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PhD fellowship in functional neuroimaging

Deadline: 10.12.2019

Department of Psychology, Center for Lifespan Changes in Brain and Cognition (LCBC)

Universitetet i Oslo

The University of Oslo is Norway’s oldest and highest ranked educational and research institution, with 28 000 students and 7000 employees. With its broad range of academic disciplines and internationally recognised research communities, UiO is an important contributor to society.


The Department of Psychology is one of seven units of the Faculty of Social Sciences, and has 75 permanent and 70 temporary members of scientific staff. Degrees are offered at bachelor and master level, plus a clinical training programme, and the PhD programme has 140 students.

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Job description

A 3-4 year position as Ph.D. Fellow is available at the Center for Lifespan Changes in Brain and Cognition (LCBC), at the Department of Psychology, University of Oslo. The position will fit a talented candidate highly interested in neuroimaging analysis and cognitive neuroscience research.

More about the position

The successful applicant will focus on investigating the functional mechanisms supporting lifespan changes in cognition. Cognitive functions of interest are episodic memory operations, spatial navigation, and spatial working memory. The Ph.D. fellow will work with cognitive, neuropsychological, structural (DWI/sMRI/PET) MRI, and task-related fMRI data acquired at our Siemens Prisma 3T. Most of LCBC datasets have a large-N lifespan sample and longitudinal follow-ups of participants. We embrace surface-based, multimodal analyses and open science initiatives and tools, such as BIDS and fMRIPrep. The successful applicant will be highly focused on (higher-level) univariate and multivariate neuroimaging analyses and on scientific dissemination – i.e. writing and publication. The successful candidate will need to work with neuroimaging software and programming languages and be interested in cognitive neuroscience research.

The main purpose of the fellowship is research training leading to the successful completion of a Ph.D. degree. Hence, the research fellow must take part in the Department’s approved Ph.D. program. The fellowship is for a period of three years. A 4th year can be considered with the addition of 25% teaching requirement, depending on the competence of the applicant and the needs of the center. The Ph.D. fellow is expected to collaborate extensively with other researchers at the center, as well as expected to contribute to data acquisition and/or quality control efforts. The position will offer opportunities to develop high-quality research competence, to work with leading experts in the field, and take part in the group’s extensive network of international collaborations. The position is financed by the Research Council of Norway and linked to the project “Lifebrain: Breaking new ground in Lifespan Cognitive Neuroscience”

Qualification requirements

  • Applicants must hold a Master’s degree or equivalent in psychology, (Professional program or Master’s program in psychology), cognitive science, neuroscience, or related fields.
  • Familiarity and/or expertise with neuroimaging software and analysis is an advantage, but not a requirement, as extensive training and supervision will be provided.
  • Familiarity and/or expertise in programming languages such as R, bash, MATLAB or, Python constitutes an advantage, but not a requirement.
  • Methodological skills (e.g. knowledge in statistics, experimental design experience, etc.).
  • Experience with cognitive neuroscience, experimental psychology, memory and, aging research will constitute advantages.
  • Excellent English communication skills, orally and in writing.

In assessing applications, particular emphasis will be placed upon the quality of the candidate's academic qualifications. Interviews with selected candidates may be arranged where the applicant's personal prerequisites, interest in the topic and, cooperative skills will be emphasized.

We offer

  • salary NOK 479 600 - 523 200 per annum depending on qualifications in a position as PhD Research fellow, (position code 1017)
  • Professional development in a stimulating academic environment
  • attractive welfare benefits and a generous pension agreement, in addition to Oslo’s family-friendly environment with its rich opportunities for culture and outdoor activities

How to apply

The application must include:

  • Letter of application, 1-2 pages, explaining the motivation for applying.
  • Curriculum Vitae summarizing education, positions, and academic work.
  • Copies of educational certificates, publications/academic work (if any) that the applicant wishes to be considered by the evaluation committee.
  • Names and contact details of at least two references (name, relation to candidate, e-mail and telephone number).
  • International applicants are advised to attach an explanation of their University’s grading system. All documents should be in Scandinavian or English.
  • The application with attachments must be delivered in our electronic recruiting system.

Formal regulations

Please see the guidelines and regulations for appointments to Research Fellowships at the University of Oslo.

No one can be appointed for more than one PhD Research Fellowship period at the University of Oslo.

According to the Norwegian Freedom of Information Act (Offentleglova) information about the applicant may be included in the public applicant list, also in cases where the applicant has requested non-disclosure.

The appointment may be shortened/given a more limited scope within the framework of the applicable guidelines on account of any previous employment in academic positions.

The University of Oslo has an agreement for all employees, aiming to secure rights to research results etc.

The University of Oslo aims to achieve a balanced gender composition in the workforce and to recruit people with ethnic minority backgrounds.

Contact information

  • Researcher Didac Vidal-Pineiro (d.v.pineiro@psykologi.uio.no).
  • Senior Engineer Markus H Sneve (m.h.sneve@psykologi.uio.no )
  • Prof. Anders M Fjell (andersmf@psykologi.uio.no).
  • Prof. Kristine B Walhovd (k.b.walhovd@psykologi.uio.no)

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