On behalf of Dr Nikolaus Weiskopf, I am distributing the following job ad:

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UCL INSTITUTE OF NEUROLOGY Wellcome Trust Centre for Neuroimaging

ERC-Funded Postdoc Position: Research Associate in Data Analysis and Image Processing

Applications are invited for a Research Associate post in the group of Professor Nikolaus Weiskopf at the Wellcome Trust Centre for Neuroimaging at UCL. The appointee will be part of a team developing and applying methods for in-vivo histology of human brain microstructure using MRI, which is crucial for understanding the human brain in both health and disease. The project is funded by the ERC Consolidator Grant “Non-Invasive In-Vivo Histology in Health and Disease Using Magnetic Resonance Imaging“.

To characterize the microstructure of the cortex, the team will develop a novel quantitative multi-contrast imaging approach at ultra-high resolution that will be complemented by a unified model of MRI contrasts, cortical anatomy and tissue microstructure. Super-resolution diffusion and susceptibility imaging will further enhance the effective image resolution. High-resolution functional MRI (fMRI) will complement the anatomical imaging methods and will be used for cross-validation.

The appointee will be embedded in a unique world-leading research environment and have access to the latest cutting-edge MRI hardware including: 3T, 7T and 9.4T for human MRI; small bore 9.4T for ex-vivo scanning; ultra-fast optical prospective motion correction and tailored radio-frequency (RF) surface coils for maximal SNR.

The post holder will develop an image processing framework that fully integrates the different imaging modalities (e.g., relaxometry data, DWI and fMRI) and represents them in a 3D cortical model. This will allow for multi-modal laminar mapping and multi-contrast data integration. Particular challenges will be accurate registration of data with different resolution; correction of physiological noise, distortion and motion; precise delineation of the cortical sheet based on multi-spectral segmentation. S/he will also work on integrating the biophysical signal models developed by the project team in the image processing framework, resulting in a unified description of the geometry and tissue microstructure of the cortex.

Applicants must have, or be close to obtaining, a PhD in physics, computer science, biomedical engineering, mathematics, or a comparable subject. If not already held, the PhD must be obtained by the agreed start-date. A strong background in image processing and/or data analysis plus high-level programming languages (e.g. C/C++, Matlab) is essential. Applicants must be specialists in at least one of the following areas: computational neuroanatomy; SPM, FSL or FreeSurfer; cortex-based analysis; distortion correction; super-resolution imaging.

The post is available from March 2015 and is funded by the European Research Council (ERC) until March 2016 in the first instance. Starting salary in the range of £33,353 - £40,313 pa on UCL Grade 7 including London Allowance, superannuable.

You should apply through UCL's online recruitment – www.ucl.ac.uk/hr/jobs where you can download a job description and person specification using reference no 1454184. If you have any queries regarding the application process, please contact Miss E Bertram, Personnel Manager, UCL Institute of Neurology (email: IoN.HRAdmin@ucl.ac.uk). Informal enquiries to Professor Nikolaus Weiskopf (email: n.weiskopf@ucl.ac.uk).

Further information on the lab: http://www.fil.ion.ucl.ac.uk/Research/physics.html

Closing date: 26 March 2015