Fellowship Sponsorship - Mechanistic Theories of Neural Computation or Learning
Ref Number B02-10785 Professional Expertise Research and Research Support Department School of Life & Medical Sciences (B02) Location London Working Pattern Full time Salary See advert text Contract Type Fixed-term Working Type On site Available for Secondment No Closing Date 16-Jul-2026
About us
The Sainsbury Wellcome Centre (SWC) and the Gatsby Computational Neuroscience Unit (Gatsby Unit) share a vision to understand the mechanisms of intelligent behaviour in brains and machines. Co-located in a purpose-designed building at University College London, they bring together world-leading experimental neuroscience, computational theory, and machine learning.
SWC researchers, together with Gatsby Unit colleagues, are working towards providing mechanistic explanations of how the brain perceives and predicts, builds internal models of the world, reasons and plans, makes decisions, learns from experience, and controls behaviour. Gatsby Unit has been at the forefront of artificial intelligence and theoretical neuroscience, generating foundational theories of learning, inference, and neural computation. Together, the two Centres drive a uniquely productive theory–experiment loop, with shared trainees, joint PhD programmes, and a common language across disciplines.
SWC and Gatsby invite expressions of interest from early career researchers who wish to be sponsored for external career fellowships to establish an independent research group in mechanistic theories of neural computation or learning.
About the role
We are seeking an outstanding early career researcher to develop mechanistic theories of neural computation that bridge experimental and theoretical neuroscience. The successful candidate will establish an independent computational research programme, supported by an external fellowship and hosted jointly at SWC and Gatsby Unit, that develops models and theories linking the activity of neural circuits to the behavioural processes that underpin perception, cognition, planning, motor control and/or learning.
We expect successful candidates to link the experimental neuroscience taking place at SWC and the theoretical and machine learning research at Gatsby Unit. While this is a computational neuroscience position without dedicated experimental space, active collaboration with existing SWC and Gatsby Unit group leaders is strongly encouraged. The successful fellow will benefit from daily interaction with experimentalists generating rich datasets on animal behaviour and neural circuit function across multiple brain systems and species, as well as with theorists and machine learning researchers developing formal frameworks for learning, inference, and decision making.
SWC and Gatsby Unit will sponsor the selected candidate to apply for an external career fellowship. Our support includes:
- A collaborative research community at the interface of experimental neuroscience, theory, and machine learning
- Application support and career mentoring
- Opportunity to co-mentor PhD students
- Office space and computational resources.
For informal enquiries about the role, please contact the Directors:
- A cover letter (max 2 pages) explaining: why you are applying for the position; how your research would bridge experimental neuroscience and theory at SWC and Gatsby Unit; the fellowship scheme(s) you are interested in and a timeline for application.
- An outline of your research programme that would be the basis for a fellowship application (max 4 pages, excluding references).
- A full CV, including a list of publications and the names of three referees.
About you
We are looking for candidates who have:
- A PhD in neuroscience, physics, mathematics, machine learning, or a related quantitative discipline
- A strong track record of developing theories or computational models of neural computation grounded in neuroscience
- An ability to work at the interface of theory and experiment, with a clear vision for how theoretical predictions can be tested in neural circuits
- Evidence of, or strong potential for, productive collaboration with experimental neuroscientists
- A compelling research plan that would be competitive for a fellowship application.
Candidates should have postdoctoral research experience and a publication record appropriate to their career stage.
The ideal candidate will have a clear idea of the fellowship scheme(s) they wish to apply to and a realistic timeline for application.
What we offer
We offer an award-winning work environment in the heart of Fitzrovia with an onsite brasserie, access to lockers and changing facilities, secure bicycle storage, and access to pleasant outdoor spaces.
Staff are entitled to the full range of UCL benefits, including a generous annual leave entitlement, occupational pension schemes, excellent family‑friendly policies such as occupational shared parental pay, a work‑life balance policy, career break policy and a range of financial benefits such as a season ticket loan scheme and staff discounts.
Our commitment to Equality, Diversity and Inclusion
We are committed to equality of opportunity, to eliminating discrimination, and to creating an inclusive working environment. We particularly welcome applications from individuals who belong to groups currently under‑represented at this level within SWC and Gatsby Unit. We strongly encourage candidates from all backgrounds to apply.
Contact Details:
UK Dementia Research Institute Recruitment Team
