Brain-behavior forecasting: Neural antecedents of spontaneous self-initiated movement and the forecasting of behavior from brain activity
Interdisciplinary post-doctoral position in cognitive neuroscience
Starting date: Spring 2016 or Fall 2016
Duration: 2 years (renewable for one additional year)

The French Institute of Health and Medical Research (INSERM) invites applications for a post-doctoral position in the Cognitive Neuroimaging Group, at the NeuroSpin Research Center near Paris, France, as part of the research team of Dr. Aaron Schurger. The Schurger lab focuses on understanding how decisions are made and actions initiated spontaneously, without an external sensory cue, and how time series of neural activity (now) can be used to forecast behavior (seconds or minutes from now). We pursue this research using a combination of behavioral experiments, neuroimaging, computational modeling, time-series analyses, and machine learning techniques.

We are particularly interested in attracting applicants from meteorology, macroeconomics, machine learning, statistics and other disciplines that involve a mastery of time series analysis, statistical learning, forecasting, and/or forecast verification. Applicants should have a obtained a PhD in a relevant discipline prior to the starting date, and should have strong skills in at least some of the following areas:
computer programming (MatLab, Python, C, C++),
statistics,
signal processing,
computational, mathematical, and/or neural network modeling,
statistical learning / machine learning / mutivariate pattern classification,
time series analysis,
forecasting.

Resources available at NeuroSpin include Siemens 3T and 7T MRI scanners; high-density EEG (EGI Inc.); Elekta NeuroMag 306-channel MEG (allowing for the simultaneous recording of EEG); eye tracking (available for MRI, MEG, and behavioral experiments); an in-house team of experts in signal processing and statistical learning; a dedicated staff handling subject recruitment, scheduling, and payment; various Nespresso devices; and proximity to Paris.

The salary is competitive, being aligned with that offered by Marie Curie fellowships.

Applicants should send a CV, letter of motivation (max 2 pages), and a list of three references via e-mail to aaron.schurger@gmail.com. Review of applicants will begin immediately, and will continue until the positions are filled.

The NeuroSpin Research Center is located on the campus of the CEA-Saclay, near Orsay, about 18 km southwest of Paris. For more information on the NeuroSpin Research Center and the Cognitive Neuroimaging Group:

http://www-centre-saclay.cea.fr/fr/Visite-guidee-de-NeuroSpin
http://meg-france.in2p3.fr/_lesCentres/Neurospin_en.php
http://www-dsv.cea.fr/en/institutes/institute-of-biomedical-imaging-i2bm/departments/neurospin-neurospin
http://www.unicog.org/pm/pmwiki.php
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