Studying with Us

We are a lab who believe in diversity, inclusion and equality of opportunity, and strive to bring those ideals into our ways of working every day. We welcome applications to work with us from everyone, no matter who you are, and particularly encourage enquiries from groups traditionally underrepresented in acadaemia. We hold these values because every person deserves access to the joy of scientific discovery, and because diversity of thinking drives innovative and original science. It's simply a win-win.

As a signatory of the San Francisco Declaration on Research Assessment (DORA), Prof Simons supports the principle that evaluation of researchers for hiring, promotion, or funding decisions should not be based on journal-based metrics such as journal impact factors, but on assessment of the scientific content of research outputs.

Postgraduate Opportunities

If you are a prospective student who would like to carry out a PhD research project with us, you should contact well in advance of the start of the project. See details on applying for postgraduate studies in the Department of Psychology. Current PhD students in the lab are happy to discuss their experiences with potential applicants - they can be contacted via the [People] page.

Students will be provided with an extensive training in research methods and techniques, taking full advantage of the excellent facilities for experimental studies available in Cambridge that make it one of the leading centres for cognitive neuroscience research. Through close collaborative links with researchers at the nearby MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, students can utilize state-of-the-art facilities for multimodal neuroimaging, as well as an extensive panel of healthy research volunteers, including many younger and older adults, and a panel of individuals with brain lesions.

Cambridge invests a great deal in training research students, and postgraduates will be full members of the Cambridge Graduate Programme in Cognitive and Brain Sciences, which includes regular theoretical seminars and courses. Additionally, there is a carefully monitored supervision system and a wealth of seminars and other research-oriented teaching available both within the Department and through the faculty Graduate School.

Prof Simons is able to supervise graduate students through the Cambridge BBSRC and MRC DTP Programmes, and clinical fellows through the Wellcome Trust PhD Programme for Clinicians. There are numerous other sources of funding for postgraduate study, with studentships available for both UK and overseas students (see Funding Search page). All postgraduate funding schemes are highly competitive and applications must be made, in some cases, up to a year in advance.

Postdoctoral Opportunities

If you are interested in a postdoctoral research position in the lab, please contact to discuss details of the project you might undertake.

As noted above, postdoctoral researchers have the opportunity to access state-of-the-art functional neuroimaging facilities, including Siemens 3T and 7T MRI and Elekta Neuromag MEG scanners. Effects of temporary, reversible brain stimulation on cognitive function can be studied using Magstim TMS and NeuroConn tDCS systems. Also available are extensive panels of healthy volunteers and neuropsychological populations, for examining how memory is affected by neurological and psychiatric disorders, and normal aging.

Potential postdocs should ideally have previous experience in at least one of the general areas of neuroimaging and/or neuropsychology, although full training will be provided from local experts, and through courses where appropriate. An interest in the cognitive neuroscience of long-term memory processes is obviously essential, and a strong background in cognitive psychology or a related discipline desirable.

Many sources of funding are available for postdocs, including research fellowships from various Cambridge Colleges, and from external funding agencies. A very helpful list of UK postdoctoral funding opportunities is maintained by my colleague Sarah-Jayne Blakemore here.

When grant-funded post-doctoral positions become available in the lab, they will be advertised on the Departmental Job Opportunities page.