at the BCBL- Basque Center on Cognition Brain and Language (San Sebastián, Basque Country, Spain) www.bcbl.eu 
1. INFORMATION ABOUT THE POSITION
- Position: PhD student
- Researcher Profile: First Stage Researcher (R1- up to the point of PhD)
- Number of vacancies: 1
- Project: Assessing perceptual awareness with closed-loop brain imaging
- Location: Spain > San Sebastian
- Research Field: Neuroscience
- Type of contract/Duration of Contract: Temporary: 4 years
- Job Status: Full-time
- Hours per week: 35
- Starting date: 1st of March 2025 (no later than this date)
- Application deadline: 01 December 2024
Information about the project:
The Basque Center on Cognition, Brain and Language (BCBL) is offering a predoctoral position for a PhD project aimed at investigating perceptual consciousness and metacognition. The research will utilize visual psychophysics and functional MRI techniques, including decoded neurofeedback.
Job description:
- Collaborating on finalizing experimental designs, implementing them, and collecting data
- Analysing neuroimaging and behavioral dat
- Identifying improvements or proposing new analysis pipelines.
- Writing research papers under the supervision of the Principal Investigator (PI), with the aim of publishing in top-tier journals.
- Disseminating results at international scientific conferences.
PI and research group:
Professor David Soto will supervise this PhD project. David leads the Consciousness group at BCBL, where we are developing new protocols to understand the distinction between conscious and non-conscious information processing in the human brain, and its role in guiding cognition and behavior. Our work combines advanced brain imaging techniques, decoded neurofeedback, psychophysics and state-of-the-art computational methods.
2. CANDIDATES’ PROFILE AND SELECTION CRITERIA
Required skills:
- Good knowledge of cognitive science/neuroscience
- A strong interest in consciousness science.
- Master's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, Psychology, Neuroscience, or a related field
- Excellent computational skills in Python
- Excellent written and oral communication skills in English
Desirable skills:
- Experience with state-of-the-art neuroimaging techniques and analysis
- Experience using machine learning tools and/or computational models.
- Previous experience in participating in research projects (e.g., data collection, analysis)
3. WORKING CONDITIONS
Salary: 21,000€/year gross on average across the four years of the contract
Entitlements and other benefits: https://www.bcbl.eu/en/join-us/what-is-like-to-work-bcbl
Training opportunities and Career development plan:
Researchers at any stage of their career, regardless of their contractual situation, are given opportunities for professional development and for improving their employability through access to a Personal Career Development Plan which includes
(1) Training through individually personalized research projects under senior supervision
(2) Exchanging knowledge with the scientific community and the general public
(3) Network-wide training in theory and methods
(4) Complementary training courses
(5) Involvement in proposal writing, task coordination
(6) Development of skills for the organization of training and scientific events
BCBL seeks to foster an environment where all talents can flourish, regardless of gender, age, cultural background, nationality or impairments. If you have any questions relating to accessibility or support contact us.
4. OTHER RELEVANT INFORMATION:
Language policy
- The corporative language at the Center is English
- The center provides initial level Spanish and Basque lessons to all the international staff members
- The interview will be conducted entirely in English
5. APPLICATION PROCESS:
Submission of the application and documentation:
To submit your application, please follow this link: applying for “Ph.D. POSITION CONSCIOUSNESS 2024” and attach the following documentation:
- A curriculum vitae
- A statement outlining research interests and motivation to apply for the position
- Transcript of records for the completed master's and bachelor's degrees
- Two letters of recommendation
Learn more about the BCBL’s OTM-R policy
Application process timetable:
- Deadline for application: 01/12/2024
- Evaluation by committee: 02/12/2024-10/12/2024 (New dates: 02/12/2024-16/12/2025)
- Interviews: 13/12/2024-18/12/2024 (New dates: 09/01/2025-10/01/2025)
- Final decision: 19/12/2024 (New date: 21/01/2025)
- Feedback to all applicants: 20/12/2024 (New date: 21/01/2025)
- Work contract start date: 01/03/2025 (no later than this date)
Contact details for enquiries: hr@bcbl.eu
