Position: Faculty Director, Sapien Labs Center for the Human Brain and Mind at Krea University

About the Centre:

Krea University aims to establish, in partnership with Sapien Labs, a center for research and learning related to the human brain and mind. The overall mission of the centre is to enable a cross-disciplinary ecosystem that helps understand the nature and relationship of the brain and mind, its evolution and diversity across humanity and the environmental and social determinants of our cognitive and mental health.

Among the main goals, the centre envisages to: (1)  Assist in the creation of an all India collaborative network to enable practical applications of insights; (2) Build a core program of data acquisition across a large cross-section of people across their lifespan; (3) Develop a substantial analytical capability for large-scale insights; (4) Develop a generation of research scholars with a broad cross-disciplinary perspective; (5) Foster research and develop new curriculum across disciplines; (5) Communicate scientific research findings on brain development widely available to diverse constituencies; (6) Promote public awareness and impact policy by discussing the implications of brain/mind research in the fields of education, health, law, parenting, and mental health, and enhance the field of developmental cognitive neuroscience.

One of the key flagship activities of the centre will be the India host of “The Human Brain Diversity” initiative, a big data project of Sapien Labs that measures brain activity on a large scale across the globe using EEG, along with various other measures of life experience, mental and cognitive outcomes and other physiological and metabolic measures. The centre is anticipated to have synergistic collaborations across various entities within the Krea ecosystem.

The Role:

The Faculty Director will guide and build the research program at the Sapien Labs Center for Human Brain and Mind at Krea University in collaboration with key research advisors at the centre.  He/she will hold a faculty position at Krea University, and will hold this responsibility along with their teaching/research work. The Faculty Director will also be responsible for fostering synergies among faculty members, students, post-docs, and the broader academic community at Krea University, along with promoting the centre’s research within wider academic networks in India and abroad. The Faculty Director will work closely with the Executive Director and the Steering Committee, particularly on issues of strategic planning as these relate to research.

Responsibilities:

Research Leadership 

·        Engage in research on the human brain and mind that aligns with the mission of the center.

·        Bring together a cross-disciplinary faculty at Krea and beyond to collaborate on research within the center.

·        Manage the data center along with the Executive Director (possibly in collaboration with the Center for Data Science and Computation).

·        Collaborate with the Executive Director to build, and provide sufficient support for, a community of innovative researchers to enhance research capacity at Krea and to increase internal and external research opportunities for faculty, post-doctoral fellows, and students in the research domains of the centre;

·        Develop mutually beneficial linkages with partners and collaborators for dissemination and outreach. Organize periodic seminars, workshops, and lectures; and provide meaningful content and publications for the centre’s website;

·        Enhance the overall reputation of the research centre and Krea University by ensuring quality research, and communicating that research to relevant stakeholders;

·        Ensure all research activities are in conformity with prevalent laws, ICMR and all other Government guidelines, rules and regulations along with Krea’s IRB protocols;

·        Evangelize the center and its research to develop collaborations across the country and internationally.

Academic Leadership

·        Develop a teaching curriculum to build scholarship in the field;

·        Facilitate pathways for student internships and work-study positions;

·        Represent the centre at Krea’s Research Council.

The Faculty Director should have the following qualifications:

·        Ph.D in neuroscience, psychology, clinical psychiatry, or cognitive science;

·        Multidisciplinary, broad, thoughtful perspective spanning at least two of the following fields – neuroscience, psychology, clinical psychiatry, psychiatry, cognitive science, social science, physics, data science, and complex systems;

·        Must have a significantly data-oriented background and skills as the center will have a heavy focus on big data (e.g. understanding of data structures and some programming background);

·        Excellent communicator with an ability to teach and communicate with the different stakeholders;

·        Strong relationship and team building skills with ability to bring together faculty across disciplines and establish external collaborations;

·        A practical translational perspective for how research can translate into useful policy, products and services. Some experience outside academia, therefore, is a plus.

·        Assist in ethics/IRB proposals.

Salary: As per Institution standard

How to apply:

Please send cover letter and resume to facapps.bm@krea.edu.in. Please specify in email subject – Sapien Labs – Faculty Director.   The position will be advertised until the position is filled.