Three-year PhD Studentship
Developmental Neuropsychology & Neuroimaging
Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry/SGDP
The Institute of Psychiatry (IOP), Kings College London is advertising a 3-year PhD Studentship within the Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry/SGDP, Section of Developmental Neuropsychology & Neuroimaging, starting in January 2009.
The PhD is funded by the Department of Health via the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Specialist Biomedical Research Centre (BRC) for Mental Health award to South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust (SLaM) and the IOP at KCL, London.
The aim of the project is to study the effects of pharmacological manipulations on functional brain activation in children & adolescents with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and autism spectrum disorder (ASD) during disorder relevant cognitive functions. The project is collaborative between the Departments of Child Psychiatry and the Department of Psychological Medicine (Prof Declan Murphy), IOP, King's College London.
The Section of Experimental Psychology and Neuroimaging of Childhood Disorders, headed by Professor Katya Rubia, is part of the Department of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry and is located at the MRC-Social, Genetic and Developmental Psychiatry Centre (SGDP). The Section uses a comprehensive and multimodal approach to elucidate the cognitive, neurocognitive and neurobiological basis of childhood disorders, using neuropychology together with functional, structural and pharmacological magnetic resonance imaging. This project will investigate the comparison between two clinically overlapping, and relatively prevalent childhood disorders, i.e. ADHD and ASD, in their brain activation, brain structure and their neurofunctional response to psychopharmacologic al manipulations. The psychopharmacologic al manipulations will involve Dopamine, Noradrenaline, and Serotonin agonists to elucidate underlying neurotransmitter abnormalities in patients.
The IOP, King's College London achieved a 5* rating in the 2001 Research Assessment Exercise, the highest possible rating for quality. The Departments of Child Psychiatry/SGDP and Psychological Medicine, have an international reputation for the study of child psychiatry.
Successful candidates will have a first degree in Psychology, Pharmacology, Medicine, or any related Neuroscience area. Relevant experience with statistical data analysis, neuropsychology, neuroimaging, or neuropsychopharmaco logy are desirable.
The pay will be £15,076k p/a (plus annual increments).
Further information can be obtained from Prof Katya Rubia (k.rubia@iop. kcl.ac.uk).
To apply, please fill in sections 1, 2, 9, 11 and 12 of the KCL application form, along with the equal opportunities statement. The form is available to fill in online, at http://www.kcl. ac.uk/graduate/ apply/research. html. Please insert reference "Katya Rubia" in box 10.
You should also send your CV with a covering letter to the address below. In the letter you must include:
i) your research interests
ii) two academic referees
iii) a 1-2 page summary of the neurobiology or neuropsychology of either ADHD or ASD (focussing on any area of your choice, neuropsychology, functional and/or structural imaging, genetics, neurotransmitter/ pharmacological research or a combination of any of these)
iv) whether you are an overseas/home or EU student
v) where you saw this advert
Address for applications and enquiries: Prof Katya Rubia, MRC SGDP Centre (Box PO46), Institute of Psychiatry, De Crespigny Park, Denmark Hill, London SE5 8AF. Tel: 020 7848 0463 or email: k.rubia@iop. kcl.ac.uk
Closing date: 30th October.
Only candidates short listed for interview will be contacted.
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