Research Assistant

About us

The MetaLab at University College London is a cognitive neuroscience group based at the Department of Experimental Psychology and the Wellcome Centre for Human Neuroimaging (https://metacoglab.org)

About the role This post is funded by a UKRI Frontier Research (ERC Consolidator) Award entitled “Computational components of conscious awareness” held by Prof. Stephen Fleming. The focus of the project is on developing computational models of human consciousness awareness, focusing on new models grounded in probabilistic models of brain function. To test these models the project will combine psychophysics, metacognitive measures, computational simulations and recent advances in human neuroimaging (including 7 Tesla fMRI and optically-pumped MEG) with theoretical and philosophical studies. This research builds on existing momentum within the group that is actively developing the higher-order state space model of consciousness (see e.g. https://psyarxiv.com/6rs8d/) but can also be extended in novel directions. The position is available for one year in the first instance. For queries about the role or the application process, please contact

About you

The post holder will assist with all aspects of conducting high quality research combining novel behavioural and neuroimaging experiments on human participants with theoretical and computational modeling. They should have First-class honours degree and/or Masters in computational/cognitive neuroscience, cognitive science, experimental psychology or related discipline and be proficient with programming and data analysis in MATLAB. Prior experience with psychophysics and associated analysis methods would be desirable as well as experience in delivering presentations at scientific meetings and/or other research outputs. The post-holder will be a key member of Professor Fleming’s team and will gain substantial experience and training by working on cutting-edge human cognitive computational neuroscience.

What we offer

As well as the exciting opportunities this role presents, we also offer some great benefits some of which are below:

• 41 Days holiday (27 days annual leave 8 bank holiday and 6 closure days)

• Additional 5 days’ annual leave purchase scheme

• Defined benefit career average revalued earnings pension scheme (CARE)

• Cycle to work scheme and season ticket loan

• Immigration loan

• Relocation scheme for certain posts

• On-Site nursery

• On-site gym

• Enhanced maternity, paternity and adoption pay

• Employee assistance programme: Staff Support Service

• Discounted medical insurance Visit https://www.ucl.ac.uk/work-at-ucl/reward-and-benefits to find out more.

Our commitment to Equality, Diversity and Inclusion

As London’s Global University, we know diversity fosters creativity and innovation, and we want our community to represent the diversity of the world’s talent. We are committed to equality of opportunity, to being fair and inclusive, and to being a place where we all belong. We therefore particularly encourage applications from candidates who are likely to be underrepresented in UCL’s workforce. These include people from Black, Asian and ethnic minority backgrounds; disabled people; LGBTQI+ people; and for our Grade 9 and 10 roles, women.

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