small-group teaching is a feature throughout the curriculum, with students taught in groups of 6-15 by academic staff and postgraduate tutors. The Psychology student society, PsychSoc, runs a wide series of social and scientific events and also coordinates a PsychPALS scheme, in which first year students are mentored by older students.Psychology’s unique role as part of the School of Philosophy, Psychology, and Language Sciences has fostered rich teaching and research collaborations in cognitive science, moral psychology, and the psychology of language. We have links across the University with world-class researchers in related disciplines such as business studies, economics, sociology, neuroscience, neuroinformatics, and genetics. We have extensive national and international collaborative links in all of these disciplines. Find out more at our ( ) (opens in a new browser tab).
Expected salary
£40497 – 48149 per year
Location
Edinburgh – Midlothian
Job date
Tue, 20 May 2025 22:09:03 GMT
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