Postdoctoral Position in the Language and Cognitive Neuroscience Lab, Department of Psychology, University of Wisconsin-Madison
We are seeking a postdoctoral researcher to work on an NSF-funded project under the direction of Dr. Maryellen MacDonald, investigating the role of language production in learning and verbal working memory. The proposed research integrates studies of language production, verbal working memory, artificial language learning paradigms, corpus analyses, and natural language comprehension. The work comprises basic research on cognitive and language processes in typical young adults, but its focus on potential learning interventions offers a clear path to extensions to children, atypical populations, and computational approaches. The NSF Project Summary can be found here. Publications related to the approach can be found at the bottom of this page.
Qualifications:
–Ph.D. in Psychology, Linguistics, Cognitive Science or a related field (Ph.D. must be granted by the start date of the postdoctoral position).
–Experience with psycholinguistic research, including some familiarity with language production in adults
–Expertise in data analytic methods for experimental data and corpora
Additional desirable qualities:
–Familiarity with artificial grammar learning methods
–Knowledge of sentence comprehension (reading) methods and research
–Familiarity with verbal working memory research
–A track record of publications and presentations of research
–Expertise or interest in computational modeling
The position is for one year, renewable for a second year given satisfactory progress. The start date is flexible from August 1-October 1, 2019. The Department of Psychology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison has outstanding resources and has particular strength in language research, supplemented by colleagues in Language Sciences, Communication Sciences and Disorders and other departments. The Madison area offers excellent quality of life.
There are no citizenship requirements for the position. Salary will be commensurate with experience, following NIH guidelines, https://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/notice-files/NOT-OD-18-175.html
To apply, send an application letter or research statement explaining your background and interest in the position, CV, up to three reprints or preprints to languagepostdocs@mailplus.wisc.edu. Also arrange for three letters of recommendation to be sent to this same email address. For fullest consideration, applications should be received by April 15, 2019. Questions about the application process can be sent to languagepostdocs@mailplus.wisc.edu, and questions about the research can be sent to mcmacdonald@wisc.edu.
Women and members of underrepresented groups are strongly encouraged to apply.
Related research in the lab:
Hopman, E. W. M., & MacDonald, M. C. (2018). Producing during language learning improves comprehension. Psychological Science, 29(6), 961– 971. https://doi.org/10.1177/0956797618754486
MacDonald, M. C. (2016). Speak, act, remember: The language-production basis of serial order and maintenance in verbal memory. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 25(1), 47–53. https://doi.org/10.1177/0963721415620776
See our lab publications page for other papers
