samedi 31 décembre 2016

Graduate Position in Neurobiology

Are you interested how physiological state affects how the brain processes information? We are recruiting students to join our lab at West Virginia University, for fall 2017. We use anatomy, physiology and behavior in Drosophila to study how the brain adjusts its activity to meet the needs of the individual.

You can check out our work at
www.dacksneuroscience.com and //twitter.com/dacks_lab

If you are interested, contact Dr. Andrew Dacks (andrew.dacks@mail.wvu.edu) and please
include a resume or CV. Information about the Biology graduate program is at
http://biology.wvu.edu/students/graduate-students.

mardi 27 décembre 2016

3 Funded PhD positions



Cross cultural and cross species investigation into joint attention and infant development

I have three related PhD positions to work on a large-scale 5 year project starting in October 2017.

Background
Humans frequently coordinate and share attention about objects and events. Our basic ability to engage in joint attention (JA) is thought to underpin our uniquely complex cooperation skills and language, raising the possibility that the emergence of JA was a ‘small change that made a big difference’ in the evolution of human cognition. Despite the theoretical importance of JA for understanding human social cognition, we know surprisingly little about JA across species and cultures. 

Aims of the project
This project will collect longitudinal data on mother-infant dyads over the first 2 years of the infant’s life, across four different study groups: Ugandan and British humans; wild chimpanzees and wild crested macaque monkeys. The project will develop novel tasks and measures that allow the same set of data to be collected in directly comparable ways across species to test of whether engagement in JA is a uniquely human trait. Data from the two human groups will test how different elements of JA are related and whether JA develops in a uniform way across cultures. Longitudinal data on mother-infant interactions and the infant’s environment will be related to performance on JA tasks across all four groups, enabling us to identify conditions that are likely necessary for JA to emerge. Performance on JA and cooperative tasks will be compared to assess whether engagement in JA predicts the later emergence of cooperation.

PhD positions
Three PhD students will work on this project alongside two post-doctoral researchers and focus on the chimpanzee and Ugandan and British human study groups. Each PhD student will work a ‘primary’ group for 2 years and a ‘secondary’ group for one year (Positions (i) Chimpanzees and British humans; (ii) British and Ugandan humans, and (iii) Ugandan humans and chimpanzees). As this is a longitudinal study each PhD student can expect to spend substantial lengths of time in Uganda living and working in challenging and basic field conditions:  for (i) 20 months over 2 years; (ii) 10 months over 1 year and (iii) 30 months over 3 years).

Requirements
Essential:
All positions: Good BSc degree in Psychology or Biology with excellent project mark (completed or expected by October 2017); Experience of fieldwork in remote third world conditions; Experience of interacting with young human infants (0-2 years old), excellent communication skills, evidence of effective working in a team
Positions (i) and (iii): experience of conducting behavioural research with animals
Positions (i) and (ii): driving license to enable home visits to participants

Desirable:
All positions: Relevant Masters degree; experience of conducting child/infant research
Position (ii): Experience of cross cultural research
Positions (ii) and (iii): Proficiency in learning new languages or familiarity with Swahili
Positions (i) and (iii): Experience of working with chimpanzees

I expect PhD students to suggest additional, complementary research questions that could be answered with data collected on their study groups, alongside the core project work (e.g. infant development or behavior of the mother).

Funding
I expect to be able to offer full funding (home/EU fees and stipend of ~£14,000/year) for four years: Due to the longitudinal nature of this study requiring a prolonged period of data collection, full funding will be available for 3 years +writing-up year (4 years total), but the PhD must still be completed within the 4-year period. Fieldwork travel costs will be paid for. Further details will be confirmed in March 2017.

Applications
Interested candidates should apply by emailing me (Katie.slocombe@york.ac.uk) the following documents:
1.      CV
2.      Cover letter indicating how you meet the essential and desirable requirements for the position you are most interested in.
3.      Research proposal consisting of:
a.       An outline of how could we test joint attention in a comparable way in your study groups (Maximum 300 words)
b.      An outline of complementary research questions that could be answered with data collected on your study groups, alongside the core project work. Please state the research question(s), say why its important and novel (in comparison to what has already been discovered in that area) and how you might tackle it (e.g. outline methodology). Maximum 500 words.

The deadline for applications is 1200 (midday) Wednesday 25th January 2017. I will invite the top candidates for interview (in person, or skype)in early February 2017, with a view to offering positions by mid-February 2017.

Katie Slocombe
Dept of Psychology
University of York

RESEARCHER JOB DETAILS



School of Agriculture, Food & Rural Development Research Associate  Grade F                                     Job Ref: D1541R

Research Associate

Main Duties and Responsibilities
1.     To input to the activities associated with a BBRC/Innovate UK grant and provide data that enables the automated detection of the consequences of health and welfare challenges.


Main Duties and Responsibilities

1.     Co-ordinate own work with that of others, deal with problems which may affect the achievement of research objectives and contribute to the planning of the project.
2.     Liaise with participating commercial farms for the collection of relevant data and validation of the automated system.
3.     Use initiative and creativity to analyse and interpret research data and draw conclusions on the outcomes.
4.     Present information on research progress and outcomes to Principal Investigator and relevant groups overseeing the research project
5.     Maintain relationships with project partners and sponsors and assist with flow of information between project partners and stakeholders
6.     Work to deadlines and manage, with support, competing priorities

Research Role Profile

As part of our commitment to career development for research staff, the University has developed 3 levels of research role profiles. These profiles set out firstly the generic competences and responsibilities expected of role holders at each level and secondly the general qualifications and experiences needed for entry at a particular level. It is unlikely that any single member of staff will be applying all these competences at any one time but he or she would be expected to display most of them over a period of time.

Please follow this link to our Research Role Profiles

Person Specification


Knowledge (inc. qualifications)
Essential
·       A PhD  in a relevant area of science (animal behavior, veterinary medicine/science, or animal health)

·       Clear understanding of pig behavior, health and welfare problems and the relevant research issues
·       Clear understanding how to conduct research of high quality and report its outcomes
·       Clear understanding of research in a commercial context, meeting end user needs
·       Clear understanding of the requirements of industry led collaborative projects


Desirable
·       Understanding of novel health detection technologies
·       Knowledge of behavioural and physiological techniques applicable to this research area
·       Understanding of practical pig farming



Skills (professional, technical, managerial, practical)

Essential
·       Good level of analytical skills and the ability to communicate complex information clearly, both orally and through the written word
·       The ability to publish own research in good quality scientific journals
·       The ability to work collaboratively with colleagues, including the farm support team
·       The ability to use personal initiative and creativity to solve research problems


Desirable
·       Prior experience of working in international and collaborative projects with the industry
·       Prior experience of behavioural and physiological techniques applicable to pig health and welfare assessment
·       Prior experience of working with pigs



Experience and Achievements (paid or unpaid)

Essential
·       Peer reviewed publications
·       Postgraduate experience in a relevant area of research
·       Laboratory experience with diagnostic techniques.
·       Home Office Personal License


Desirable
·       Postdoctoral experience, especially in the area of pig health and behaviour
·       Experience of commercial pig farming

For full details about this vacancy and essential information on how to apply, visit our Job Vacancies web page at http://www.ncl.ac.uk/vacancies/