"Research Assistant in Cognitive Science of Mental Health"

Ref Number

B02-08909

Professional Expertise

Research and Research Support

Department

School of Life & Medical Sciences (B02)

Location

London

Working Pattern

Full time

Salary

£35,930-£41,255

Contract Type

Fixed-term

Working Type

Hybrid

Available for Secondment

No

Closing Date

14-Jul-2025

About us

Applications are invited for a Research Assistant to join the Integrated Clinical-Computational Affective Research Unit (ICARUS). The unit is led by Dr Liam Mason (Associate Professor of Clinical Psychology and MRC Clinician Scientist Fellow). The post is based in the Research Department of Clinical, Educational and Health Psychology. This is a large and vibrant community where research and teaching activity aim to improve wellbeing through the application of psychological science to practice. Psychology at UCL was ranked 1st in the UK and 4th in the world in the 2023 Shanghai Ranking of World Universities. This reflects excellent links between teaching, professional training and research, the wide range of research expertise represented and the excellent opportunities for collaboration and interdisciplinary research provided at UCL. This is an excellent environment for an early-career researcher, where opportunities for collaboration and learning abound.

About the role

The role involves undertaking high quality research as part of an exciting new internationally funded research project investigating the neural and computational basis of anergia and effort hypersensitivity in depression. You will be responsible for: conducting behavioural, ambulatory smartphone-based and neuroimaging assessments with clinical participants with a diagnosis of bipolar disorder; assisting in study organisation; and working closely with the head of the lab and the other team members, including current and future doctoral and masters students.

The role offers an opportunity to conduct impactful, collaborative and rigorous research that can make a real difference to the lives of people with bipolar disorder. The post holder will receive support and supervision from the study team, and input from other academics collaborating on this work. This is an excellent position for an early-career researcher as it provides: (1) opportunities for publication; (2) the chance to develop knowledge and skills in neuroimaging analysis; and (3) experience of working with digital mental health and smartphone-based assessment tools. There will also be opportunities in the wider community of researchers at UCL to develop new networks.

• This is a fixed-term role for 6 months in the first instance, with the possibility of extension (3 years in total, including the 6 months).
• This role provides some funding for a PhD - depending on candidate suitability, there is the possibility to co-register as a PhD student.
• To co-register as a PhD student, you would need to be eligible for UK rate tuition fees.
• An acceptable Enhanced DBS is required for carry out parts of this role.
• This role is eligible for hybrid working with a minimum of 80% on-site.
• This role does not meet the eligibility requirements for a Skilled Worker Visa certificate of sponsorship under UK Visas and Immigration legislation. Therefore, UCL will not be able to sponsor individuals who require right to work in the UK to carry out this role.

This appointment is subject to UCL Terms and Conditions of Service for Research and Professional Services Staff. Please visit https://www.ucl.ac.uk/human-resources/conditions-service-research-teaching-and-professional-services-staff for more information.

About you

We are looking for someone with excellent quantitative research skills, and experience with recruiting clinical participants into longitudinal studies and in using functional MRI and scripting-based languages (e.g. Matlab, R, Python). They must also have experience of conducting research with human participants and of performing highly quantitative data analyses. They will need to have an MSc in cognitive neuroscience, psychology or related area. The role involves co-ordinating a large study and liaising with clinical participants, so the ideal candidate would have exceptional interpersonal and organisational skills.