Applications are invited for an 18 month postdoctoral fellowship in the human multimodal neuroimaging project "Linking the major system markers for typical and atypical brain development: a multimodal imaging and spectroscopy study" (http://www.zihp.uzh.ch/1610.php#45) funded by the Zürich Institute of Human Physiology.
This study will investigate the major physiological markers of brain development, using a combination of multimodal brain imaging (e.g., simultaneous EEG-fMRI, see Lüchinger et al., 2011, NeuroImage, in press) and MR-spectroscopy methods (i.e., GABA, see O'Gorman et al., 2011, J. of Mag. Reson. Img., in press). The initial phase of the study will establish baseline neurotransmitter levels, cerebral blood flow (e.g., perfusion MRI) and EEG frequency and power at rest in children, adolescents, and adults. Examining the interactions between these markers and the changes they demonstrate with age and hormone levels will allow to better understanding the global and regional processes underlying brain maturation. In addition, we will investigate changes in these physiological markers with (a) memory tasks (see Michels et al., 2010, PLoS ONE) and (b) attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD, see Doehnert et al., Biol Psychiatry, 2010). The starting date of the position is May 2011. Our department is equipped with 64-channel fMRI-compatible EEG equipment and a 3 Tesla GE scanner, which is mainly dedicated for research questions.
The successful applicant will have a PhD research background in Cognitive Neuroscience, Neurophysiology, Psychology, Neuropsychology, or related fields. Fluency in English and the ability to work within a multidisciplinary team are essential. Applicants must be experienced at conducting fMRI and/or EEG studies -demonstrated by at least 2 first author publications in international peer-reviewed journals- and be familiar with analysis software such as SPM/Matlab, BrainVoyager and/or FSL. Experience with stimulus presentation software (such as Presentation), UNIX, and programming languages a plus.
Salaries are in accordance with the Swiss National Research Foundation.
APPLICATION INSTRUCTIONS: To apply, please send a curriculum vitae, a personal statement describing research interests, 3 letters of recommendations, and up to 3 article reprints/preprints (max. 2 MB!!!) to:
Dr Lars Michels
lars.michels@kispi.uzh.ch
MR-Zentrum
University Children's Hospital
Steinwiesstrasse 75
Zürich 8032
Switzerland
Reviews of applications will begin on the 1st of March and will continue until the position is filled.