“Bring fMRI into the future”
Postdoctoral position for MRI physicist in high-field fMRI of medial temporal lobe
Today Trondheim and NTNU are one of the most exciting places in the world for studying memory and the neural processes behind retrieving and storing it. In collaboration with world leading researchers of memory physiology (prof. Edvard Moser and prof. May-Britt Moser, Center for the Biology of Memory, Trondheim) and neuroanatomy (prof. Menno Witter, VU Amsterdam/Trondheim), our challenge and aim are to perform high resolution functional MRI of medial temporal lobe structures to study the organization of memory in humans. Trondheim is one of a few places where it is possible to reach this goal.
One 3 year Postdoctoral position for MRI physicist financed by the Norwegian Research Council (NevroNor) is available at Department of Circulation and Medical Imaging, Medical Faculty, Norwegian University for Science and Technology (NTNU), Trondheim, Norway. The position will be connected to Trondheim fMRI group, which is part of the National Resource Centre for functional MRI.
The ambitious aim of this project is to study the distribution of memory functions across the small anatomical subunits of the human medial temporal lobe, with special emphasis on hippocampal subfields. This is an on-going project that needs the added expertise of a MRI physicist in order to reach the goal. The project is a collaboration between Trondheim fMRI group, professor Olav Haraldseth (Medical Imaging Lab, NTNU), professor Edvard Moser (Center for the Biology of Memory, NTNU) and professor Menno Witter (Vrije Universitet Amsterdam/Center for the Biology of Memory, NTNU).
The focus of the position will be to establish high spatial resolution fMRI protocols for studies of hippocampal and parahippocampal tissue with the optimal compromise between voxel size, image quality and contrast to achieve the best possible localisation of brain activation in hippocampal subfields. The research will mainly be performed on our new state-of-the -art Siemens 3 Tesla system with 32 acquisition channels, and with 50% of the time allocated to research. A Phillips 3 Tesla system is also available for research.
We believe this will be a challenging project for a person with a doctoral degree in MR physics who wants to work with internationally leading neuroscientists and contribute to the exciting developments in research on hippocampal memory function. Minimum qualifications are a doctoral degree in MR physics, engineering, mathematics or related area, strong scientific publication record, and demonstrated expertise in fMRI methods development and applications. Prior-postdoctoral experience and background with interdisciplinary collaborations would be beneficial.
The successful candidate would be expected to commence work in spring of 2007, and the appointment will be fixed-term for three years. The salary is from 389 400 to 604 900 NOK, depending on qualifications.
Contact:
Prof. Olav Haraldseth:
olav.haraldseth@ntnu.no, (+47) 98468940 / (+47) 73598834.
Ass. prof. Asta Håberg:
asta.haberg@ntnu.no, (+47) 73551352
Visit our web pages at:
Trondheim fMRI-group:
http://www.medisin.ntnu.no/isb/UL_MR/fMRI/
Centre for the Biology of Memory (CBM) :
http://www.cbm.ntnu.no/
Medical Imagine Lab (MI lab):
http://www.medisin.ntnu.no/isb/MILab/