Join the Team
We love to work with curious, kind people. Learn more about our lab from the Lab Manual.
Open positions
We’re seeking a predoctoral research assistant to join a project on the neural computations of foraging, in collaboration with the groups of Matthew Apps (Birmingham) and Nathan Lepora (Bristol).
Whether choosing to leave one shop for another, switching TV programs, or seeking berries to eat, humans and other animals make endless stay-or-leave decisions, but how we make them is not well understood. The goal of this project is to find out if there is a common decision algorithm for leaving across species and what that algorithm is.
You will create predictions for how foragers should vary in their stay-of-leave decisions for different types of decision algorithm, and test them using data from humans and rodents tackling foraging tasks. You will have some experience in computational modelling of behaviour, such as decision-making models or reinforcement learning, and good programming skills.
The post is for 12 months, and would suit predoctoral candidates seeking research experience.
Closing date: May 5th 2025
Unsure if you’re a good fit for the post? Got any questions? Then contact Mark for a chat: mark.humphries@nottingham.ac.uk.
Potential lab positions
Independent research fellows
The Humphries Lab has a great track record of hosting independent research fellows studying the computations of neural populations. We welcome enquiries from candidates who would like to apply for an independent research fellowship with our support. Please send a rough proposal, idea of targeted funding bodies, and CV to Mark.
Suitable fellowship schemes are available from a range of UK funders. The University of Nottingham also offers its own tenure-track research fellowships, for which we’re happy to discuss support.
Postdoctoral researchers
Postdoc positions in the UK are funded by specific grants. All postdoc posts are advertised on jobs.ac.uk, and will appear above under Open positions.
Graduate students
We occasionally have lab-specific PhD studentships. If available, they will appear above under Open positions.
UK universities recruit most PhD students through their PhD programs. The University of Nottingham has a range of PhD programs. Any projects we have available through these PhD programs will appear above under Open positions. UK PhDs start in October; programs open for applications anytime between the preceding December and May - check the specific program’s calls for deadlines.
All program-linked PhD studentships in the UK are advertised on FindAPhD.com.
Research assistants
We occasionally have openings for paid predoctoral research assistants. If available, they will appear above under Open positions.
Internships
We typically host 1-2 pre-doctoral internships a year, either at Nottingham or remotely.