Department of Psychiatry,
Trinity College Dublin,
Trinity Centre, St. James’s Hospital,
Dublin 8
Post-doctoral Researcher in Imaging & Social cognition.
Neuropsychiatric Genetics Research Group, TCD & Dept of Psychology, NUI Galway.
Duration: Three years.
Salary Range: €42,394
Closing date for applications: Until position is filled
Project description:
An exciting opportunity exists for an experience postdoctoral researcher with a background
in cognitive neuroscience to take a leadership role in an SFI funded study entitled:
Characterizing the neural basis of social cognition deficits in schizophrenia using imaging
genetics.
Deficits in ‘social cognition’– referring to cognitive functions required for the processing of
socially relevant stimuli - are particularly relevant to schizophrenia related disability. In SZ,
this includes emotion perception & processing, theory of mind, and attributional style.
Therapeutically targeting these aspects of disability in SZ requires their characterisation at
cognitive and neural levels, and investigation of how these deficits are mediated at a cellular
and molecular level. Addressing this important challenge, this project will use brain imaging
and genetics to elucidate the cognitive mechanisms underlying deficits in social cognition in
SZ. This will be done using both already collected functional and structural imaging and
genetic data, and data collected using new social paradigms specific to this project.
The TCD Neuropsychiatric genetics research group is comprised of psychiatrists,
psychologists, cognitive neuroscientists, and research nurses with affiliations to the TCD
Institute of Neuroscience. The Cognitive Genetics and Remediation lab, where this post will
be based, is led by Prof Donohoe. The project benefits from the significant infrastructure
available through the center for advanced medical imaging (CAMI) at St James’s hospital, the
Trinity high performance computing (TCHPC) cluster at TCD and the genetics facilities at the
institute of molecular medicine, TCD.
The candidate will be expected to:
- Play a lead role in the collection, quality control, and analysis of neuropsychological,
structural MRI, and functional MRI data.
- Analyse existing sMRI/fMRI and neuropsychological datasets.
- Operate independently with weekly or biweekly mentoring.
- Prepare and present data both at local, national, and international meetings and for
publication.
- Contribute to the on-going teaching commitments of the department at undergraduate
and postgraduate levels.
The candidate is likely to be:
- An honours graduate of psychology or neuroscience, with a PhD in cognitive neuroscience.
- Familiar with MRI theory and analysis, and experienced with one or more imaging analysis
packages (e.g. SPM, AFNI, FSL).
- Someone who has experience preparing and presenting data for both oral and written
presentation.
- Someone who has demonstrated a strong interest in clinical research
- Someone who enjoys working as part of a dynamic and social environment.
For further details about this exciting opportunity or to submit a CV please contact:
Prof. Gary Donohoe, Dept of Psychiatry, TCD. Tel: +353 1 822 3835.
Email: gary.donohoe@tcd.ie