Post-Doctoral Research Associate

About the role:

We are seeking a highly motivated postdoctoral researcher with expertise in statistics (preferably longitudinal modelling) and an interest in developmental cognitive neuroscience or psychology to join the research team led by Dr Divyangana Rakesh. The lab is seeking someone who is passionate about developmental cognitive neuroscience and enjoys analysing data and solving statistical problems to support a project funded by the MRC. The postdoctoral researcher will lead a research program focused on studying links between socioeconomic disadvantage, brain development, and cognitive and academic outcomes using big, openly available datasets, under the supervision of Dr Rakesh.

The researcher can also have teaching opportunities.

This role involves:

• Implementing statistical methods to test pre-specified hypotheses on longitudinal development and outcomes.
• Selecting and implementing further analyses as appropriate
• There will be an opportunity to suggest further research questions and implement appropriate analyses
• Writing manuscripts in order to disseminate research findings.
• Problem solving and assisting Dr Rakesh investigate new research strategies and ideas.
• Present summaries of study updates at internal meetings and meetings with external collaborators, and at national and international conferences.
• Mentoring undergraduate and masters students
• Work as a conscientious and committed member of the team in order to achieve the aims of the project. 
• Managing and organising own workload. It is the postdoc’s responsibility to make sure that deadlines are met and the necessary resources are available for the job at hand. 

This is a full-time post, 35 Hours per week, and you will be offered a fixed-term contract until 30th June 2028.

Application process:

To apply, please provide a cover letter, an updated curriculum vitae, and contact information for 3 references.

Cover letters should directly address all essential (and desirable, if possible) criteria and describe the following:

1. past research experience and contributions to science,
2. relevance of research experience for current position, and
3. career development plans.

Please contact Dr Divyangana Rakesh (divyangana.rakesh@kcl.ac.uk) for enquiries.

Essential criteria

1. PhD in developmental cognitive neuroscience, psychology, psychiatry, or a related field.
2. Strong track record of high-quality publications.
3. Demonstrable (e.g., by publication record) experience in using programming and quantitative statistics (primarily in R).
4. Experience or interest in developmental cognitive neuroscience, psychology, or neuroimaging.
5. Excellent written and verbal communication skills, demonstrable through publications, media output, and conference presentations.
6. Excellent time management skills and the ability to juggle multiple tasks at once (e.g., conducting analyses for one project while writing a different manuscript).
7. Ability to work independently as well as within a team.

Desirable criteria

1. Experience supervising undergraduate or masters student projects.
2. Background in developmental cognitive neuroscience and/or the study of environmental determinants of child brain and behaviour development.
3. Experience with MATLAB, Python or similar modelling platforms
4. Experience with longitudinal modelling (latent growth analyses, linear mixed effects models, generalized additive mixed models).
5. Experience using big datasets such as ABCD, Millenium Cohort Study.

*Please note that this is a PhD level role but candidates who have submitted their thesis and are awaiting award of their PhDs will be considered. In these circumstances the appointment will be made at Grade 5, spine point 30 with the title of Research Assistant. Upon confirmation of the award of the PhD, the job title will become Research Associate and the salary will increase to Grade 6.

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