A PhD studentship is available in the Mason lab, Integrative Behaviour and Neuroscience Group at the University of Toronto Scarborough (UTSC), to join a research program on directional hearing and auditory processing in the parasitoid fly, Ormia ochracea. Possible focus of PhD research includes: neural correlates of perception in a simple nervous system; precedence effect; auditory selective attention; auditory stream segregation; noise masking; auditory priming; sound localisation; modelling/simulation of mechanical or neural systems. Research facilities are outlined here www.utsc.utoronto.ca/amason, and include laser vibrometry, respirometry, neurophysiology, imaging, and an invertebrate husbandry facility.
The ideal student would have an interest and/or experience in the following areas: acoustic measurement and calibration; single-cell electrophysiology; psychoacoustics; animal behaviour; insect biology. Programming experience, especially Matlab, and knowledge of electronics would be an asset.
Funding and program duration. The University of Toronto guarantees graduate student funding for up to 5 years of a PhD program. Graduate stipends are ~C$24,000 for domestic and ~C$34,000 for visa students. Funding details are available at the graduate department through with the successful applicant will enrol – either Cell and Systems Biology (http://bit.ly/OXWmOz) or Ecology and Evolutionary Biology (http://bit.ly/PJhv2M). Outstanding international students would be eligible to apply for the prestigious Vanier Scholarship (http://bit.ly/O5LSOZ).
Location: UTSC is one of three campuses of the University of Toronto, Canada’s largest and leading research university, and holder of one of the most extensive digital library collections in North America. All graduate research and TA activities would take place at UTSC, but advisory committee members could be drawn from any of the three campuses, thus the intellectual support for this PhD studentship is both broad and deep. The UTSC campus is located in an eastern suburb of Toronto adjacent to extensive parkland.
Please apply by sending a single file that includes a letter outlining your interest and suitability for the position, a detailed CV, transcripts, and contact details of two referees to Prof. Andrew Mason by e-mail (amason@utsc.utoronto.ca).