Postdoctoral Positions / Graduate Opportunities

The Translational Cognitive Neuroscience Lab at Western University (co-directed by Tim Bussey and Lisa Saksida) is looking for a postdoctoral researcher to undertake cutting-edge research in the area of brain mechanisms of cognition and behaviour. Our main behavioural approach involves touchscreen-based testing of mouse models, which allows us to assess many different aspects of high-level cognition in a way that is highly relevant to human patients. Touchscreen testing also facilitates reproducibility through increased standardization and reductions in experimenter and environmental influence. We subscribe to principles of open science, and promote data and knowledge sharing through mousebytes.ca and touchscreencognition.org.

This project is focused on developing an understanding of how perineuronal nets-- components of the extracellular matrix that are primarily found wrapped around inhibitory, parvalbumin positive cortical neurons—contribute to adult learning and memory processes. This will be achieved by manipulating perineuronal nets in cortical regions critical for learning, memory and behavioural control, and/or manipulating levels of oxidative stress via diet, exercise, or environmental enrichment, and then assessing the mice on cognitive tests dependent on those brain regions.

Required qualifications:

• PhD in neuroscience or related field
• Experience with scientific writing

Required skills:

• Experience in conception, design and performance of neuroscience-related experiments, including stereotaxic surgery and intracerebral infusions
• Experience with behavioural assessment in mouse or rat models
• Experience with in vivo electrophysiology, fibre photometry, optogenetics, chemogenetics, or other methodologies for measuring or manipulating the brain
• Knowledge of neural mechanisms of learning, memory, and/or other aspects of cognition
• Good writing skills, evidenced in peer-reviewed publications
• Skills in statistical analysis in R, SPSS or other relevant programs
• Advanced mathematical or computational expertise is a plus

Required abilities:

• Ability to work independently and take the initiative in research projects
• Collaborative team player
• Excellent communication skills

Location:

The position will be based primarily in the Robarts Research Institute. Robarts is one of the premier research institutes in Canada with a vibrant research community and many opportunities for collaborations. Cognitive neuroscience in health and disease is a major research focus at Western, which is supported by BrainsCAN, a $66M Canada First Research Excellence Fund grant, through to 2026.

The University of Western Ontario (www.uwo.ca) is a major educational and research center in Ontario with over 25,000 undergraduate and 5,000 graduate students. Cognitive neuroscience in health and disease is a major research focus at Western. London, also known as the Forest City, is an affordable and lively community close to the Great Lakes and two hours from Toronto. The city offers many options for outdoor and cultural activities.

Details:

The initial appointment is for 1 year, with possibility of renewal. Salary will commensurate with experience ($40,000 - $50,000) and includes additional benefits (https://www.uwo.ca/hr/benefits/your_benefits/pda/index.html).

To apply, please submit a cover letter that describes your relevant training and career goals, up-to-date CV, research statement, up to three representative publications, as well as the name and contact information of two references to: Dr. Lisa Saksida (lsaksida@uwo.ca) & Dr. Tim Bussey (tbussey@uwo.ca) with “Postdoc Application” in the subject line.

Review of the applications will begin March 15, 2021 and will continue until the position is filled.

For more information, please see

TCNLab: http://www.tcnlab.uwo.ca @TCNLab
BrainsCAN: https://brainscan.uwo.ca/ @Brains_CAN
Touchscreens: https://touchscreencognition.org/ @TouchScreenCog
Mouse http://www.mousebytes.ca

We thank all applicants for their interest; however, only those individuals selected for an interview will be contacted.

Western is committed to employment equity and diversity in the workplace and welcomes applications from women, members of racialized groups/visible minorities, Aboriginal persons, persons with disabilities, persons of any sexual orientation, and persons of any gender identity or gender expression.

The Translational Cognitive Neuroscience Lab at Western University (co-directed by Tim Bussey and Lisa Saksida) is looking for a postdoctoral researcher to undertake cutting-edge research in the area of brain mechanisms of cognition and behaviour. Our main behavioural approach involves touchscreen-based testing of mouse models, which allows us to assess many different aspects of high-level cognition in a way that is highly relevant to human patients. Touchscreen testing also facilitates reproducibility through increased standardization and reductions in experimenter and environmental influence. We subscribe to principles of open science, and promote data and knowledge sharing through mousebytes.ca and touchscreencognition.org.

This project is focused on molecular and cellular mechanisms of cognition in the hippocampus and prefrontal cortex, and will involve combining various neurotechnologies including fibre photometry recording and optogenetic manipulations with touchscreen-based cognitive assessment. The project is part of a collaboration between Western’s BrainsCAN and McGill’s Healthy Brains for Healthy Lives Canada First Research Excellence Fund initiatives and will involve opportunities for interaction across the two sites.

Required qualifications:

• PhD in neuroscience or related field
• Experience with scientific writing

Required skills:

• Experience in conception, design and performance of neuroscience-related experiments, including stereotaxic surgery and intracerebral infusions
• Experience with behavioural assessment in mouse or rat models
• Experience with in vivo electrophysiology, fibre photometry, optogenetics, chemogenetics, or other methodologies for measuring or manipulating the brain
• Knowledge of neural mechanisms of learning, memory, and/or other aspects of cognition
• Good writing skills, evidenced in peer-reviewed publications
• Skills in statistical analysis in R, SPSS or other relevant programs
• Advanced mathematical or computational expertise is a plus

Required abilities:

• Ability to work independently and take the initiative in research projects
• Collaborative team player
• Excellent communication skills

Location:

The position will be based primarily in the Robarts Research Institute, although post-COVID there will be opportunities to travel to the Douglas Research Institute in Montreal to facilitate collaboration. Robarts is one of the premier research institutes in Canada with a vibrant research community and many opportunities for collaborations. Cognitive neuroscience in health and disease is a major research focus at Western, which is supported by BrainsCAN, a $66M Canada First Research Excellence Fund grant, through to 2026.

The University of Western Ontario (www.uwo.ca) is a major educational and research center in Ontario with over 25,000 undergraduate and 5,000 graduate students. Cognitive neuroscience in health and disease is a major research focus at Western. London, also known as the Forest City, is an affordable and lively community close to the Great Lakes and two hours from Toronto. The city offers many options for outdoor and cultural activities.

Details:

The initial appointment is for 1 year, with possibility of renewal. Salary will commensurate with experience ($40,000 - $50,000) and includes additional benefits (https://www.uwo.ca/hr/benefits/your_benefits/pda/index.html).

To apply, please submit a cover letter that describes your relevant training and career goals, up-to-date CV, research statement, up to three representative publications, as well as the name and contact information of two references to: Dr. Lisa Saksida (lsaksida@uwo.ca) & Dr. Tim Bussey (tbussey@uwo.ca) with “Postdoc Application” in the subject line.

Review of the applications will begin March 15, 2021 and will continue until the position is filled.

For more information, please see

TCNLab: http://www.tcnlab.uwo.ca @TCNLab
BrainsCAN: https://brainscan.uwo.ca/ @Brains_CAN
Touchscreens: https://touchscreencognition.org/ @TouchScreenCog
Mouse http://www.mousebytes.ca

We thank all applicants for their interest; however, only those individuals selected for an interview will be contacted.

Western is committed to employment equity and diversity in the workplace and welcomes applications from women, members of racialized groups/visible minorities, Aboriginal persons, persons with disabilities, persons of any sexual orientation, and persons of any gender identity or gender expression.

The Translational Cognitive Neuroscience Lab at Western University (co-directed by Tim Bussey and Lisa Saksida) is looking for a postdoctoral researcher to undertake cutting-edge research in the area of brain mechanisms of cognition and behaviour. Our main behavioural approach involves touchscreen-based testing of mouse models, which allows us to assess many different aspects of high-level cognition in a way that is highly relevant to human patients. Touchscreen testing also facilitates reproducibility through increased standardization and reductions in experimenter and environmental influence. We subscribe to principles of open science, and promote data and knowledge sharing through mousebytes.ca and touchscreencognition.org.

This project is focused on developing an understanding of parvalbumin positive interneurons interact with neuromodulators including dopamine and acetylcholine in the service of aspects of cognition including attention, working memory and cognitive flexibility, and how disruptions in this system related to cognitive dysfunction in disorders such as schizophrenia. The work will involve combining various neurotechnologies including fibre photometry recording and optogenetic manipulations with touchscreen-based cognitive assessment.

Required qualifications:

• PhD in neuroscience or related field
• Experience with scientific writing

Required skills:

• Experience in conception, design and performance of neuroscience-related experiments, including stereotaxic surgery and intracerebral infusions
• Experience with behavioural assessment in mouse or rat models
• Experience with in vivo electrophysiology, fibre photometry, optogenetics, chemogenetics, or other methodologies for measuring or manipulating the brain
• Knowledge of neural mechanisms of learning, memory, and/or other aspects of cognition
• Good writing skills, evidenced in peer-reviewed publications
• Skills in statistical analysis in R, SPSS or other relevant programs
• Advanced mathematical or computational expertise is a plus

Required abilities:

• Ability to work independently and take the initiative in research projects
• Collaborative team player
• Excellent communication skills

Location:

The position will be based primarily in the Robarts Research Institute. Robarts is one of the premier research institutes in Canada with a vibrant research community and many opportunities for collaborations. Cognitive neuroscience in health and disease is a major research focus at Western, which is supported by BrainsCAN, a $66M Canada First Research Excellence Fund grant, through to 2026.

The University of Western Ontario (www.uwo.ca) is a major educational and research center in Ontario with over 25,000 undergraduate and 5,000 graduate students. Cognitive neuroscience in health and disease is a major research focus at Western. London, also known as the Forest City, is an affordable and lively community close to the Great Lakes and two hours from Toronto. The city offers many options for outdoor and cultural activities.

Details:

The initial appointment is for 1 year, with possibility of renewal. Salary will commensurate with experience ($40,000 - $50,000) and includes additional benefits (https://www.uwo.ca/hr/benefits/your_benefits/pda/index.html).

To apply, please submit a cover letter that describes your relevant training and career goals, up-to-date CV, research statement, up to three representative publications, as well as the name and contact information of two references to: Dr. Lisa Saksida (lsaksida@uwo.ca) & Dr. Tim Bussey (tbussey@uwo.ca) with “Postdoc Application” in the subject line.

Review of the applications will begin March 15, 2021 and will continue until the position is filled.

For more information, please see

TCNLab: http://www.tcnlab.uwo.ca @TCNLab
BrainsCAN: https://brainscan.uwo.ca/ @Brains_CAN
Touchscreens: https://touchscreencognition.org/ @TouchScreenCog
Mouse http://www.mousebytes.ca

We thank all applicants for their interest; however, only those individuals selected for an interview will be contacted.

Western is committed to employment equity and diversity in the workplace and welcomes applications from women, members of racialized groups/visible minorities, Aboriginal persons, persons with disabilities, persons of any sexual orientation, and persons of any gender identity or gender expression.

A postdoctoral position is available at the Faculty of Social Sciences at Université Laval, Quebec City, Canada, under the supervision of Dr. Sébastien Tremblay, full professor at the School of Psychology. Sebastien Tremblay is the director of the Co-DOT lab (http://www.co-dot.ulaval.ca), a research laboratory specialized in applied cognitive psychology and human performance.

This is a full-time position for 2 years (extensible) related to the human-technologies interaction. Recent advances in computer engineering, machine learning and artificial intelligence lead toward a world within which humans and automatic systems are required to coexist, cooperate and share a common environment or via augmented and virtual reality. As part of this research project, the selected candidate will work at developing mixed initiative systems in which both human and machine share tasks and decisions depending on their state and that of the environment. For instance, the candidate will be asked to build a model predicting the cognitive and affective state of the user from behavioral and physiological measures. This project will be carried out in a multidisciplinary context, comprising experts from several domains such as human factors, robotics, machine learning, virtual and augmented reality, and automatic computerized systems.

The preferred candidate will have the following qualifications:

• PhD in cognitive psychology or cognitive sciences;
• Superior skills with writing journal manuscripts;
• Ability to supervise and coordinate undergraduate research projects and graduate students;
• Be able to effectively balance multiple tasks and projects;
• Detail-oriented, motivated, efficient, and able to work independently and in a team environment;
• Excellent communication and organization skills (knowledge of French is an asset);
• Experience with conducting multidisciplinary projects in collaboration with industrial partners is an asset;
• Experience with analyzing psychophysiological data is an asset (e.g., ocular, cardiac, respiratory, electrodermal activity);
• Experience with writing grant applications is an asset.

Interested applicants may forward a cover letter, their curriculum vitae and the names of two referees by email to:

Dr. Sébastien Tremblay
École de psychologie
Faculté des sciences sociales
2325, rue des Bibliothèques
Email: sebastien.tremblay@psy.ulaval.ca

Notes:

Salary will be between CA$48,000 – CA$56,000 per year plus travel budget for attending conferences.

We thank all applicants for their interest; however, only individuals selected for an interview will be contacted.

A postdoctoral position is available in the Social Attention Group in Education (SAGE) at Simon Fraser University (SFU), in Vancouver, Canada (https://sagesfu.ca/)

The postdoctoral researcher will collaborate and develop projects on the topics of social attention, facial expression production and perception, and interpersonal synchrony of behaviour during face-to-face interactions.  Many of the studies will initially be conducted remotely, due to the pandemic-related restrictions on in-person research with human participants.  SAGE is an interdisciplinary group of graduate, undergraduate, and faculty researchers spanning departments of psychology, education and engineering.  Researchers have access to state-of-the art eye tracking systems (e.g. SMI ETG2, SR Research Eyelink 1000), video recording, and facial expression analysis software (iMotions).  SAGE has strong links to the Departments of Psychology at SFU and University of British Columbia with ongoing collaborations and opportunities for training.

The candidate should have a Ph.D. in Psychology or a related field (e.g., cognitive science, neuroscience, computing science) with experience in programming (e.g., Matlab, Python, R), and/or eye tracking methodologies. Knowledge of automated facial expression analysis and advanced statistical techniques for analysing time series data (e.g. cross-recurrence quantification; windowed cross-lagged correlation analysis) would be an asset, although a propensity for statistics and an eagerness to learn new techniques is more important.  The initial appointment will be made for 6 months to 1 year, with a possibility for renewal. Salary will be according to SFU guidelines. Start date is flexible but the goal is to begin the position between November 2020 and January 2021. 

To apply, please send your CV, the expected date of availability, a short statement of research interests, and contact information for three referees. For any inquiries about the post, please email ebirming@sfu.ca. 

Please feel to share this announcement with those you feel may be interested. 

We anticipate an opening for a postdoctoral position in my Attention & Social Cognition group at the Department of Psychology, McGill University (Montreal, Canada).

We are seeking qualified individuals to collaborate and develop projects on the topics of human attention, social cognition, and interactive (group) cognition using behavioral, neuroimaging (EEG), and eye tracking methods. The A&SC group includes a vibrant team of graduate, undergraduate, postdoctoral, and visiting researchers and houses dedicated equipment for investigating attention and interactive behaviors including the dual TOBII eye tracking eye glasses, an SR Research EyeLink eye tracker, and a 64-channel BioSemi EEG system. 

The candidate should have a Ph.D. in Psychology or a related field (e.g., Cognitive Science, Neuroscience) with experience in programming (e.g., Matlab, Python, R), and EEG and/or eye tracking methodologies. The initial appointment will be made for one year, with a possibility for renewal. Salary will be according to McGill guidelines. Start date is flexible.

Along with the Department of Psychology, the MNI and other satellite institutes, the students within the A&SC lab are uniquely affiliated with the NSERC-CREATE network in complex dynamics of biological systems  (https://cd-create.org/home) and the HBHL initiative (https://www.mcgill.ca/hbhl/), both of whom provide multiple networking, training, career, and funding opportunities. 

To apply, please send your CV, the expected date of availability, a short statement of research interests, and contact information for three referees. For any inquiries about the post, please email jelena.ristic@mcgill.ca. 

Please feel to share this announcement with those you feel may be interested. 

Jelena Ristic, PhD
Associate Professor & William Dawson Scholar
Department of Psychology
McGill University
1205 Dr. Penfield Avenue
Montreal, QC, H3A 1B1
Canada
Phone: 514.398.2091
Fax: 514.398.4896
Email: jelena.ristic@mcgill.ca

Web: asc.mcgill.ca

A 3-year PhD scholarship (18,000 CAD /yr) is available at the University de Montréal under the supervision of Dr Benjamin Pageaux (School of Kinesiology) and Dr Pierre Rainville (Faculty of Dentistry). The PhD student will be a part of a unique multidisciplinary research centre, the Centre de Recherche de l’Institut Universitaire de Gériatrie de Montréal (CRIUGM).

Applicants should have, or anticipate having, a MSc and a strong research background in motor and/or cognitive performance. Knowledge or expertise in pain, transcranial magnetic stimulation or peripheral muscle/nerve stimulation will be an asset. A strong interest in integrative neuroscience and multidisciplinary research is essential.

The successful applicant will be responsible, with the help of her/his supervisory team, for:

• Developing an integrative and multidisciplinary expertise merging the fields of neurophysiology, psychology and kinesiology.
• Independently carrying out research and completing a PhD dissertation within three years.
• Collecting and analyzing perceptual, behavioral and neurophysiological data.
• Reporting the results at conferences and in international peer-reviewed journals.
• Actively contributing to the life of the laboratory and CRIUGM.

The yearly renewing of the scholarship is conditioned by the continuous application to nominal scholarships offered by national and international funding agencies.

There are no citizenship restrictions for this PhD scholarship. Additional information about tuition fees and living expenses are available via the following link: https://admission.umontreal.ca/en/student-info/tools-and-tips/tuition-and-fees/

It is not compulsory to speak French at the onset of the scholarship. However, it is expected that the successful applicant will commit to learn French as part of actively contributing to and participating in the Université de Montreal and the CRIUGM communities.

Starting date is planned for January 2021. Flexibility can be given for an earlier or later start if carefully justified. Selected applicants will be interviewed via videoconference.

HOW TO APPLY?
Please send the following documents in a single email to labodouleur@gmail.com:

• Cover letter detailing the interest for this specific scholarship as well as the potential starting date.
• Detailed CV.
• Two reference letters.
• The completed application form and the associated enclosed files. 

PROJECT SUMMARY
Every day, when we perform voluntary physical and mental tasks, such as climbing the stairs or solving a complex puzzle, we perceive effort. The perception of effort is associated with voluntary actions, contributes to the sense of agency, and provides crucial information on the perceived cost of personal actions. Interestingly, while it seems obvious that when we perceive pain the tasks of our everyday life become more effortful (or harder), this assumption has not been investigated.

The proposed work uses a multidisciplinary approach to understand how pain impacts performance and the perception of effort during cognitive, physical and dual tasks. The PhD project will benefit from the expertise of the supervisory team in effort, pain and performance; allowing the development of a unique research project breaking the traditional barriers between the cognitive and motor domains.

The overall experimental plan is to explore the effects of pain on effort perception and performance in young and older healthy adults. Neurophysiological mechanisms will be explored with the use of transcranial magnetic stimulation.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION?
Université de Montréal : https://www.umontreal.ca/en/udem/#facts-and-figures
Études supérieures et postdoctorales - Université de Montréal : https://esp.umontreal.ca/english/home/
CRIUGM: http://www.criugm.qc.ca/en.html

Une bourse de doctorat de 3 ans (18 000 CAD /an) est disponible à l'Université de Montréal sous la supervision du Dr Benjamin Pageaux (École de kinésiologie) et du Dr Pierre Rainville (Faculté de médecine dentaire). La doctorante ou le doctorant fera partie d'un centre de recherche multidisciplinaire unique, le Centre de Recherche de l'Institut Universitaire de Gériatrie de Montréal (CRIUGM).

Les candidates ou candidats doivent avoir, ou prévoir d'avoir, une maîtrise et une solide expérience de la recherche sur les performances motrices et/ou cognitives. Des connaissances ou une expertise en douleur, stimulation magnétique transcranienne ou de stimulation musculaire/nerveuse périphérique seront un atout. Un intérêt marqué pour les neurosciences intégratives et la recherche multidisciplinaire est essentiel.

La candidate ou le candidat retenu(e) sera responsable, avec l'aide de son équipe de supervision de:

• Développer une expertise intégrative et multidisciplinaire fusionnant les domaines de la neurophysiologie, psychologie et kinésiologie.
• Mener des recherches de façon indépendante et réaliser une thèse de doctorat dans un délai de trois ans.
• Collecter et analyser des données perceptuelles, comportementales et neurophysiologiques.
• Communiquer les résultats dans des revues et des conférences internationales à comité de lecture.
• Contribuer activement à la vie du laboratoire et du CRIUGM.

Le renouvellement annuel de la bourse est conditionné par l'application continue aux bourses nominales offertes par les organismes de financement nationaux et internationaux.

Il n'y a aucune restriction de nationalité pour cette bourse de doctorat. Des informations supplémentaires sur les frais de scolarité et les frais de subsistance sont disponibles via le lien suivant : https://admission.umontreal.ca/info-conseils/outils-et-astuces/prevoir-son-budget/

La date de début est prévue pour janvier 2021. Une certaine souplesse peut être accordée pour un début plus précoce ou plus tardif si cela est soigneusement justifié. Les candidates et candidats sélectionnés seront interviewés par vidéoconférence.

COMMENT POSTULER?
Veuillez envoyer à l'adresse labodouleur@gmail.com les documents suivants dans un seul courriel :

• Lettre de motivation détaillant l'intérêt pour cette bourse spécifique ainsi que la date de début potentielle.
• CV détaillé.
• Deux lettres de référence
• Le formulaire de candidature complété et les fichiers joints associés.

RÉSUMÉ DU PROJET
Nous percevons un effort lorsque nous réalisons une tâche mentale ou physique, tel que monter des marches ou résoudre un puzzle complexe. La perception de l’effort, présente lors d’actions volontaires, contribue au sentiment de contrôle de nos actions (i.e., agentivité) et nous apporte des informations cruciales sur le coût de celles-ci. Alors qu’il apparait évident qu’en présence de douleur les tâches de notre vie quotidienne nous demandent plus d’effort (tâches perçues comme plus difficiles), cette hypothèse n’a jamais été testée.

Le projet utilise une approche multidisciplinaire pour comprendre comment la douleur affecte la performance et la perception de l'effort lors de tâches cognitives, physiques et doubles. Le projet de doctorat bénéficiera de l'expertise de l'équipe de supervision en matière d'effort, de douleur et de performance ; permettant ainsi le développement d'un projet de recherche unique brisant les barrières traditionnelles entre les domaines cognitifs et moteurs.

Le plan expérimental global consiste à explorer les effets de la douleur sur la perception de l'effort et la performance chez des adultes jeunes et âgés en bonne santé. Les mécanismes neurophysiologiques seront explorés à l'aide de la stimulation magnétique transcrânienne.

DES INFORMATIONS COMPLÉMENTAIRES?
Université de Montréal : https://www.umontreal.ca/l-udem/
Études supérieures et postdoctorales - Université de Montréal : https://esp.umontreal.ca/accueil/
CRIUGM : http://www.criugm.qc.ca/