Fully funded PhD student to do research in human motor control

Embark on a fully funded PhD journey at Tel Aviv University, delving into the intriguing topic of the “Effects of increasing variability during training on motor learning”. As a student, you'll have the unique opportunity to explore techniques for accelerating human motor learning by altering the structure of variance, in both younger and older adults. This PhD position is part of the TReND doctoral network, a prestigious initiative funded by the European Union. TReND, an acronym for “Translational Research Network in Motor Disorder Rehabilitation: Advancing understanding of variability in motor control and learning, to enhance clinical practice”, is your gateway to cutting-edge research and a promising academic career. By joining the EU-funded Doctoral Network TReND you will join an interdisciplinary and intersectoral training network involving 6 beneficiaries, 2 employing associated partners, and several associated partners. The network will provide online and in-person training to support the fellows in obtaining their doctorate degree including 2 secondments to consortium partners. As part of the network, you will develop important ties with both other early career researchers and senior researchers in this field and will meet up face-to-face once a year with the other network participants from around Europe.

We warmly welcome students with a diverse background in human movement science, motor control, kinesiology, rehabilitation, behavioral sciences, cognitive science, or biomedical engineering to apply. Applicants can be of any nationality, but must not have a residence or performed their main activity in Israel for more than 12 months out of the last 36 months before the recruitment date, and must not have a doctoral degree. Candidates must be eligible to apply to the at Tel Aviv University. The student will receive a monthly stipend consisting of the Israeli New Shekel equivalent of (before tax) a living allowance of €3644.8, a mobility allowance of €643.2, and a family allowance of €707.52 Euro (if relevant).

Your tasks will include running experiments on human subjects, as well as modeling and data analysis. You will need to communicate and disseminate your research results to different target audiences and sectors (e.g., research, clinical, and industry), and publish your research results in highly-ranked international journals and at highly recognized international conferences. You will be expected to collaborate with an international consortium in the externally funded MSCA doctoral network TReND, including participation in the network’s training program, including in-person events (e.g., summer schools) and online events (e.g., lecture series, colloquia, etc.). This position is tied to working towards a doctorate.

You will need to be willing to visit network partners in King’s College London (UK) and University of Münster (Germany) for a maximum duration of three months per visit, and be willing to travel to attend different international network events.​

Desirable skills include experience in human movement analysis (e.g., motion tracking, force measurement) or neuroscience methods (e.g., EEG), basic or advanced programming and data analysis experience (e.g., Matlab, R, python), basic knowledge of time series analysis, experience in working with human participants, and good communication skills and an ability to work independently.

*Recruitment process*

​Please note that the other network partners will also be involved in the selection process and that your documents will be passed on to the other members of the MSCA doctoral network in this context. In addition to the position offered here, 11 more doctoral projects are available in the TReND network (an overview of the projects can be found : ). The following documents must be included in the application:
* Motivation letter in English (max. 2 pages)
* CV in English (preferably in ) that should include details about education/qualifications, work experience, language skills, and other relevant skills
* Bachelor’s and master’s degree certificate including a Transcript of records (if documents are not in English or Hebrew please provide an official translation)
* Any other document the candidate considers important
* Please provide all your documents in one PDF file.
* The applications will be evaluated by the TReND selection committee and suitable candidates will be invited for online interviews.

The closing date for application is the 26th April 2024. Interview invitations will be sent to suitable candidates by 10th May 2024, and online interviews will be carried out by the 7th June 2024. A final decision will be made by 28th June 2024. The student will start their PhD in the Graduate School of the Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences on 1st November 2024, pending acceptance by the graduate school.

Are you interested? Then we look forward to receiving your application as one PDF file by 26 April 2024 to [email protected]. Please note that we cannot consider other file formats.

For more information or if you have any questions, please contact Prof. Jason Friedman ([email protected])

Job Type: Full-time

Salary: 17,216.00₪ per month

Ability to commute/relocate:
* Tel Aviv-Jaffa, מחוז תל אביב: Reliably commute or planning to relocate before starting work (Required)

Education:
* Graduate (Required)

Language:
* English (Required)

Willingness to travel:
* 25% (Preferred)

Application Deadline: 26/04/2024