PhD in the Gonzalo Cogno Group at Norwegian University of Science and Technology

About

For a position as a PhD Candidate, the goal is a completed doctoral education up to an obtained doctoral degree.

The Neural Dynamics and Computation group, led by Soledad Gonzalo Cogno, is a computational neuroscience group recently established at the Kavli Institute for Systems Neuroscience.

The institute is part of the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences at NTNU. It was established as a Centre of Excellence in 2002, 2012, and again in 2023. Our new Centre of Excellence, the Center for Algorithms in the Cortex will be funded for 10 years by the Norwegian Research Council. The scientific goal of the Kavli Institute for Systems Neuroscience is to understand neural circuits and systems in the cortex and to identify neural-population mechanisms underlying high-level cognitive functions.

Exact startup times are flexible, although the position is expected to start during early 2025.

Your immediate leader is Soledad Gonzalo Cogno.

Duties

Duties of the position Using as steppingstone the recently reported ultraslow periodic sequences of neural activity (see Gonzalo Cogno et al., 2023, Nature), the successful candidate will develop computational models to determine the mechanisms by which ultraslow oscillations in the MEC are generated, and how those are organized into periodic sequences. The models will be informed by large-scale neural population recordings (the data will be collected by other team members). The candidate will present their resusults at national and international conferences. The candidate will be required to complete the coursework mandated by the PhD program in neuroscience at NTNU.

Selection Criteria

• A background in Physics, Mathematics, Statistics or related subjects.
• Master’s degree in Neuroscience, Physics, Mathematics, Statistics, Computer Science, Engineering, or related subjects.
• You must meet the requirements for admission to the faculty’s doctoral program
• Strong mathematical background
• Coding experience
• Excellent communication skills in English are imperative, both orally and written.
• Your education must correspond to a five-year Norwegian degree program, where 120 credits are obtained at master’s level.
• You must have a strong academic background from your previous studies and an average grade from the master’s degree program, or equivalent education, which is equal to B or better compared with NTNU’s grading scale. If you do not have letter grades from previous studies, you must have an equally good academic basis. If you have a weaker grade background, you may be assessed if you can document that you are particularly suitable for a PhD education.
• Master’s students can apply, but the master’s degree must be obtained and documented before the starting date.
• Familiarity with modelling or analysis of large neuronal populations
• Familiarity with neuroscience
• Prior work in the field of computational neuroscience

Our Offer

• excellent opportunities for scientific and personal development in collaboration with skilled co-workers
• exciting and stimulating tasks in a strong international academic environment
• an open and inclusive work environment with dedicated colleagues
• favourable terms in the Norwegian Public Service Pension Fund
• employee benefits

Application

The application and supporting documentation to be used as the basis for the assessment must be in English.

Publications and other scientific work must be attached to the application. Please note that your application will be considered based solely on information submitted by the application deadline. You must therefore ensure that your application clearly demonstrates how your skills and experience fulfil the criteria specified above.

If, for any reason, you have taken a career break or have had an atypical career and wish to disclose this in your application, the selection committee will take this into account, recognizing that the quantity of your research may be reduced as a result.

The application must include:

• A research statement explaining the experience and the interest of the candidate for the research topic and describing the relevance of the candidate’s background to the research project.
• CV and certificates
• transcripts and diplomas for bachelor’s and master’s degrees. If you have not completed the master’s degree, you must submit a confirmation that the master’s thesis has been submitted.
• A copy of the master’s thesis. If you recently have submitted your master’s thesis, you can attach a draft of the thesis. Documentation of a completed master’s degree must be presented before taking up the position.
• Name and contact information of three referees
• If you have publications or other relevant research work

If all, or parts, of your education has been taken abroad, we also ask you to attach documentation of the scope and quality of your entire education, both bachelor’s and master’s education, in addition to other higher education. Description of the documentation required can be found here. If you already have a statement from Norwegian Directorate for Higher Education and Skills, please attach this as well.

We will take joint work into account. If it is difficult to identify your efforts in the joint work, you must enclose a short description of your participation.

In the evaluation of which candidate is best qualified, emphasis will be placed on education, experience and personal and interpersonal qualities. Motivation, ambitions, and potential will also count in the assessment of the candidates.

Source and more details: https://www.jobbnorge.no/en/available-jobs/job/265039/phd-in-the-gonzalo-cogno-group