Research Assistant in Quantum Cognition

Newcastle University is a great place to work, with excellent benefits. We have a generous holiday package; plus the opportunity to buy more, great pension schemes and a number of health and wellbeing initiatives to support you.

The Role

We are seeking a Research Assistant with experience in cognitive and behavioural testing of human participants in a psychology laboratory-based setting. This post will be based in the School of Psychology but will require working closely with colleagues in the School of Computing. Newcastle’s Quantum Cognition group, led by Dr Barbara-Anne Robertson (Psychology) and Dr Jonte Hance (Computing), has received funding from the UKRI Cross Research Council Responsive Mode: Quantum Emotions: Using the Quantum Formalism to explain temporal order effects in memory for emotional events. This project involves applying the quantum formalism to model experimental observations of human emotional memory performance and the neural systems that support it, to better understand both systems. As a member of a wider team using fMRI and physics models to explain behavioural results, you will play a role in contributing to the Quantum Cognition group by working closely with internal collaborators, external project partners (including at Nagoya University, Ritsumeikan University, and the National Institutes for Quantum and Radiological Science and Technology, in Japan, and Linnaeus University, in Sweden), and new and developing external collaborators.

You will have a background in psychology and/or neuroscience with research experience collecting behavioural and cognitive data from human participants in a laboratory setting. Whilst having a background in physics and/or engineering would be of benefit, what is required is a willingness to learn from computing and physics-based colleagues in the Quantum Cognition group to build and apply new approaches to understanding how emotional events impacts temporal order memory. Your primary focus will be collecting a large dataset, working to recruit and test participants in person, in the School of Psychology.

This post is fixed term for a period of 2 years.

Key Accountabilities

• Contribution to the research programme of the School/Institute under the clear guidance of a member of an academic staff or Principal Investigator
• Use initiative and creativity to analyse and interpret research data and draw conclusions on the outcomes
• Co-ordinate own work with that of others, deal with problems which may affect the achievement of research objectives and contribute to the planning of the project(s)
• Present information on research progress and outcomes to a Principal Investigator or groups overseeing the research project
• Write up results from own research activity and provide input into the research project’s dissemination, in whatever form (report, papers, chapters, book)
• Work to deadlines and manage, with support, competing priorities
• Ensure that personal knowledge in relevant fields of study is kept up to date
• Use research resources (including, where required, laboratories, workshops and specialist equipment) as appropriate
• Maintain academic standards and freedom, and work in accordance with university policies (e.g. equal opportunities, health and safety policies)
• Possible supervision and demonstration duties within undergraduate laboratories and example classes or in teaching small seminar classes
• Undertake relevant training and development activities to develop capacity for taking on wider responsibilities
• Develop, with advice, an awareness of own professional development needs and a personal development strategy

The Person

Knowledge, Skills and Experience

• Subject knowledge in psychology
• The ability to work collaboratively with colleagues
• The ability to use personal initiative and creativity to solve research
• Background (formal or informal) of physics and/or engineering

Problems

• Experience collecting and analysing cognitive and behavioural (psychology/neuroscience) data
• Experience working with human participants in a psychology/neuroscience research environment
• Interest and enthusiasm for quantum foundations and psychology
• Excellent communication skills and ability to communicate complex information with clarity and to encourage the commitment of others
• Experience of research in quantum foundations
• Experience with the preparation of grant applications for submission to funder (e.g., Fellowship applications, support for wider grant application by previous PI/supervisor, etc)
• Experience of preparing publications of work in peer-reviewed journals and/or presentation of findings at conferences/workshops/research seminars
• Evidence of interdisciplinary experience in physics/engineering and psychology
• Masters-level qualification in relevant subject(s) to show breadth of interdisciplinary experience

Attributes and Behaviour

• Ability to work well as part of a team or collaborators
• Ability to rapidly acquire new skills
• Enthusiastic, well-motivated and hard working
• Commitment to continued professional development

Qualifications

• Possess an honours degree (or equivalent) either in psychology or physics/engineering/computing. If the first degree is in an area related to physics/engineering, the candidate must also possess a higher-level research degree in the area of psychology/cognitive neuroscience/neuroscience

Newcastle University is a global University where everyone is treated with dignity and respect. As a University of Sanctuary, we aim to provide a welcoming place of safety for all, offering opportunities to people fleeing violence and persecution.

We are committed to being a fully inclusive university which actively recruits, supports and retains colleagues from all sectors of society. We value diversity as well as celebrate, support and thrive on the contributions of all of our employees and the communities they represent. We are proud to be an equal opportunities employer and encourage applications from individuals who can complement our existing teams, we believe that success is built on having teams whose backgrounds and experiences reflect the diversity of our university and student population.

At Newcastle University we hold a GoldAthena Swan award in recognition of our good employment practices for the advancement of gender equality. We also hold a Race Equality Charter Bronze award in recognition of our work towards tackling race inequality in higher education REC. We are a Disability Confident employer and will offer an interview to disabled applicants who meet the essential criteria for the role as part of the offer and interview scheme.

In addition, we are a member of the Euraxess initiative supporting researchers in Europe.

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