08 Postdoctoral Fellowship at University of Sussex, East Sussex, United Kingdom

Two post-doctoral research positions are available in the laboratory of Prof. Matthew Neale in the Genome Damage and Stability Centre for a period of 3 years. These positions are supported by an 8-year Wellcome Trust Discovery Award which provides capacity for long-term postdoctoral training and development.We are a team seeking to understand the molecular mechanisms that underpin the process of genetic recombination and how this intersects with both local and genome-scale changes in chromosome structure. We will use a range of single-cell model organisms and techniques, and apply discoveries to enrich our fundamental understanding of genetic variation, chromosome segregation and aneuploidy across all species including humans.You are a creative, conscientious, and responsible team player who can both work independently and who can contribute to the development of a broad research vision through team working and by forging internal and external collaborations.

A post-doctoral position funded by the Wellcome Trust is available in the laboratory of Leon Lagnado to study circuit mechanisms underlying simple forms of visual memory in mice. Fluorescent reporters of neural activity will be used in conjunction with advanced imaging methods and behavioural assays to investigate contrast adaptation in primary visual cortex of mice and it’s adjustment associated with the process of habituation. We are a very active research group (https://lagnadolab.com) embedded in a strong research culture in which a number of other groups use imaging and electrophysiology to study neural circuits involved in sensory processing (http://www.sussex.ac.uk/sussexneuroscience/). We are located in the vibrant city of Brighton and London is 1 hour away. Applicants must have (or be about to get) a PhD in experimental neuroscience. Experience with multiphoton imaging in awake mice and the development of behavioural assays is essential.

We are looking for a post-doctoral research fellow to join our team working on bio-inspired AI and computational modelling of insect behaviour and learning. You will join a BBSRC funded project called “Emergent embodied cognition in shallow neural networks”.Your primary role will be to develop simulations of learning problems that insects face such as flower learning or navigation. Insect learning occurs rapidly within shallow neural networks. This is possible because learning is an active process emerging from the interaction of evolved brains, sensory systems and behaviours. We will explore how behavioural strategies and specialised sensors interact with learning success.You will work under the supervision of Prof Paul Graham (School of Life Sciences) and Professors Andrew Philippides and Thomas Nowotny (Department of Informatics). You will join an active team of research fellows and PhD students working on similar topics.

This is an exciting opportunity to conduct research on how we understand and remember events. You will coordinate and carry out data collection for a virtual reality study of event processing and memory undertaken by the Episodic Memory Group at the University of Sussex (http://www.sussex.ac.uk/psychology/memory/). The research is part of the €2M “EVENTS” project lead by Prof Chris Bird and funded by the European Research Council.You will join a group of researchers investigating the brain processes that underpin episodic memory. You will be experienced in designing and conducting experimental studies of perception and memory using head-mounted display systems. You will be educated to a doctoral level in psychology, cognitive neuroscience or a closely-related discipline. Your role will involve task design, recruiting and testing a cohort of participants, scoring and analysing the data, and writing up the results for publication in a peer-reviewed journal.The University of Sussex is a leading research and teaching institution and is ranked within the top 20 in the UK and the top 150 in the world. The School of Psychology at the University of Sussex is one of the largest centres for the study of psychology in the UK. The School was rated in the top 20 in the 2021 Research Excellence Framework. The School has recently been awarded an Athena Swan Silver Award.

Professor Peter Newell is looking to hire two postdoctoral researchers (PDRAs) for four years each to work on a UKRI Frontier Research Grant (formerly an ERC Advanced Grant) looking at the political dynamics of supply-side climate policies. These are policies being adopted to limit the production and supply of fossil fuels such as bans, moratoria, phase-out policies and subsidy removals that are being adopted by a growing number of countries around the world. The project seeks to understand where these policies are being adopted, how and by whom and what can be done internationally to support their wider adoption.The PDRAs will be expected to conduct fieldwork in ‘first mover’ countries to understand these dynamics and to contribute to both the theoretical elements of the project and the forward-looking scenario work on possible futures for supply-side policies. The selection of countries the PDRA will be expected to work in will depend on final case selection and the language and research skills of the successful applicants.The research will involve conducting semi-structured interviews (at least 20 in each country) in collaboration with the PI with key actors involved in the decision-making process around the adoption of supply-side policies. This will include a range of government officials from different government departments, representatives from business and civil society organisations and international actors active in the country (such as donors, banks, business and civil society associations).

A postdoctoral position funded by BBSRC is available in the laboratory of Miguel Maravall to study the relationships between neuronal activity, sensory inputs and behavioural signals in the somatosensory cortex of mice.The work will investigate behaviour and neuronal responses in mice performing goal-directed tasks guided by whisker input, either in a head-fixed configuration combined with two-photon imaging, or in a freely-moving configuration in which mice can explore an environment and plan actions.You should have either a recent PhD degree in neuroscience or a related field combined with expertise in quantitative data analysis, or else a background in a quantitative discipline such as physics or computer science combined with experience in experimental neuroscience. Programming experience in Python, Matlab or a similar language is an important plus.

The Experimental Particle Physics group at Sussex seeks to appoint a talented and creative researcher, with strong computational and experimental skills, to join Sussex’s vibrant research programme on Experimental Particle Physics. The post focuses on Technology R&D for Particle Physics as part of the SWIFT-HEP project and on the application of such technology to the ATLAS experiment Phase 2 upgrade of the High Level Trigger. The successful candidate will be expected to work on the development and benchmarking of High Level Synthesis FPGA algorithms for real-time Particle Physics applications, where the group has significant institutional commitments. The post is funded for 8 months. The Sussex ATLAS group has significant involvement in both the ATLAS Upgrade and the SWIFT-HEP efforts, and continuation of funding from one or both of these streams is likely. Candidates are expected to hold, or be close to obtaining, a doctorate in experimental particle physics and to have a demonstrated track record of internationally recognised research at a large-scale collider experiment.