Month: March 2017

Call for Seed Grant Applications

The Connecticut Institute for the Brain and Cognitive Sciences (CT IBACS) is pleased to announce a new call for applications to its seed grant fund.

Full details (and forms for the required letter of intent) can be found on the Institute website. The seed fund is intended to fund activities in the Brain and Cognitive Sciences (broadly construed) that are likely to lead to applications for external funding, or which otherwise contribute to the mission of the Institute. Preference will be given to activities that involve collaboration and expertise across laboratories and/or traditional disciplinary boundaries.

Applications for small grants (<$10,000) can be submitted at any time; applications in excess of $10,000 should be submitted by May 1st.

The Institute also invites applications for affiliate memberships.

PostDoc position available at Wesleyan University

Postdoctoral Fellow Position in the Cognitive Development Lab at Wesleyan University

The Cognitive Development Lab at Wesleyan University, directed by Dr. Anna Shusterman, is seeking a full-time Postdoctoral Fellow to start on or before July 1, 2017. The Cognitive Development Lab at Wesleyan University, headed by Dr. Anna Shusterman, is seeking a full-time Post-Doctoral Fellow for an NSF-funded project on early number acquisition exploring the role of language and syntax in number acquisition. The post-doc will be responsible for working closely with the PI, a dedicated project manager, and undergraduate research assistants to carry out the goals of the study, as well as other projects including preschool mathematics, socio-emotional development, and research-to-practice translation in early childhood settings.

Primary Responsibilities
The post-doc will be involved in research design, data collection and analysis, subject recruitment, and management of grant/IRB/human subjects protocols; supervision of research assistants; manuscript preparation and editing; conference presentations; coordinating with collaborators in the US and abroad; and disseminating findings to non-science audiences. Travel will most likely be required.

The post-doc will also have time, support, and resources to develop and work on an independent research program.

Required Qualifications
Doctoral in Psychology or a related field.
Research background in cognitive or language development.
Demonstrated ability to work with children.
Experience with experimental research design and statistical analysis.
Proficiency with basic computer platforms (e.g., Word, Excel, PowerPoint, etc).
Proficiency with statistical analysis software and research tools (e.g., R, SPSS, PRISM, etc.).
Highly motivated, organized, and detail-oriented.
Able to take initiative and incorporate feedback.
Able & willing to travel.
Exceptional cultural sensitivity.
Excellent writing and communication skills.
Demonstrated commitment to work within a diverse environment and interact openly with individuals of different backgrounds.

Preferred qualifications include experience with preferential looking methodologies and past success in mentoring undergraduate research students. The ideal candidate will be self-directed and confident working both independently and with others in a busy and active research environment.

This is a one-year grant-funded position. Continuation of this position is dependent upon continued grant funding.

To apply, please email a cover letter, CV, names and contact information for three references to Maddy Barclay (mbarclay@wesleyan.edu). In addition, please submit your application to https://careers.wesleyan.edu/postings/5775.

Register now for the IBACS Meet and Speak

Dear Research Community,

The CT Institute for the Brain and Cognitive Sciences (IBACS) invites you to a two-day “Meet and Speak” event on March 23rd and 24th where affiliated faculty (from the Storrs campus and UConn Health Center) will give 15 minute presentations describing, in accessible language, the research they have carried out, or propose carrying out, with seed funding previously awarded by IBACS. Graduate Students affiliated with the Institute will be performing short “datablitz” style presentations about their involvement in Seed Funded or related research.

The event will provide an opportunity to learn more about the diverse research that IBACS affiliates are engaged in, and will provide a forum for cross-disciplinary networking.

The event will be held in The Great Room at the Alumni Center. More information about this event can be found here.

Lunch and other refreshments will be provided. Each day will start at approximately 9:00 (with coffee/tea) and finish at 3:30, with lunch from 12:30-1:30 and discussion/poster session between 2:30-3:30.

If you are interested in attending all or part of this 2-day event, please register by March 17 (space and food will be limited). Attendance at each session or each day is not required, and you will be able to specify on the registration form which morning(s) or afternoon(s) you can attend.

Click here to register.

External Application Review (EAR) announcement

Dear colleagues

IBACS is pleased to announce the formation of the External Application Review (EAR) panel. Our aim is to provide PIs with feedback on grant development in order to facilitate external funding efforts related to the Brain and Cognitive Sciences. We can also help organize more general grant mentoring for faculty with little grant writing experience — see the EAR page.

PIs may request EAR review at the link above. In brief, EAR will locate 2-3 appropriate reviewers for your application. By default, the EAR process has two stages. First, early on, you will meet with the reviewers and EAR representatives for an in-person presentation of the grant outline, allowing reviewers to help you identify strengths and weaknesses before the grant is fully developed. Second, reviewers and EAR representatives will review your written grant, providing you with mock reviews in time to strengthen your application prior to submission. Details about the process and deadlines can be found at the link above.

Please check out the details and consider letting EAR help you strengthen upcoming grants.

Sincerely,

Joanne Conover, Physiology & Neurobiology
Monty Escabi, Biomedical Engineering
Eric Levine, Neuroscience (UCHC)
Eric Loken, Educational Psychology
Jim Magnuson, Psychological Sciences
Emily Myers, Speech, Language & Hearing Sciences
William Snyder, Linguistics