[Mristudio-users] PhD position in brain development, Queensland Brain Institute, University of Queensland

[dti mic]

 PhD position in brain development: Students with a background in
mathematics and computer science are especially encouraged to apply



*Queensland Brain Institute*

Researchers at the Queensland Brain Institute (QBI) work to discover the
cellular and molecular mechanisms that underlie the ability of the adult
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.



Discoveries will also provide, for the first time, a real opportunity to
develop new therapeutics to treat mental and neurological diseases, which
account for a staggering 45 per cent of the disease burden in Australia. A
major goal for QBI researchers is to promote excellence in neuroscience by
fostering the exchange of ideas, establishing new collaborations and
augmenting partnerships that already exist within the wider UQ neuroscience
community.
The role

The development of the brain is characterised by the formation of
connections between neurons.  One of the largest fibre tracts in the brain
is the corpus callosum, which connects neurons in the left and right
cerebral hemispheres.  We are using molecular and genetic approaches as
well as state-of-the-art imaging technologies to discover how the brain is
wired up during development.  This work has direct implications for
understanding
how the brain functions and the pathophysiological mechanism of psychiatric
disorders, by integrating the multi-level network features obtained with
various functional and anatomical brain imaging technologies on different
scales.



A PhD project is available to utilise neuroimaging technologies to discover
mechanisms of brain wiring. The project involves developing neuroimage
analysis tools and software and applying them to biological problems.  In
this role the student 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 have an excellent GPA (>5.5 at UQ) and have a background
in mathematics and computer science, especially good knowledge on image
analysis. The student will be jointly supervised by Professor Linda
Richards (QBI) who is an expert in brain development and Professor Tianzi
Jiang (QBI, Centre for Advanced Imaging, UQ and Institute for Automation,
Chinese Academy of Sciences, Bejing) who is an expert in neuroimaging.



The ideal candidate will have primary experience in image analysis,
especially for diffusion MRI, but this is not essential. Outstanding C/C++
programming skills in Linux are highly desired. Secondary experience
with parallel
computing and in using a high performance cluster platform would be an
advantage.



Applicants should hold a First Class Honours degree or equivalent and be
eligible for an Australian Postgraduate Award (APA) or equivalent
international scholarship such as an International Postgraduate Research
(IPRS) award. The current scholarship rate for the Australian Postgraduate
Award is $23,728 per annum tax-free for three years. For further
information on scholarships please refer to
http://www.uq.edu.au/grad-school/scholarships-and-fees.
Enquiries

Please contact Professor Linda Richards on richards at uq.edu.au or the QBI
RHD student recruitment officer, Dr Blake Chapman, on qbistudents at uq.edu.au.




To submit an application for this role, use the *Apply* button below. All
applicants must supply the following documents: Cover letter, Academic
Results and Resume.



For information on completing the application process click
here<http://www.uq.edu.au/uqjobs/index.html?page=149386&pid=149313>
.



Applications close: April 15th, 2012
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://lists.mristudio.org/pipermail/mristudio-users/attachments/20120326/80870155/attachment.html