PhD in Magnetoencephalography (MEG) Imaging in Dementia with Lewy Bodies UK

The Department of Psychiatry, University of Cambridge, is pleased to announce one PhD Studentship supported by The Lewy Body Society, to start in October 2015. Applications are welcome. The PhD project will focus on understanding the underlying neurobiological processes in Dementia with Lewy Bodies using Magnetetoencephalography (MEG) and MRI, and will be carried out under the supervision of Dr Li Su and Professor John O’Brien.

The successful student will join our team at Department of Psychiatry, School of Clinical Medicine, located at the Cambridge Biomedical Campus on the Addenbrooke’s site. The Department has an outstanding international reputation and expertise in undertaking clinical and neuroimaging studies of neurological and psychiatric diseases, including dementia, and collaborates closely with the University departments of radiology, clinical neuroscience and Wolfson Brain Imaging Centre.

The University of Cambridge is consistently ranked among the top universities in the world. The MEG scanner is hosted at the highly renowned MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit (MRC CBSU), one of the only 9 MEG research facilities in the UK. The Department welcomes applications with a good degree in experimental psychology, medicine, neuroscience, statistics, physics, computer science or a related scientific discipline. The successful applicant will have some experience of, or good understanding of the issues involved in, conducting neuroimaging research on clinical populations.

Excellent communication and organisational skills are essential. Due to the nature of the project, strong competence in quantitative methods and analytical skills is also essential. Programming skills in Matlab or similar languages would be desirable.

Applicants for the Studentship should have, or expect to gain a 1st class or 2.1 class Honours degree in an appropriate subject, and may also have completed further research training or a Masters degree. The stipend will be paid at Research Councils UK rates for the 3 year duration of the award with no fourth year. Only the fees for home/EU students will be met in full. In addition, the Studentship includes funding for MEG scanning costs of the research, and costs for travel to scientific conferences.

Enquiries regarding the administration of the application process, or potential supervisors, should be directed via email to the Education Administrator, Adisa Broadhurst: email ap686@medschl.cam.ac.uk tel: + 44 (0) 1223 746 105.

FURTHER INFORMATION Applicants should note the following before submitting their application: 1) Applicants should contact Dr Li Su (email ls514@cam.ac.uk) for further information about the studies programme and supervisory possibilities. General information about these is available via the Department of Psychiatry’s website atwww.psychiatry.cam.ac.uk/ or via the Cambridge Neuroscience website atwww.neuroscience.cam.ac.uk/ or via the clinical school website atwww.medschl.cam.ac.uk/research/Themes/neuro.html. 2) Full awards (fees plus maintenance stipend) are open to UK and EU nationals. 3) For full minimum entry requirements, including fluency in English language please refer to the Departmental website.

To apply, please email the following documents to the Education Administrator (Adisa Broadhurst) ap686@medschl.cam.ac.uk 1) an academic CV (maximum 2 pages) 2) two official academic references (please ask your referees to send these directly to the Education Administrator) 3) a research proposal within the remit of MEG imaging in DLB (maximum 1000 words, excluding bibliography or figures) 4) a cover letter indicating: a brief summary of your research interests and any completed research conducted; a clear summary of your analytical skills and levels; a clear statement of your eligibility for this funding award (see below).

Applications must be received by midnight on June 5th 2015. Interviews are likely to be held on 17th June 2015.

Please quote reference RN06014 on your application and in any correspondence about this vacancy.

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