Three Early Stage Researcher positions: Understanding and predicting developmental language abilities and disorders in multilingual Europe (PredictAble)

The Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) Innovative Training Networks (ITN) “PredictAble” invites applications for three positions of Early Stage Researchers (ESRs, PhD students), available from April 1st, 2015 (Berlin, Paris, Potsdam).

The first position (ESR12)

Development of experimental tools and materials valid for cross-linguistic research and for cross-linguistic diagnostic assessments in infants and children

University of Potsdam, Germany

Aim of this project it to compile diagnostic test instruments and experimental settings that can be used in different languages to evaluate linguistic competencies in infants and children. The successful candidate will collect, test, and adapt language assessments that can be used across the different languages in PredictAble (Catalan, Finish, French, German, Hungarian, Spanish) in cooperation with all partners. After completion of the language assessment tools, he/she will develop, test, and adapt experimental designs which can be used in very young children with the NIRS technology. The position is mainly located at the University of Potsdam, Germany (Neurocognition of Language Lab, http://www.uni-potsdam.de/nola) with exchanges to the partner institutions.

Applicants should hold an MSc/MA in language and cognition, psycholinguistics, linguistics, developmental psychology, cognitive psychology, or related fields. Demonstrated knowledge of and experience with experimental research is especially desired (esp. in the field of language acquisition), as well as knowledge and skills of imaging methods and statistical analysis methods.

The University of Potsdam hosts leading institutions in the field of language acquisition, linguistics, and (developmental) cognitive neuroscience (http://www.uni-potsdam.de/en/humfak/ebkwenglisch.html). The city of Potsdam is the historical residence of the German emperors, and its palaces are a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Potsdam is close to Berlin, one of the most culturally vibrant cities in the world and home to a lively start-up scene. Both cities have a high quality of life at modest living costs.

The second position (ESR13)

Development of a comprehensive analysis software for analysing NIRS data acquired in very young children

NIRx Medizintechnik GmbH, Berlin, Germany

The goal of this project is the development of novel algorithms for the processing, analysis, and spatial mapping of Near-Infrared Spectroscopy (NIRS, optical imaging) functional imaging data of brain activity in very young children. While over the last decade NIRS has become a viable research tool in many domains, because of its non-restricting nature it has gained special appeal for the functional brain mapping of children. The proposed work aims at addressing challenges that are particular to this subject group and which at present still hamper its wider use, such as the prevalence of fractured/segmented data, the high likelihood of motion artifacts, and the specific measuring geometry/anatomy. The newly developed tools are expected to be developed and applied within the framework of NIRx’ existing open access NIRS analysis software in a modular and expandable fashion. Besides features specific to small child studies we also anticipate the development of more general neuroimaging software functionality such as data integration with other modalities (e.g., EEG, behavioral), data import/export capabilities, and a strong focus on usability. The work is expected to adhere to best practices for code development and documentation. The programming is expected to be predominantly implemented in MATLAB™.

The candidate should hold a Master’s (or comparable) degree in the Computer Sciences, Electrical Engineering, (Bio-) Physics or similar disciplines with a strong background in data analysis and programming. Ideally, the candidate has prior experience in bio-imaging data processing/work flow and is familiar with the applicable industry standards (e.g., DICOM). Experience or interest in experimental work in bio-imaging and/or psychology, while not required, is regarded beneficial.

The location for this research will mainly be at NIRx Medizintechnik GmbH in Berlin, Germany, with expected close collaboration and visits to the partnering institutes, especially University of Potsdam, Germany and Université Paris Descartes, France. NIRx (www.nirx.net) is widely recognized as an industry leader and key innovator in the field of functional NIRS imaging and maintains close research collaborations with a number of international academic institutions. The German branch is located in the heart of Berlin, one of the most culturally vibrant cities in the world and home to a lively start-up scene.

The third position (ESR14)

Infant/child electrophysiology, implementation of signal processing tools

Paris Descartes University, Paris, France

The mission of this ESR is to develop experimental designs and data analysis tools for electrophysiological (EEG) measures, allowing the early identification of language delay at the single participant level. This is a particularly challenging task with young infants and children who typically provide noisy EEG data due to movement and other artifacts. The ESR will be expected to design and run experimental paradigms that can achieve high quality data in individual participants, and enable co-recording with eye-tracking and NIRS. The ESR will also be required to adapt existing analysis tools (e.g. EEGLab) and to develop new ones, e.g. using high-density EEG recordings (source localization, time-frequency analysis) to provide the most suitable methods for group as well as individual level data analysis, leading to the identification of early neural predictors of language delay. Interfacing the EEG analysis tools with NIRS, eye-tracking and other methods will also be necessary. The programming is expected to be predominantly implemented in MATLABâ„¢.

The ESR is expected to pursue a PhD degree within the program. Therefore, prerequisite for the candidate is the academic merit to be admitted into a PhD program. The candidate should hold a Master’s (or comparable) degree in Psychology, Neuroscience, Biomedical Engineering, (Bio)Physics or similar disciplines with a strong background in data analysis and programming. Experience with or interest in experimental work in bio-imaging and/or psychology, as well as in experimentation with infant/child populations, while not required, is regarded as beneficial. The working language is English.

The location for this research will mainly be at the Laboratoire Psychologie de la Perception, in Paris, France with expected close collaboration and visits to the partnering institutes, especially University of Jyväskyla, Finland. 

The working language for all positions is English. The ESRs are expected to pursue a PhD. The duration of the appointment is 36 months. There are no tuition fees. Salary (living allowance and mobility allowance) is given in accordance with Marie Curie European regulations.

Note that we can only hire early stage researchers (i.e., candidates who are in the first four years of his/her research career and not have a doctoral degree) and only candidates who not have resided in the country where the research training activities take place for more than 12 months in the 3 years immediately prior to the recruitment date (and not have carried out their main activity (work, studies, etc.) in that country).

Please send your application including: (1) a statement of research interests and motivation, (2) a full CV, (3) the names and e-mail addresses of at least two referees, (4) academic transcript, (5) list of publications/talks/posters, (6) a copy of the master's thesis, and (7) a statement of residency in the past 3 years as a single PDF by February, 15, 2015, to Christine Goerting: goerting [-at-] uni-potsdam.de. Please clearly indicate in the subject line for which of the three positions you apply (Marie Curie ESR12, ESR13, or ESR14).