Description

The Perception and Active Cognition Lab at New York University Abu Dhabi is looking for a Research Assistant for a project looking at visual factors and eye movements in the recognition of Arabic words. 

The successful applicant will drive a fascinating project on the role of prediction and parafoveal previews across eye movements in the rapid recognition of Arabic words and other visual stimuli.

Our laboratory has developed new paradigms to study the role of prediction in more naturalistic viewing conditions, in which people move their eyes to look at stimuli of interest, as we do normally while reading or looking around. In particular, we developed a combined behavioral, eye-tracking and neuroimaging paradigm to study the “preview effect”, in which the fact that we see a stimulus peripherally in the “corner of the eye” dramatically influences the neural processing of that item when we look directly at it. These neural measures allow us to characterize how prediction and the preview increases the efficiency of neural processing. In this context, the role of previewing a word with peripheral vision while reading in Arabic is a particularly interesting research question, and we will compare the preview effect for Arabic words, English words, faces, oriented gratings and other stimuli.

 The candidate will work in a multidisciplinary environment with world-class research infrastructure, consisting of PhD-level scientists, graduate students and undergraduate students, with the project also involving faculty from Psychology, Computer Science and Arabic Language.

Applicants must have a Master’s Degree in Psychology, Linguistics, Neuroscience, Computer Science or related field. Required expertise includes strong knowledge of psycho/neuro-linguistics and/or visual perception, as well as experience with eyetracking and with EEG or a similar methodology. Given that the stimuli in these studies will include Arabic words, knowledge of Modern Standard Arabic is desired (but not required).

The terms of employment are very competitive and include housing and educational subsidies for children.  The salary and benefits are highly competitive and the research infrastructure is world-class. Collaboration and visits to other campuses in the New York University Global Network is encouraged but not required.

Applications will be accepted immediately and candidates will be considered until the position is filled. To be considered, all applicants must submit a cover letter, curriculum vitae, transcript of degree, research statement consisting of a one-page summary of research accomplishments and interests, and the names of the two reference writers (or, ideally, at least two written references) all in PDF format. If you have any questions, please send an email to Prof. David Melcher at david.melcher@nyu.edu  

About NYUAD

NYU Abu Dhabi is a degree-granting research university with a fully integrated liberal arts and science undergraduate program in the Arts, Sciences, Social Sciences, Humanities, and Engineering. NYU Abu Dhabi, NYU New York, and NYU Shanghai, form the backbone of NYU’s global network university, an interconnected network of portal campuses and academic centers across six continents that enable seamless international mobility of students and faculty in their pursuit of academic and scholarly activity. This global university represents a transformative shift in higher education, one in which the intellectual and creative endeavors of academia are shaped and examined through an international and multicultural perspective. As a major intellectual hub at the crossroads of the Arab world, NYUAD serves as a center for scholarly thought, advanced research, knowledge creation, and sharing, through its academic, research, and creative activities.

EOE/AA/Minorities/Females/Vet/Disabled/Sexual Orientation/Gender Identity Employer

UAE Nationals are encouraged to apply

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