Post-Doctoral Research Associate in Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience

About us:

Our group studies the intersection between social and environmental factors, brain development, and adolescent mental health and cognitive function with the ultimate aim of promoting equitable outcomes in young people. We are based at the IoPPN, King's College London, a world-leading institute well-known for its close-knit community, collaborative atmosphere, and outstanding research support.

About the role:

We are seeking a highly motivated postdoctoral researcher with expertise in statistics (preferably longitudinal modelling) and an interest in developmental cognitive neuroscience or psychology to join the research team led by Dr Divyangana Rakesh. The lab is seeking someone who is passionate about developmental cognitive neuroscience and enjoys analysing data and solving statistical problems to support a project funded by the MRC. The postdoctoral researcher will lead a research program focused on studying links between socioeconomic disadvantage, brain development, and cognitive and academic outcomes using big, openly available datasets, under the supervision of Dr Rakesh.

This role will provide you with the freedom to develop new and creative ideas, methodologies, and/or approaches to challenging and societally important questions. In addition to leading the project, you will be supported in finding a research area that interests you, encouraged to develop a research programme of your own, and apply for independent funding. The postdoctoral researcher will also have teaching opportunities if this is of interest.

This role will involve:

• Implementing statistical methods to test pre-specified hypotheses on longitudinal development and outcomes.
• Selecting and implementing further analyses as appropriate.
• Suggesting further research questions and implementing appropriate analyses.
• Writing manuscripts to disseminate research findings.
• Problem solving and assisting Dr Rakesh in investigating new research strategies and ideas.
• Presenting summaries of study updates at internal meetings and meetings with external collaborators, and at national and international conferences.
• Mentoring undergraduate and masters students.
• Working as a conscientious and committed member of the team to achieve the aims of the project.
• Managing and organising own workload to ensure deadlines are met and necessary resources are available.
• Other relevant activities as directed by the line manager.

This is a full-time post, 35 hours per week, and you will be offered a fixed-term contract until 30th June 2028.

To apply, please provide a cover letter, an updated curriculum vitae, and contact information for 3 references. Cover letters should directly address all essential (and desirable if possible) criteria and describe the following: 1) past research experience and contributions to science, 2) relevance of research experience for current position, and 3) career development plans. Please contact Dr Divyangana Rakesh (divyangana.rakesh@kcl.ac.uk) with any enquiries.

About you:

To be successful in this role, we are looking for candidates to have the following skills and experience:

Essential criteria

1. PhD in developmental cognitive neuroscience, psychology, psychiatry, or a related field.
2. Strong track record of high-quality publications.
3. Demonstrable experience in using programming and quantitative statistics (primarily in R).
4. Experience or interest in developmental cognitive neuroscience, psychology, or neuroimaging.
5. Excellent written and verbal communication skills, demonstrable through publications, media output, and conference presentations.
6. Excellent time management skills and the ability to juggle multiple tasks at once.
7. Ability to work independently as well as within a team.

Desirable criteria

1. Experience supervising undergraduate or masters student projects.
2. Background in developmental cognitive neuroscience and/or the study of environmental determinants of child brain and behaviour development.
3. Experience with MATLAB, Python or similar modelling platforms.
4. Experience with longitudinal modelling.
5. Experience using big datasets such as ABCD, Millenium Cohort Study.

Further information:

We ask all candidates to submit a copy of their CV and a supporting statement detailing how they meet the essential criteria listed in the advert. If we receive a strong field of candidates, we may use the desirable criteria to choose our final shortlist, so please include your evidence against these where possible.

To find out how our managers will review your application, please take a look at our 'How we Recruit' pages.

Interviews are due to be held in March or April.

We are able to offer sponsorship for candidates who do not currently possess the right to work in the UK.#J-18808-Ljbffr