One postdoctoral position is available within the Laboratory of Psychiatric Neuroimaging (LIM21) (www.neuroimagem.org.br/) at the University of São Paulo Medical School, Brazil, directed by Geraldo F. Busatto, Ph.D.
Candidates should send a message to neuroimagem.ipq@hc.fm.usp.br with his/her CV and a letter of support.
Deadline: 06 Dec 2016
*JOB DESCRIPTION*
We are looking for a full-time researcher with previous experience in the use of software for the analysis of neuroimaging data. This post-doctoral fellow will be requested to work mainly with data acquired using resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging methods (rs-fMRI) to evaluate patterns of functional connectivity in the brain.
In our project, funded by the *FUNDAÇÃO DE AMPARO À PESQUISA DO ESTADO DE SÃO PAULO, BRAZIL* (FAPESP), such brain imaging data is being acquired in groups of cognitively-intact elderly individuals, patients with Alzheimer´s disease (AD), and patients with mild cognitive impairment (MCI).
Pre-processing steps will be carried out using the software Analysis of Functional NeuroImages (AFNI), while the actual processing of data will be conducted using Matlab-based programs. The work will also involve use of software to evaluate the diagnostic accuracy to distinguish between AD, MCI and healthy elderlies, generating multivariate classifiers based on machine-learning methods (support vector machine).
With such strategy, we aim to identify which are the functional connectivity characteristics in the brain that are most critical for the progression from normal cognition to MCI and then to AD. The post-doctoral fellow should have knowledge about the acquisition and analysis of fMRI data and other neuroimaging modalities.
We aim to bring an individual with abilities to carry out, independently, analyses and organization of computational brain imaging data, interaction with other researchers involved in the same project, and participating in the writing up of scientific papers. These characteristics are expected to boost the scientific productivity from the funded project, both quantitatively and qualitatively.
The professional will also have the opportunity to interact with scientists who are at the forefront of technologies for amyloid imaging in the brain, and data will be combined with fMRI analyses in the same elderly subjects evaluated with those two imaging technologies. The post-doctoral fellow will have the opportunity to practice abilities in analysing data of a challenging scientifc project, and he/she will be expected to establish and use optimized processing pipelines for the analysis of rs-fMRI data and other neuroimaging modalities.
*REQUIREMENTS*
- Completed PhD in areas related to computer sciences, neuroscience, neurology or psychiatry
- Research interest and brain imaging applied to research studies of brain aging
- Previous experience in the usage of processing and statistical analysis methods for research studies applied to magnetic resonance imaging studies of the brain.
best regard
*Laboratory of Psychiatric Neuroimaging - HCFMUSP*