FYI ------------------------- , 1. A 3-year studentship is available to work under the supervision of Dr Rasmus Petersen (Faculty of Life Sciences) and Prof Steve Furber (School of Computer Science) on ' Information processing in the thalamo-cortical microcircuit: a cross-disciplinary experimental and computational approach'. The 3-year studentship will provide full support for tuition fees and an annual minimum tax-free stipend of £13, 590. The project is available to UK/EU nationals only due to the nature of the funding and will commence October 2012. The aim of this project is to investigate how whisker-related cortical microcircuits process sensory information. This project offers a cross-disciplinary approach that combines experimental neuroscience with computational modelling and simulation. The successful applicant will have the opportunity to work with both multi-microelectrode electrophysiology in the Petersen lab and state-of-the-art SpiNNaker modelling technology in the Furber lab. Further details can be found at: http://www.neuroscience.manchester.ac.uk/Postgraduate/opportunities/thalamo… Applicants should hold a minimum upper-second honours degree (or equivalent) in a relevant subject such as computer science, physics, mathematics, psychology and neuroscience. A Masters degree in a similar area is desirable as would be previous experience of computer programming. Any enquiries relating to the project and/or suitability should be directed to Dr Rasmus Petersen at r.petersen(a)manchester.ac.uk. Applications are invited up to and including Wednesday 7 December 2011. 2. A fully funded PhD studentship is available to work under the supervision of Dr Rasmus Petersen and Dr Marcelo Montemurro (Faculty of Life Sciences) on 'Information Processing in Thalamo-Cortical Neuronal Networks: An Electrophysiological and Computational Approach'. The studentship is available to UK and other EU nationals (due to funding criteria, EU nationals MUST have resided in the UK for three years prior to commencing the studentship) and provides funding for tuition fees and stipend, subject to eligibility. Thalamo-cortical circuitry is the essential organ for all higher brain function. The aim of this project is to determine how multiple neurons in the thalamo-cortical whisker system cooperate to process complex sensory information, typical of the natural environment. The project is will take a cross-disciplinary systems approach involving the combination of electrophysiological experiments and computational modelling. You will have the opportunity both to work with state-of-the-art multi-channel electrophysiology to record the activity of neurons and to learn cutting edge computational modelling techniques to interpret the data. For further details, see: http://www.dtpstudentships.ls.manchester.ac.uk/projects/worldclassbioscienc… Applicants should hold a minimum upper-second honours degree (or equivalent) in a relevant subject such as computer science, physics, mathematics, psychology and neuroscience. A Masters degree in a similar area is desirable as would be previous experience of computer programming. Any enquiries relating to the project and/or suitability should be directed to Dr Rasmus Petersen at r.petersen(a)manchester.ac.uk. Applications are invited up to and including Friday 25 November 2011.