Research Fellow in Computational Neuroscience

Job title:

Research Fellow in Computational Neuroscience

Company:

University College London

Job description

About usApplications are invited for a postdoctoral research fellow to join the Integrated Clinical-Computational Affective Research Unit (ICARUS), led by Dr Liam Mason (Associate Professor of Clinical Psychology and MRC Clinician Scientist Fellow) and Neuroscience and Mental Health Group (co-led by Prof Jon Roiser, Professor of Neuroscience and Mental Health). The post is based in the Research Department of Clinical, Educational and Health Psychology. This is a large and vibrant community where research and teaching activity aim to improve wellbeing through the application of psychological science to practice. Psychology at UCL was ranked 1st in the UK and 4th in the world in the 2023 Shanghai Ranking of World Universities. This reflects excellent links between teaching, professional training and research, the wide range of research expertise represented and the excellent opportunities for collaboration and interdisciplinary research provided at UCL. This is an excellent environment for an early-career researcher, where opportunities for collaboration and learning abound.About the roleThe role involves undertaking high quality research as part of an exciting new internationally funded research project investigating the neural and computational basis of anergia and effort hypersensitivity in depression. You will be responsible for: overseeing behavioural, ambulatory smartphone-based and neuroimaging assessments with clinical participants with current depression; conducting computational modelling and multi-level modelling analyses; working closely with the head of the lab and the other team members, and inputting on supervision and line management of current and future research assistants, PhD students and masters students.The role offers an opportunity to conduct impactful, collaborative and rigorous research that can make a real difference to the lives of people with depression. The post holder will receive support and supervision from the study team, and input from other academics collaborating on this work. This is an excellent position for an early-career researcher as it provides: (1) opportunities for publication; (2) the chance to develop knowledge and skills in neuroimaging analysis; and (3) experience of working with digital mental health and smartphone-based assessment tools. There will also be opportunities in the wider community of researchers at UCL to develop new networks.

• The starting salary for this role is fixed at Grade 7, Spine Point 31 (£44,480, inclusive of London Allowance).
• This role is an open-ended contract with a funding duration of 12 months in the first instance, with the possibility of being extended up to an additional 3 years.
• An acceptable Enhanced DBS check is required to carry out parts of this role.
• Appointment at Grade 7 is dependent upon having been awarded a PhD; if this is not the case, initial appointment will be at Grade 6B (salary £38,607 – £41,255 per annum) with payment at Grade 7 being backdated to the date of final submission of the PhD Thesis.
• This role is eligible for hybrid working with a minimum of 80% on site.

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.This appointment is subject to UCL Terms and Conditions of Service for Research and Professional Services Staff. Please visit https://www.ucl.ac.uk/human-resources/conditions-service-research-teaching-and-professional-services-staff for more information.About youWe are looking for someone with excellent quantitative research skills, particularly in computational modelling, in the intersection of affective and reward processes. with recruiting clinical participants into longitudinal studies and in using functional MRI and scripting-based languages (e.g. Matlab, R, Python). You will need to hold a PhD in Neuroscience, Economics, Psychology, Decision Sciences or related discipline, ideally researching reward processes. The role involves co-ordinating a large study and liaising and assessing clinical participants, so the ideal candidate would have communication and organisational skills.Further DetailsThe advert will close on 04 August 2025 at 23:59 GMT. Interview dates are scheduled for August 2025. A Job Description and Person Specification can be accessed at the bottom of the page. If you have any queries about the role, please contact Liam Mason at l.mason@ucl.ac.uk. If you need reasonable adjustments or a more accessible format to apply for this job online or have any queries about the application process, please contact PALS HR at pals.hr@ucl.ac.uk.The UCL Ways of Working supports colleagues to be successful and happy at UCL through sharing expectations around how we work – please visit to find out more.What we offerAs well as the exciting opportunities this role presents, we also offer some great benefits some of which are below:

• 41 Days holiday (27 days annual leave 8 bank holiday and 6 closure days)
• Additional 5 days’ annual leave purchase scheme
• Defined benefit career average revalued earnings pension scheme (CARE)
• Cycle to work scheme and season ticket loan
• Immigration loan
• Relocation scheme for certain posts
• On-Site nursery
• On-site gym
• Enhanced maternity, paternity and adoption pay
• Employee assistance programme: Staff Support Service
• Discounted medical insurance

Visit to find out more.Our commitment to Equality, Diversity and InclusionAs 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.These include people from Black, Asian and ethnic minority backgrounds; disabled people; and for our Grade 9 and 10 roles, women.Athena Swan Status Statement

• Our department holds an Athena SWAN Silver award, in recognition of our commitment and demonstrable impact in advancing gender equality.

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

Expected salary

£38607 – 41255 per year

Location

North West London

Job date

Wed, 18 Jun 2025 07:34:30 GMT

To help us track our recruitment effort, please indicate in your email/cover letter where (vacanciesin.eu) you saw this job posting.