Medicine

Supervisor 1: Dr Helen Henshaw helen.henshaw@nottingham.ac.uk 

Supervisor 2: Dr Antje Heinrich antje.heinrich@manchester.ac.uk 

Supervisor 3: Dr Mengfan Wu mengfan.wu@nottingham.ac.uk 

Supervisor 4: Dr Emma Broome emma.broome@nottingham.ac.uk 

University of Nottingham, School of Medicine

Location: NIHR Nottingham Biomedical Research Centre, Ropewalk House, Nottingham.

Funding status: This studentship is funded by the NIHR (National Institute of Health and Care Research) Nottingham Biomedical Research Centre. The studentship will cover home University rates which includes a stipend of £18,622 per annum and tuition fees. UK/Home students only. A Home student has unrestricted rights to enter and remain in the UK and has been resident in the UK for three years prior to the start of a course, but the purpose of residence cannot purely have been full-time education.

Studentship start date:  1st October 2023/2nd February 2024. Duration is 36 months full time

Project description:

The goal of this PhD is to examine perceptual and cognitive learning arising from computer-based auditory-cognitive training tasks in adults and to explore demographic and task-related factors that may influence learning outcomes. The project will explore both on-task outcomes (changes in performance for tasks that are trained) and off-task outcomes (transfer of learning to changes in performance for untrained tasks. There will be scope for experimental research using normal-hearing and hearing-impaired participants. The long-term impact of this research (beyond the scope of this project) will be to inform the optimisation of new interventions designed to improve real-world listening for adults who have hearing loss.

You should have or expect to obtain a first class or upper second-class undergraduate honours degree (or equivalent), or an MSc/MA, in cognitive neuroscience, experimental psychology, or other relevant scientific discipline. Research experience in perception and cognition will be an advantage. You should have excellent communication and team-working skills, be self-driven and highly motivated. You should also be eligible to apply for relevant research clearances that will be required, including a check with the Disclosure and Barring Service. 

The successful applicant will join a large and vibrant research department and will benefit from strong supervisory and peer support, as well as structured training and development. The appointed student will also benefit from established collaborations with research groups in cognitive and hearing science both nationally and internationally, and with Psychology departments at the University of Nottingham and Nottingham Trent University. 

Informal enquiries may be addressed to Dr Helen Henshaw helen.henshaw@nottingham.ac.uk 

 How to apply:

Please email MS-HS-BRCadmin@exmail.nottingham.ac.uk with the following documents and put  “Dr Helen Henshaw – NIHR Nottingham BRC PhD studentship” in the title.  

·        A maximum of a 2-page C.V. 

·        Degree certificate and transcript (if already graduated) or a recent transcript.

·        800 words personal statement (maximum but excludes references) about why you are interested in doing this PhD, how the ideas outlined align with your interests and experiences and any specific ideas you have for research projects you have in this area.

·        Either two references (in a non-editable format, on headed paper and signed by the referee) or the details of two referees that we can contact. One of the references must be academic.