Grade UE07: £41,064 to £48,822 per annum
CAHSS / School of Literatures, Languages and Cultures
Full-time: 35 hours per week
Fixed-term: 5 January 2026 – 30 November 2029
The Opportunity:
We invite applications for a Postdoctoral Research Associate (Psychology/Neuroscience) to be a core member of a new research project ' Rewriting wor(l)ds: A transdisciplinary and participatory investigation of how poetry can support young people's literacy engagement and wellbeing '. The project is funded by the UKRI and led by UKRI Future Leaders Fellow Dr Patrick Errington.
The project draws together multiple methods and will be guided by a community coproduction to investigate the role of creative engagement with poetry in supporting poetry literacy and wellbeing for young people. A key workstream of this project involves the use of several neuroimaging and cognitive psychology methods (including fMRI and fNIRS) to examine the mechanisms and aesthetic experience of reading poetic language under various task conditions, particularly for young people (ages 12–18). This work will contribute toward the wider research and to academic and public outputs, including creation of a mobile app-based intervention to enhance young people's poetry engagement and investigate its long-term benefits.
The post holder will be the central member of the psychology/neuroscience workstream, working closely with Project Lead Dr Errington and with Psychology Research co-Lead Prof. Dan Mirman to design and programme experiments, carry out and/or supervise data collection, develop and conduct analyses, co-author papers/conference presentations, and translate findings both to inform and guide the other workstreams and for wider audiences. In carrying out the role, the post holder will be part of an interdisciplinary team of literacy and literary studies researchers and will be encouraged to both learn and share techniques, methods, and skills with them. The post holder will also collaborate with project partners and engage with young person communities around the UK.
This post is full-time (35 hours per week); however, we are open to considering flexible working patterns. We are also open to considering requests for hybrid working (on a non-contractual basis) that combines a mix of remote and regular on-campus working, however some, semi-regular on-campus work will be required.
The salary for this post is £41,064 to £48,822 per annum.
Your skills and attributes for success:
* A PhD (completed or submitted) in Neuroscience, Psychology, Cognitive Science, or related discipline.
* Experience of carrying out all stages of empirical psychology/neuroimaging experiments, including designing and programming experiments, data collection and analysis, developing analysis pipelines, and writing up results.
* Knowledge of and interest in the psychology/neuroscience of language.
* Strong initiative and independence in managing a research workload.
Interest in collaborating, sharing skills and knowledge, and learning from a highly interdisciplinary research team.
Click to view a copy of the full job description (opens new browser tab)
Application Information
Please ensure you include the following documents in your application:
* CV (up to 5 pages)
* Cover letter (up to 2 pages) clearly indicating, using reference numbers in the Job Description, how you meet the essential and desired criteria for the post
*Please be aware that only applicants who meet all the Essential Criteria can be shortlisted for interview.
As a valued member of our team you can expect:
* A competitive salary
* To be part of a world-leading, supportive, collaborative, and multidisciplinary research team
* A bespoke system of skills, methods, and career training and mentorship from experts, industry partners, and wider project networks
* To be part of a diverse and vibrant international community
* Comprehensive Staff Benefits, such as a generous holiday entitlement, competitive pension schemes, staff discounts, and family-friendly initiatives. Check out the full list on our staff benefits page (opens in a new tab) and use our reward calculator to discover the total value of your pay and benefits
Championing equality, diversity and inclusion
The University of Edinburgh holds a Silver Athena SWAN award in recognition of our commitment to advance gender equality in higher education. We are members of the Race Equality Charter and we are also Stonewall Scotland Diversity Champions, actively promoting LGBT equality.
Prior to any employment commencing with the University you will be required to evidence your right to work in the UK. Further information is available on our right to work webpages (opens new browser tab)
The University may be able to sponsor the employment of international workers in this role. This will depend on a number of factors specific to the successful applicant.
Key dates to note
The closing date for applications is 29th October 2025.
Unless stated otherwise the closing time for applications is 11:59pm GMT. If you are applying outside the UK the closing time on our adverts automatically adjusts to your browsers local time zone.
Interviews are anticipated to be held online in early December 2025.