PhD Studentship
Job Title: PhD Studentship in Infant Cognitive Neuroscience
Post Status: Four-year studentship
Research Group/ Cusack Lab
School/Department: Trinity College Institute of Neuroscience
Location: Trinity College Dublin, the University of Dublin
College Green, Dublin 2, Ireland
Job Category andLevel: Appointment will be at the Research Ireland stipend level
(€25,000 per annum, plus fees and conference travel)
Hours of Work: 39 hours per week
The Purpose of the Role
Infants are acquiring the brain representations that form the foundations of cognition. These
powerful representations allow the infant to rapidly master many tasks during childhood. The
InfantNeuroAI project aims to measure these developing representations, using neuroimaging with
fMRI and OPM-MEG, and to model the developmental process using computational models from AI.
The project aims to better understand infant cognition, develop neuroimaging methods to better
detect disrupted function following neonatal brain injury, and identify new more energy efficient
learning algorithms that could reduce the economic and environmental cost of AI.
The post presents a rich opportunity for training in neuroimaging methods, developmental
cognitive neuroscience and computational modelling with DNNs.With Professor Cusack and as part
of an interdisciplinary team, the postholder will participate in the full process from setting up awake
infant fMRI and/or OPM-MEG, experimental design, data acquisition, analysis, computational
modelling, presenting work and writing manuscripts.
Context
The team is based in the Cusack Lab, an interdisciplinary team of neuroscientists, cognitive
scientists, neuroimagers and AI engineers. The Lab is housed in the Trinity College Institute of
Neuroscience (TCIN), which brings together 60 groups and 250 scientists from a broad range of
disciplines, to study the brain from molecules to mind to society. It houses state of the art
equipment, including a Siemens 3T Prisma MRI scanner, a CERCA OPM-MEG system, and an NVIDIA
GPU cluster. TCIN aims also to span levels from fundamental research to translation (bench-tobedside). The postholder will report to Professor Rhodri Cusack and be part of a diverse team
working to use brain imaging and NeuroAI to understand the infant brain.
Funding Information
This post is funded by ERC Advanced Grant InfantNeuroAI (101265741) and the Research Ireland
Frontiers for the Future Award 2022.
Main Responsibilities
• Be collaborative and constructive, working with the interdisciplinary team and Professor
Cusack to conduct insightful, original research
• Apply robust and reproducible methods to produce the highest quality science
• Maintain the highest ethical standards
• Develop expertise in identifying important scientific questions and designing experiments to
answer them
• Develop technical skills including neuroimaging analysis and AI modelling
• Present work at local, national and international meetings
• Write clear, authoritative and impactful manuscripts
• Provide constructive feedback to other team members and Professor Cusack, to strengthen
other’s work
• Supervise undergraduate research students as a co-supervisor
• Contribute to the administrative and practical operations of the lab
Person Specification
This section sets out the knowledge, skills and attributes the post-holder will need for successful
performance in the role.
Qualifications
• A Bachelor’sdegree in psychology, cognitive science, computer science or a relevant field is
essential
• A Master’s degree in developmental science, cognitive neuroscience, computer science or a
relevant field is desirable
Knowledge and Expertise
• Expertise or a strong interest in cognitive neuroscience is essential
• Experience with python or another relevant programming language is essential
• Proven research experience in neuroimaging and the development of new methods would
be an advantage
• Experience in developmental science is desirableand an interest to develop expertise in
infant development is essential
• Experience in using DNNs is highly desirable
Skills
• strong critical thinking and good judgement
• excellent organisation and time management
• the ability to find, read, critique and synthesize complex bodies of literature
• the ability to generate strong scientific hypotheses and to design experiments to test them
• the ability to work thoroughly through tasks until they are completed, even if they turn out
to be more difficult than you first expect
• the ability to write clearly and concisely
• enthusiasm and aptitude to acquire expertise in diverse areas of the project
• enthusiasm and aptitude to share expertise with other team members
• enthusiasm for communication with a broader audience
• a desire to develop your transversal and cross-sectoral skills
Personal Attributes
• The ability to generate new ideas and build on existing to generate unique concepts and
solutions with integrity
• The ability to contribute to broader organisational and management processes
• The ability to manage self, time, resources and people
• The capacity to work independently on research projects as well as part of a team
Please note that Garda vetting will be sought in respect of individuals who come under
consideration for a post
Application Process
Applicants should submit the following as a single PDFto admin@cusacklab.org with the subject
line "InfantNeuroAI PhD 2026":
• full curriculum vitae including a list of publications (if applicable)
• statement of research interest outlining current experience and plans for the future, not
exceeding 2 pages
• names and email addresses of two referees
• links to any relevant code repositories, preprints, media articles, blogs, or other supporting
media (if applicable)
Excellent candidates from outside of the EU will also be considered.
Selection will begin on 4 October, 2026.
If you have any query please contact Tamrin Holloway, admin@cusacklab.org
Trinity Competencies
In Trinity there are 6 Core Competencies that are applicable to all roles across a range of
professional, administrative and support jobs, unlike specialist or technical skills which may be job
specific. They provide a common language for describing performance and the abilities/attributes
displayed by individuals. They focus on ‘how’ tasks are achieved, not ‘what’ is achieved.
Below is a summary definition of the 6 Core Competencies.
Competency Summary Definition
1 Agile Leader Sees the big picture and harnesses opportunities to achieve the
University’s goals. Creates clear direction for the future and how to
get there.
2 Unlocks Potential Energised, capable and confident to take ownership and responsibility
for their development and goals. Motivates, supports and develops
people to perform to the best of their ability.
3 Service Ethos Finds ways to increase stakeholder and customer satisfaction. Builds
relationships, is proactive and delivery focused in order to anticipate,
meet & exceed expec
