Research Assistant/Associate in Computational Neuroscience (Fixed Term)
One or more positions exists, for a Postdoctoral Researcher in the Department of Engineering, to work on a collaborative project between the labs of Guillaume Hennequin and Máté Lengyel (https://cbl.eng.cam.ac.uk) and Daniel Wolpert at Columbia University (https://wolpertlab.neuroscience.columbia.edu).
The post holder will be located in Central Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, UK.
The projects apply control theoretic ideas to neuroscience, and study context-dependent (continual) learning.
The key responsibilities and duties are:
- Undertaking research, formulating research questions and pursuing them using mathematical modelling.
- Analysing and interpreting the results of own research and generate original ideas based on outcomes.
- Continuing to update knowledge and develop skills.
- Assisting with teaching-related activities.
- Liaising with colleagues and students on routine matters.
- Making internal and external contacts to develop knowledge and understanding and forming relationships for future collaboration.
- Planning own day-to-day research activity.
- Contributing to the planning of research projects.
The successful candidate(s) will have:
- A strong quantitative background.
- Demonstrable interest in theoretical and systems neuroscience.
- Obtained (or be close to the completion of) a PhD or equivalent qualification in systems neuroscience, computational neuroscience, computational cognitive science, physics, mathematics, computer science, machine learning, engineering or a related field.
Preference will be given to candidates with:
- Previous experience in computational neuroscience, especially with model-based analyses of neural and/or behavioural data.
- Hands-on experience with how experimental data is collected in humans performing sensorimotor control tasks on rats performing perceptual decision-making tasks.
- Demonstrable interest in Bayesian or optimal control-based theories of neural computation.
- Sufficient programming skills to run numerical simulations and use large-scale optimization packages.
Interviews will be conducted via Zoom.
Appointment at Research Associate level is dependent on having a PhD (or equivalent experience). Those who have submitted but not yet received their PhD will be appointed at Research Assistant level, which will be amended to Research Associate once the PhD has been awarded.
Salary Ranges: *Research Assistant: £32,296 - £34,866 *Research Associate: £36,924 - £45,163
Fixed-term: The funds for this post are available until 31 May 2026 in the first instance.
Click the 'Apply' button below to register an account with our recruitment system (if you have not already) and apply online.
Please ensure that you upload your Curriculum Vitae (CV) including a publication list and a covering letter in the Upload section of the online application. If you upload any additional documents which have not been requested, we will not be able to consider these as part of your application. Please submit your application by midnight on the closing date.
If you have any questions about this vacancy Professor Lengyel may be contacted, for queries of a technical nature related to the role or the application process, please contact: the CBL group administrator by sending an email to cbl-enquiries@eng.cam.ac.uk.
Please quote reference NM44180 on your application and in any correspondence about this vacancy.
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