Development of Innovative fNIRS Techniques for Neuroimaging in Sport Sciences (23040)

Four Year Funded Studentship. Application Deadline: 28 February 2025

Development of Innovative fNIRS Techniques for Neuroimaging in Sport Sciences and Neuromarketing Applications

Primary supervisor: Prof Ilias Tachtsidis (UCL Medical Physics and Biomedical Engineering)

Co-Supervisor: Professor Antonia Hamilton (Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience) and Dr Flaminia Ronca (UCL Sport and Exercise Medical Sciences)

Introduction

A 4-year funded PhD studentship is available in the UCL Department of Medical Physics and Biomedical Engineering. Funding will be at least the UCL minimum stipend rate. The PhD studentship is partly funded by industry; and is a part of an ongoing collaboration between Prof Ilias Tachtsidis (Engineering), Prof Antonia Hamilton (Neuroscience) and Dr Flaminia Ronca (Sports Sciences).

The successful candidate will join our Cognitive NIRS Lab, the Research Degree in Medical Physics and Biomedical Engineering and benefit from the activities and events organised by the department.

Project Background

Functional Near-Infrared Spectroscopy (fNIRS) is an optical neuroimaging technique that uses near-infrared light to measure cortical brain changes in oxygenated and deoxygenated haemoglobin concentrations (HbO2, HHb). This method identifies brain neuronal activation areas by observing changes in haemoglobin haemodynamic and oxygenation due to increased brain blood flow from neuronal activity, known as neurovascular coupling. fNIRS is well-established in infant and adult neuroscience research [see review Pinti P. et al., Ann N.Y. Acad. Sci. 2020]. However, significant technological (hardware) and computational (software/analytics) advancements are needed to improve brain cortical sensitivity, functional imaging reconstruction, and understanding of brain-body physiology interactions. Physiology augmented neuroimaging is a powerful methodology to understand the embodied human brain and allows new dimensions to explore the interplay between brain and body activity [see Scholkmann F. et al, Neurophotonics 2022].

This PhD project offers a unique opportunity to work with cutting-edge optical neuroimaging technology. It is co-sponsored by Shimadzu, a Japanese company specializing in optical neuroimaging instruments, and the Department of Medical Physics and Biomedical Engineering at UCL, known for its expertise in optical neuroimaging developments and applications. The PhD candidate will collaborate with both academic and industry experts, covering a wide range of topics from device design, algorithm developments, signal processing analytics and neuroimaging applications.

Research aims

Understanding human cognitive function, especially motivation and decision-making, requires a paradigm shift in neuroimaging that requires recognizing the mind-body connection. Complex activities like social interactions and sports challenge both our emotional and physical states. We now require new technologies, methods and protocols that will allow us to integrate brain and body information to create new understanding of our cognitive function.

This PhD research aims to answer the above challenge. The PhD scope includes: (1) implementing solutions for fNIRS and physiological systems integration; (2) developing methods for multimodal data fusion; and (3) improving analytic methods for higher sensitivity inference of neuronal activation. The PhD extends beyond proof-of-principle testing, applying these technologies in human-centric studies for neuromarketing and sports sciences.

Student Eligibility

This studentship is only open to “Home Fee-paying” candidates. Read more about our fee status criteria
Candidates with backgrounds in either Engineering or Physics or Computing or Neuroscience or Psychology are welcome to apply.
Hands-on experience in neuroimaging and conducting human studies will be a plus.
Candidates should have an interest in neuroimaging and data/signal analytics
Candidates should hold a UK (or international equivalent) first or upper-second Bachelor’s degree.

Funding

This is a full studentship available to Home fee paying applicants.

The successful student will receive a stipend starting from at least the UCL minimum (£21,237 in 2024/25) as well as the cost of tuition fees for [e.g., “Home”] fee students (£6,035 in 2024/25). The stipends awarded to PhD students at UCL are tax free and incur no income tax or national insurance contributions. The amount received increases each year over the duration of the studentship.

How to apply

The application deadline is 28 February 2025, but we encourage candidates to apply as soon as possible. You should also indicate in your application if you would like to start your PhD on 1 May 2025 or 1 October 2025.

Please complete the following steps to apply:

Send an expression of interest and current CV to: i.tachtsidis@ucl.ac.uk and medphys.pgr@ucl.ac.uk
Please quote PhD in Innovative fNIRS Techniques in the email subject line.
Check our guidance to ensure you're eligible for Home Fees
Make a formal application via the UCL application portal. Please select the programme code RRDMPHSING01 (Research Degree: Medical Physics) and enter Project Code 23040 under ‘Name of Award 1’
If shortlisted, candidates will be invited for an interview, with more details about this to be provided when being invited

Application timeline

After the deadline, all applicants that expressed their interests and specified Project 23040 in their Portico application will be considered for interview. Candidates will normally be invited for interview within three weeks of the deadline. If you have not been contacted within this time-period, you have unfortunately not been successful in being shortlisted.

The interview panel will normally consist of the supervision team on the project. Please note that applications without specifying the project they are applying for and/or making a formal Portico application will be automatically rejected.

If you are offered and accept a studentship position, a formal UCL Offer of Admissionwill be sent to you as well as an offer of studentship funding.