Research Technician

King's College London; Greater London; On-site; GBP 28,000 - 34,000; Full time

Job summary

King's College London, IoPPN, Department of Neuroimaging, invites applications for a full-time Research Technician. You will assist studies on cognition and brain circuits in depression, psychosis, and controls, handling recruitment, data collection, EEG/fMRI, and overnight visits at King's College Hospital.

The role suits psychology or neuroscience graduates aiming for a PhD or Clinical Psychology Doctorate. Six-month fixed-term contract, 35 hours per week.

Qualifications

• First or 2:1 undergraduate degree in Psychology, Neuroscience or related field
• Proactive attitude, showing initiative and problem-solving skills
• Ability to work as part of a team and independently
• Accurate record-keeping and attention to detail
• Strong organisational and time-management skills with ability to prioritise workload
• Experience collecting data in vulnerable populations (mental health)
• Experience carrying out cognitive assessments (MCCB or WASI)
• Experience in collecting EEG data

Responsibilities

• Recruit and screen potential participants
• Schedule in-person study visits
• Collect, enter, and audit clinical, cognitive and functional data
• Collect fMRI and EEG data
• Supervise participants during overnight stays
• Learn neuroimaging data collection methods (including polysomnography)

Skills

Proactive attitude

Problem-solving

Team player

Independent worker

Attention to detail

Organisational skills

Time management

Experience with vulnerable populations

Cognitive assessments MCCB/WASI

EEG data collection

Education

Bachelor's degree in Psychology or Neuroscience or related field

Tools

MCCB

WASI

EEG data collection equipment

Job description

THIS VACANCY IS OPEN TO INTERNAL APPLICANTS ONLY

About us:

The Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience (IoPPN) at King's is ranked second in the world for psychology and psychiatry (US News, Best Global Universities), and we are home to one of the world's largest centres for neuroscience research. Based on the same site as the world famous Maudsley Hospital and King's College Hospital, you will get the opportunity to work alongside world-leading scientists and clinicians as part of your role.

The Department of Neuroimaging is focused on the research and development of neuroimaging techniques from basic science to clinical application. We aspire to making brain imaging an essential clinical tool in both neurology and psychiatry as we devise innovative imaging methods to measure brain structure, function, physiology and metabolism.

About the role:

Applications are invited to join a team of researchers exploring cognitive dysfunction in clinical populations. A research technician position is available in Professor Steve Williams' research group, based in the Department of Neuroimaging.

The post holder will assist studies of cognition, with a primary focus on a neuroimaging study assessing cognition and brain circuits underlying cognitive dysfunction in individuals with depression, psychosis, and healthy controls. The study consists of two parts:

Part 1 involves three visits at the Clinical Research Facility at King's College Hospital, where participants complete various clinical, cognitive, and functional assessments, as well as a fMRI and an EEG recording.

Part 2 involves two overnight visits on consecutive days, including two days of assessments between the overnight stays. Visits will take place at the Clinical Research Facility at King's College Hospital, where participants complete various clinical, cognitive, and functional assessments, polysomnography and fMRI recordings.

The post holder will be responsible for participant recruitment and data collection, including: 1) approaching and screening potential participants, 2) scheduling in-person study visits, 3) collecting, entering, and auditing clinical, cognitive and functional study data, 4) collecting fMRI and EEG data, 5) supervising participants during overnight stays at the Clinical Research Facility at King's College Hospital.

The successful applicant will become familiar with administering and scoring standard clinical and neuropsychological assessments used in research settings, and learn about neuroimaging data collection, including polysomnography.

This is an ideal position for psychology or neuroscience graduates who wish to gain experience in human mental health research and are planning to apply for a PhD or Clinical Psychology Doctorate in the future.

This is a full-time post (35 Hours per week), and you will be offered a fixed term contract for six months.

About you:

To be successful in this role, we are looking for candidates to have the following skills and experience:

Essential criteria

1. First or 2:1 undergraduate degree in Psychology, Neuroscience or another related field or equivalent
2. Proactive attitude, showing initiative when faced with challenges and demonstrating problem-solving skills
3. Ability to work as part of a team, ability to work independently
4. Accurate record-keeping and attention to detail
5. Good organisational and time managements skills, and ability to prioritise workload in an effective manner
6. Experience collecting data in vulnerable populations, such as people with mental health conditions, as part of a research study
7. Experience of carrying out cognitive assessments, including the MCCB or WASI
8. Experience in collecting EEG data

Desirable criteria

1. Willingness to complete overnight stays at King's College Hospital as part of data collection
2. Experience working with sleep data
3. Experience of carrying out clinical assessments, such as the PANSS, BNSS or HAM-D, or equivalent standard clinical scales

Further Information

At King's, we believe that the diversity of our community and a culture that is welcoming, open, inclusive and collaborative, are great strengths of the university.

The Equality Act of 2010 protects the rights of our students and staff and provides a framework to fulfil our duties to eliminate unlawful discrimination, harassment and victimisation and in addition, to advance equality of opportunity and foster good relations between those who share a protected characteristic and those who do not. At times, this will include balancing rights and beliefs that can feel in tension.

We are committed to free speech and to academic freedom, believing that our foundational purpose as a university, is to create spaces where a wide range of ideas, including ideas that are controversial, can be discussed and debated, and where members of our community can express lawful views without fear of intimidation, harassment or discrimination.

When engaging in the robust exchange of ideas, we ask that our community is mindful of our Dignity at King's guidance.

We ask all candidates to submit a copy of their CV, and a supporting statement, detailing how they meet the essential criteria listed in the person specification section of the job description. If we receive a strong field of candidates, we may use the desirable criteria to choose our final shortlist, so please include your evidence against these where possible.

Artificial intelligence (AI) is evolving rapidly, and we recognise its growing role in professional work. Applicants may use AI tools to support preparation of their application, for example to research the role or structure written responses. However, applications must reflect the applicant's own work and experience. AI tools should not be used during interviews unless this has been agreed in advance as a reasonable adjustment. Further guidance on the use of AI in recruitment can be found here.

We reserve the right to close adverts early due to the volume of applications we receive. While the closing date may change, all adverts will close at 23:59 to allow sufficient time for applications to be submitted on that day.

We encourage you to apply at the earliest opportunity to avoid disappointment as once we have closed a vacancy you will be unable to submit your application.

To find out how our managers will review your application, please take a look at our 'How we Recruit' pages.

Interview date: 10th of November.

This post is subject to Disclosure and Barring Service and/or Occupational Health clearances.