Ez ugyan fizikusoknak es mernokoknek szol, de hatha... --- We are seeking to employ a full-time postdoctoral Medical Physicist/Engineer for a 3 year fixed term contract as part of multidisciplinary collaborative project grant funded by the Medical Research Council. The successful applicant will develop hardware and software for the application of an in house near infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) optical topography system to map brain function in young infants. The aim of these studies is to determine the relation between postnatal brain development and cognitive behaviour in human infants. The post holder will be based in the Biomedical Optical Laboratory (BORL) in the Department of Medical Physics and Bioengineering, UCL but will work very closely with collaborators at the nearby Centre for Brain and Cognitive Development (CBCD), Birkbeck College. BORL is the largest medical optics group in Europe and has an international reputation for the development and clinical implementation of a number of novel optical techniques for measurements of cerebral oxygenation and haemodynamics (see http://www.medphys.ucl.ac.uk/research/borl/). BORL has a well established collaboration with CBCD who have extensive expertise in developmental cognitive neuroscience (see http://www.cbcd.bbk.ac.uk/cbcd.html). The project will involve performing laboratory based validation experiments, some modelling of light transport in tissue, the design and construction of an optical helmet for studies on 4 – 12 month old infants and the development of appropriate real time analysis software. The applicant will be expected to work as part of a multidisciplinary team and will be present at the majority of infant testing sessions. Applicants should have a PhD or relevant industrial experience in Physics/Engineering or a related discipline, with excellent practical skills and the ability to use their initiative to provide innovative design solutions. Some programming experience is required (preferably Matlab). Candidates should be able to communicate well and work as part of a team with physicists, computer scientists and psychologists. The post will be funded on the RA1A scale (point 7: starting at £22,507 + LW) with a start date of 1st January 2005. For further information please contact Dr. Clare Elwell (celwell(a)medphys.ucl.ac.uk, tel: 020 7679 6403) or Professor Jem Hebden (jem(a)medphys.ucl.ac.uk, tel: 020 7679 6416). Applications including a full CV and should be sent to Dr. Clare Elwell before 31st October 2004 at Department of Medical Physics and Bioengineering, University College London, 1st Floor Shropshire House, 11-20 Capper Street, London, WC1E 6JA.