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(a)ucl.ac.uk). Informal enquiries to Professor Nikolaus
Weiskopf (email: n.weiskopf(a)ucl.ac.uk).
Further information on the lab:
http://www.fil.ion.ucl.ac.uk/Research/physics.html
Closing date: 26 March 2015