Postdoctoral Research Assistant

Grade UE07 £40,497- £ 48,149 per annum
College of Arts, Humanities and Social Science / School of Philosophy, Psychology and Language Sciences
Fixed Term: 33 months
Full Time: 35 hours per week
The Psychology Department is seeking a PDRA with an interest in neuropsychology, clinical psychology or clinical health research to investigate decision making and mental capacity to consent to assisted dying in people with motor neuron disease. This post is full time, fixed term and is available from September 2025. The Opportunity: This opportunity is for a post-doctoral psychology researcher with a strong interest in clinical neuropsychological research, to join the cognition in MND research team, at the University of Edinburgh, and to be supervised by Professor Sharon Abrahams. The project “Assisted Dying in Motor Neuron Disease (MND): Implications of Neuropsychological Changes on Decision Making”, funded by the Motor Neuron Disease Association (MNDA). The post holder will be responsible for all key aspects of the project including set up and coordination of the research, undertaking neuropsychology interviews of people with MND, data collection and analysis and dissemination. Your skills and attributes for success:

• Hold a PhD in a relevant field or a Doctorate in Clinical Psychology
• Experience in all key aspects of clinical research including participant recruitment, data collection, analysis and write up.
• Experience of assessment/interviewing people with neurological or mental health problems or physical disability.
• Sensitivity in interviewing vulnerable people on a topic which some may find difficult to discuss.
• Current knowledge of the neuropsychology of neurodegenerative diseases
• Experience writing manuscripts for publication.
• Excellent time management, problem solving, organisation and communication skills.

This job requires:Protection of Vulnerable Groups Scheme (PVG) Registration

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  Please find a full job description here. Application information: We ask you to include a current CV and cover letter with names of three referees who may be contacted at a later date (please note if you do not wish for anyone to be contacted until after an offer has been made). We invite candidates to use their cover letter to highlight professional and personal experiences that maybe relevant to role. As a School we acknowledge that people’s career paths are rarely linear and welcome applicants to expand on their professional and personal journeys where appropriate. More information on how to submit your application can be found here .
  
  As a valued member of our team you can expect:
  • A competitive salary of (£40,497- £ 48,149) Please note that due to external funding constraints salary offers shall be around initial spinal points of the noted University scale only. Annual increments through the scale will occur with each years continuous service.
  • An exciting, positive, creative, challenging and rewarding place to work.
  • To be part of a diverse and vibrant international community.
  • Comprehensive Staff Benefits, such as a generous holiday entitlement, a defined benefits pension scheme, staff discounts and family-friendly initiatives. Check out the full list on our staff benefits page and use our reward calculator to discover the total value of your pay and benefits.
  
  Championing equality, diversity and inclusion:
  
  The University of Edinburgh holds a Silver Athena SWAN award in recognition of our commitment to advance gender equality in higher education. We are members of the Race Equality Charter and we are also Stonewall Scotland Diversity Champions, actively promoting LGBT equality. Prior to any employment commencing with the University you will be required to evidence your right to work in the UK. Further information is available on our right to work webpages (opens new browser tab). The University is able to sponsor the employment of international workers in this role. If successful, an international applicant requiring sponsorship to work in the UK will need to satisfy the UK Home Office’s English Language requirements and apply for and secure a Skilled Worker Visa. Key dates to note:
  
  The closing date for applications is 16 June 2025. Unless stated otherwise the closing time for applications is 11:59pm GMT. If you are applying outside the UK the closing time on our adverts automatically adjusts to your browsers local time zone.
  
  Interviews are expected to be held in late June 2025.