PhD Positions in Neuroimaging and Neuroscience, Beijing, China

Brainnetome Center

Brainnetome Center at Institute of Automation of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CASIA) is one part of CAS Center for Excellence in Brain Science and Intelligence Technology. Researchers at the Brainnetome Center work on a wide topics in neuroimaging and brainnetome, such as, neuroimaging, brain networks, new neurotechnique development, simulating and modelling, and their applications in neurological and psychiatric diseases, to discover the molecular, cellular, and brain network mechanisms that underlie the ability of the brain to function.

Neuroscience is entering an era of accelerated discovery driven by the application of new molecular, genetic and imaging technologies, which will provide a deeper understanding of the regulation and function of the nervous system. Significant advances in determining the molecular regulation of nerve cell function and development will have a major impact on our understanding of more complex areas such as behaviour, cognition, ageing, neurological disease and mental illness. The researchers of Brainnetome Center is to promote excellence in neuroscience by fostering the exchange of ideas, establishing new collaborations and augmenting partnerships that already exist within the wider Chinese neuroscience and information technology communities.

The role

Convergent evidence has shown that most psychiatric disorders are associated with faulty brain networks. In order to understand how the brain works and the pathophysiological mechanism of psychiatric disorders, it is necessary to integrate the multi-level network features obtained with various functional and anatomical brain imaging technologies on different scales. We have proposed a new concept of “Brainnetome” (www.brainnetome.org) to represent such integration framework. Our Center here closely collaborates with researchers in Australia and France to study basic theory, methodologies, algorithms and platform of the Brainnetome at multiple scales, and their applications in neurological and psychiatric diseases. It envisions that Brainnetome will become an emerging co-frontier of brain imaging, information technology, neurology and psychiatry. Some long-standing issues in neuropsychiatry may be solved by combining Brainnetome with genome.

Several PhD positions are available at Brainnetome Center of CASIA to utilise neuroimaging technologies to discover mechanisms of brain networks. These positions will be supported by CAS-TWAS President’s Fellowship Programme for PhD Candidates (http://english.ucas.ac.cn/index.php/admission/international-students/scholarship-financial-aid/4683-2018-cas-twas-president-s-fellowship-programme-for-doctoral-candidates). They involve developing neuroimage analysis methods and tools and applying them to neuroscience and clinical problems.  In this role the students will develop skills in developing computational algorithms and computer programming in neuroimage analysis that could be utilised in both basic research and clinical areas.

The person

Applicants should meet the requirements of “CAS-TWAS President’s Fellowship Programme for PhD Candidates” and have MSc degree in one of the following fields: mathematics, physics, neuroimaging, computer science, electronic engineering, neurobiology, psychology, cognitive neuroscience, psychiatry, and neurology. Outstanding C/C++ programming skills in Linux are highly desired.

Enquiries

Please first read the Application Guide for your eligibility and apply through the online system, and then contact Professor Tianzi Jiang at jiangtz@nlpr.ia.ac.cn.

Applications Deadline: March 31, 2018.