Job Opportunity

Postdoc opportunity

Our new lab in RIKEN Center for Brain Science (CBS) is opened on Oct 1st 2019. The name of the team is “Lab for Human Cognition and Learning”. We will hire a few postdoctoral researchers to work with us. Please see CBS webpage for details of the application procedure.

Alternatively, your country may provide you opportunities for fellowships to work at RIKEN CBS (e.g., Marie Curie, Fulbright, HFSP). The Japanese Government also offers fellowships for young foreign researchers (up to 2 years, highly recommended!). In addition, RIKEN has own fellowship program.

For foreign students, RIKEN CBS has a summer internship program. In addition, RIKEN has a joint graduate school program called International Program Associate (IPA) which allows doctoral candidates to conduct research at RIKEN. IPA is concluded with various universities and institutes all over the world.

In the following sections, we summarize the overview of our research plan and research environment at CBS. Please read them first. If you have an interest in applying to the position, please send an email to Kazuhisa Shibata with your latest CV. We can exchange information related to the position by email or Skype.

Research overview

We plan to conduct research on brain bases of higher cognitive functions and learning, with a particular emphasis on the interactions between subconscious and conscious processing. Our previous studies (see Publications) mainly focused on brain bases of subconscious processing and learning of basic perceptual functions. At RIKEN CBS, we extend our research interest to the interactions between subconscious and conscious processing and higher cognitive functions. While we have cultivated plenty of research ideas, proposals of new ideas are also welcome.

Our main research methods are shown below.

  • Psychophysics in vision and motor domains (mainly implemented by Matlab + Psychtoolbox)
  • Eye movement tracking (using Eyelink 1000+)
  • Behavioral experiments using virtual reality systems
  • MRI (Matlab + SPM, BrainVoyager, Freesurfer will be used for data analysis)
  • MRS (Matlab + Gannet, LC-Model will be used for data analysis)
  • Neurofeedback based on real-time fMRI systems (implemented by Matlab)
  • Multi-variate analysis of fMRI data (implemented by Matlab)
  • Computer simulations and modelling (implemented by Matlab)

Research environments

  • RIKEN CBS is one of the biggest international research hubs for neuroscience in Japan. English is used as a primary language. RIKEN administrative staffs are familiar with welcoming and accepting international scholars. There are excellent supporting systems for international scholars such as housing service and postdoc association.
  • RIKEN CBS is located close to the central Tokyo area. It takes about 15 mins by foot from CBS to the nearest train station (Wako-shi). Moving from Wako-shi station to the central Tokyo areas typically takes 15 – 45 min, depending on which area you go to. The living environment around Wako-shi station is great; two supermarkets, large park, plenty of rental properties, shuttle bus from/to Narita international airport.
  • An experimental room for our team is under construction. We plan to have 10 compartments for behavioral experiments, eye-tracking systems, motion capture systems, virtual-reality equipment.
  • We have technical staff who is fluent both in English and Japanese. The staff will help foreign researchers conduct experiments with Japanese participants
  • A 3T MRI magnet (Siemens Prisma) is located in the basement of our building (just a 1-min walk). The MRI facility has sophisticated monitoring systems for physiological signals (e.g., heartbeat) and a real-time data transfer system for neurofeedback experiments. We can ask support from researchers, engineers and technical staff in CBS MRI unit. Our team will have high-performance computing system to analyze large datasets obtained from MRI experiments. 

Qualification

  • We seek highly motivated scholars who are interested in our research direction. While we have cultivated various research ideas, new and important ideas are always welcome.
  • Candidates for postdocs should have a Ph. D in a relevant field (Psychology, Cognitive Science, Neuroscience, Information Science) by a starting date. We welcome a successful candidate who has proficiency in computer programming (Matlab, Java, Python, R), experience and knowledge in behavioral and MRI experiments, analyses of fMRI data based on machine learning methods, and/or simulations using computer modeling.

Salary, Conditions, Start date

  • Please see the job posting for details. Salary will be commensurate with qualifications, experience, and achievements. A start date is negotiable while earlier is better.
  • Qualified candidates are expected to apply for a research fellowship from domestic or international funding programs (e.g., JSPS, HFSP, SPDR)

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