Postdoctoral Position in Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience

Brain Organization for Language and Literacy Development (BOLD) Lab
Linguistics and Cognitive Science Department
University of Delaware

University of Delaware  has an available Postdoctoral position in behavioral and neuroimaging research of language, literacy, and cognitive development, focused on global literacy initiatives in Ivory Coast.

Position start date: August 1, 2018 (flexible). Applications will be accepted until June 1, 2018.

The BOLD Lab at the University of Delaware has an opening for a Postdoctoral Research Associate to contribute to research on child literacy development in rural Ivory Coast. We have several ongoing projects using a combination of behavioral and neuroimaging methods to study how children develop and learn to read in high-risk environments. Specifically, we are looking for an individual who can contribute to two projects: (1) a technology-based literacy intervention program in primary school settings, and (2) brain-behavior approach to the study of development and reading outcomes, both in Ivory Coast.

Responsibilities will include the development, collection, and analysis of behavioral and neuroimaging data about literacy development and literacy intervention outcomes in school-aged children growing up in rural communities of Ivory Coast. The postdoc will also contribute to mentorship and collaboration with an Ivorian research team of graduate students and postdocs, with the goal of increasing local science capacity. The position is based at the University of Delaware, and the postdoc will have opportunities to go to Ivory Coast over the duration of the position.

Successful applicants will have a background in several of the following areas: child development, language and literacy acquisition, reading interventions (including education technologies), recording and analysis of fNIRS data, design and analysis of complex behavioral experiments/tasks, longitudinal data analysis, global development (ideally in sub-Saharan Africa). A Ph.D. in Psychology, Cognitive Science, Linguistics, or Neuroscience is preferred. The ideal candidate will be familiar with working in international contexts (preferably sub-Saharan Africa), proficient in French, and have a high degree of fluency conducting univariate and multivariate statistics using R, and fNIRS neuroimaging analysis using Matlab (NIRS-SPM, fNIRS-toolbox, Homer).

Interested candidates should send via email their CV, two representative papers, the names of three references, and a cover letter to Dr. Kaja Jasinska (jasinska@udel.edu).

The position is for one year, with the option to renew for 1-2 years, given satisfactory performance and available funding.

Contact Information

Lab Website: sites.udel.edu/boldlab

Contact Name: Kaja Jasinska

Contact Email: jasinska@udel.edu