Research Fellow - School of Psychology - 108264 - Grade 7

Position Details

School of Psychology

Location: University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham UK

Full time starting salary is normally in the range £36,636 to £46,049 with potential progression once in post to £48,822

Grade: 7

Full Time, Fixed Term contract up to November 2028 

Closing date: 8th November 2026

Background

Applications are invited for a full-time Postdoctoral Research Fellow to join the research programme of Professor Ron Mangun in the Centre for Human Brain Health at the University of Birmingham. The Centre provides a multidisciplinary environment for human cognitive neuroscience research and access to advanced neuroimaging, electrophysiological and brain stimulation methods. The post-holder will contribute to ongoing and planned research investigating visual processing and attention, reading and language processing, and/or predictive coding mechanisms. The successful candidate will have a strong record of high-quality research outputs appropriate to career stage and experience in cognitive neuroscience research. The position is research dedicated, and the successful candidate will be involved in all stages of developing and conducting experiments, analysing data, preparing results, and presenting findings. This will include the preparation of high-quality academic publications and the presentation of results at national and international academic conferences. The successful candidate will be expected to contribute intellectually to the development of research questions, experimental designs and analytical approaches, play a role in the supervision of trainees, and broadly support the research goals of Centre for Human Brain Health.

Role Summary

• Conduct research within the scope of ongoing and planned research projects in collaboration with Professor Ron Mangun and other members of the research team
• Contribute intellectually to the development of research questions and proposals; design experiments, collect and analyse data, present findings, and publish results in peer-reviewed journals
• Contribute to the supervision and training of undergraduate and postgraduate students and other researchers
• Contribute to funding applications
• Contribute to the planning, management and administration of research projects

Main Duties

The responsibilities may include some, but not all of the responsibilities outlined below.

• Address the research objectives of ongoing and planned projects and contribute to the development of new research objectives and proposals
• Contribute to the training of others in the research group in relevant experimental, analytical and research methods
• Conduct experimental research, collect data directly, and supervise or support data collection by others
• Analyse and interpret data and use the results to develop new intellectual understanding, methods and research questions
• Disseminate research findings through peer-reviewed publications, research seminars, and national and international conferences
• Provide day-to-day supervision and guidance for student research projects, potentially at BSc, MSc, or PhD level
• Contribute to the development and writing of bids for research funding
• Participate actively in group meetings, journal clubs, CHBH activities, and related scientific discussions
• Contribute, where appropriate, to public engagement and research impact activities
• Exercise initiative in resolving methodological, analytical and practical problems that may affect research objectives and deadlines
• Work collaboratively with the PI, research staff, students, CHBH colleagues and external collaborators, coordinating own work with others as required
• Contribute to developing new models, techniques, methods and analytical approaches relevant to the research programme
• Fosters a fair and equitable workplace for all staff
• Identify and respond to equality and diversity issues in line with relevant university policies and procedures
• Other relevant criteria from our equality and diversity duties document.

Person Specification

The following are essential qualifications:

• A PhD (or near to completion) equivalent in an area relevant to cognitive neuroscience, including but not limited to psychology, neuroscience, biology, computer science, or engineering at the start of the position.
• A strong record of high-quality research outputs appropriate to career stage in cognitive neuroscience.
• Experience in the design, conduct and quantitative analysis of human cognitive neuroscience experiments.
• Experience with one or more of EEG, MEG, fMRI, and/or non-invasive brain stimulation; experience in acquisition and analysis of concurrent EEG-fMRI data is particularly useful.
• Strong programming skills relevant to cognitive neuroscience research, ideally in Python and/or MATLAB.
• Strong quantitative and statistical analysis skills.
• Knowledge relevant to one or more areas of the research programme, such as visual perception and attention, reading and language processing, and/or predictive coding.
• Strong academic writing and presentation skills.
• Ability and willingness to work collaboratively and contribute to the local research community.
• Ability to assess resource requirements and use resources effectively.
• Ability to contribute to the planning, management and administration of research projects.
• Knowledge of the protected characteristics and duties under the Equality Act 2010. Including fostering good relations and advancing the universities Public Sector Equality Duty (PSED)
• Other relevant criteria from our equality and diversity knowledge, skills and experience document. 

Informal enquiries to Ron Mangun, email: [email protected] 

Use of AI in applications: We want to understand your genuine interest in the role and for the written elements of your application to accurately reflect your own communication style. Applications that rely too heavily on AI tools can appear generic and lack the detail we need to assess your skills and experience. Such applications will unlikely be progressed to interview.

We believe there is no such thing as a 'typical' member of University of Birmingham staff and that diversity in its many forms is a strength that underpins the exchange of ideas, innovation and debate at the heart of University life. We are committed to proactively addressing the barriers experienced by some groups in our community and are proud to hold Athena SWAN, Race Equality Charter and Disability Confident accreditations. We have an Equality Diversity and Inclusion Centre that focuses on continuously improving the University as a fair and inclusive place to work where everyone has the opportunity to succeed. We are also committed to sustainability, which is a key part of our strategy. You can find out more about our work to create a fairer university for everyone on our website.