Antonia Hamilton's lab for Social Cognition
PhD positions
There may be opportunities to pursue a PhD in the Hamilton lab from October 2010. Possible PhD topics include -
From action to social interaction - we now know something about the brain regions which represent other people's basic actions, but how to these regions allow us to understand more complex social interactions? What are the links between brain systems for understanding actions and those for understanding theory of mind? This project would likely involve using fMRI or MEG to study action representations in the brain
The organisation of the action hierarchy - the idea of an action hierarchy is intuitively appealing, but little is known about how actions are represented in the brian. For example, can different types of action be localised to different brain areas? How close are the links between action representations and linguistic representations? This project would use behavioural and fMRI methods to probe these questions
The mirror neuron system in autism - there is increasing evidence for differences in performing and understanding actions in autism, but it is not clear why these differences arise. Do people with autism have a fundamental problem with the mirror neuron system, or are other more general perceptual or social difficulties responsible for previous results. This project would likely involve both behavioural and fMRI work with people with autism.
Candiates will need to apply to the School of Psychology for a place and to apply for funding by February 2010 Details of the application process are here.
If you would like to discuss options for a PhD, either in one of these projects or a different topic, please email antonia.hamilton -at- nottingham.ac.uk with a CV and details of your research interests well in advance of this deadline.
Post-doctoral Researchers
I do not have any funding for post-doctoral positions at present, but am happy to support fellowship applications from suitable candidates. The University of Nottingham offer post-doctoral fellowships (annual deadline in the Autumn). The EU Marie Curie International Incoming Fellowships are a generous scheme supports applicants from outside Europe (annual deadline in August). If you are interested in applying for either of these, do email antonia.hamilton -at- nottingham.ac.uk with a CV and details of your research interests
Student Internships
Second year undergraduates at the University of Nottingham have the opportunity to work in a lab as Summer Interns. Funding options are detailed here.
Please be aware that research projects involving children with autism are rarely feasible during the summer holidays unless the student involved has strong previous contacts with the participants.
All research projects in the Hamilton lab require good Maths skills and computer skills. There is competition for internships and priority will be given to students who apply early and have relevant skills.
How to apply
If you are interested in any of these positions, please email antonia.hamilton -at- nottingham.ac.uk with a CV and details of your research interests well in advance of the relevant deadline.
School of Psychology, University of Nottingham, University Park, Nottingham, NG7 2RD, UK antonia.hamilton - at - nottingham.ac.uk