------------------------------------------------------------------- UCL INSTITUTE OF NEUROLOGY Wellcome Trust Centre for Neuroimaging London, UK ERC-Funded Postdoc Position: Research Associate in Biophysical Modeling -------------------------------------------------------------------- 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 successful candidate 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 candidates 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 a unified model describing the relationship between cortical tissue characteristics and different MR measures of relaxation (such as R1, R2*), magnetization transfer saturation, susceptibility and diffusion. The modeling will aim at estimating features such as the layer-specific myelin concentration from the MRI data. The successful candidate will further enhance the model to achieve super-resolution imaging. Applicants must have a PhD in physics, mathematics, computer science, biomedical engineering or a comparable subject. If not already held, the PhD must be obtained by the agreed start-date. A strong background in high-level programming languages (e.g. C/C++, Matlab) and experience in one of the following areas is essential: biophysical modeling, MR physics contrast mechanisms, theoretical physics. Applicants must also be specialists in at least one of the following areas: Bayesian modeling, computational modeling, non-linear inverse problems, MR physics, advanced diffusion models beyond DTI. The post is available from Oct. 2014 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 <http://www.ucl.ac.uk/hr/jobs> where you can download a job description and person specification using Reference 1434851 If you have any queries regarding the application process, please contact Samantha Robinson, Personnel Officer, UCL Institute of Neurology, 23 Queen Square, London, WC1N 3BG (email: IoN.HRAdmin(a)ucl.ac.uk <mailto:IoN.HRAdmin@ucl.ac.uk> ). Informal enquiries to Professor Nikolaus Weiskopf (email: n.weiskopf(a)ucl.ac.uk <mailto:n.weiskopf@ucl.ac.uk> ). Further information on the lab: http://www.fil.ion.ucl.ac.uk/Research/physics.html Closing date: 12 October 2014 UCL Taking Action for Equality ________________________________ Dr. Martina Callaghan Deputy Head of Physics & Senior Research Associate Wellcome Trust Centre for Neuroimaging Institute of Neurology University College London 12 Queen Square London WC1N 3BG UK Tel: +44-20-344-84383 (internal ext 84383) Email: m.callaghan(a)ucl.ac.uk