PhD Studentship - Magnetoencephalographic (MEG) studies of atypical cortical connectivity in Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD)

Life and Health Sciences - Studentships

Location:  Aston University Main Campus
Basis:  Full Time
Closing Date:  23.59 hours BST on Tuesday 30 April 2019    

School of Life and Health Sciences & Department of Cognitive Science

Aston Brain Centre (ABC), and Macquarie Centre for Cognitive Science (MACCS) PhD Studentship (3-4 years)

Aston and Macquarie Universities invite applications from suitable candidates for a jointly funded, dual award PhD project on MEG studies of ASD.  The successful candidate will study a minimum of 1.5 years at each site, with a maximum total duration of 4 years.  The project will commence at the ABC in the UK and will be conducted under the supervision of Professor Klaus Kessler. Subject to successful progression by the end of the first year, after 18 months the student and project will then move to Macquarie University under the supervision of Professor Paul Sowman. The project will use MEG to focus on oscillatory connectivity analysis in ASD participants as compared to control participants during multimodal integration (audio-visual) and predictive coding.

Financial Support:

This studentship is fully funded to cover Home tuition fees for up to 3 years. An additional tax-free stipend will be payable for the first 3 years; if required, a 4^th ‘writing up‘ year may be granted at Aston, but  no stipend will be available.  The stipend in Year 1 will be £14,777 (Aston) or approx. $27,764 AUD (Macquarie), and paid pro-rata during the time the student is based at each respective institution. The studentship is expected to commence in July 2019.

Application Requirements:

• Eligible Applicants should hold a Bachelor Honours degree (either First Class or Upper Second Class) and a Master’s Degree (MSc/MRes) with a major research component in a relevant discipline. It is desirable that the candidate has 2 years of research experience (incl. MSc), a track record of active research conference attendance (e.g. posters, presentations) and an emerging track record of publications (submitted, accepted, published). 
• Applicants should provide a clear indication of their specific interest in the project and their relevant skills. Experience with MEG/EEG measurements and analysis (e.g. using Matlab or Python) is highly desirable.
• Applicants will be required to demonstrate adequate proficiency in English Language skills via: http://www.aston.ac.uk/lhs/research/postgraduate-research/entry-requirements/.
• For informal enquiries, please contact Professor Klaus Kessler (k.kessler@aston.ac.uk). 
• To apply, please complete the on-line application format: http://www1.aston.ac.uk/lhs/research/postgraduate-research/apply/  (Select: Full-time Research Neurosciences Programme) quoting reference: ‘Aston/Macquarie’ on all applications.

Please note that only candidates who have been selected for interview will be contacted.  If you have not received an invitation to attend an interview within approximately two weeks of the closing date, you may assume that your application has been unsuccessful on this occasion. 

Further particulars and application forms are available in alternative formats on request i.e. large print, Braille, tape or CD Rom. 

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact HR via recruitment@aston.ac.uk