Postdoctoral Research Associate (Psychology/Neuroscience)
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Job Description
Grade UE07: £41,064 to £48,822 per annum
CAHSS / School of Literatures, Languages and Cultures
Full-time: 35 hours per week Post is available from 5th January 2026
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).
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.
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.
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.
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
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.
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.
Key dates to note
The closing date for applications is 29th October 2025.
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