[CogSci] One-year RA/four-year PhD Positions with the Decision & Memory Group at the Universitat Jaume I (Castelló de la Plana, Spain)

[Raphael Samuel Matthew Kaplan]

Dear Colleagues.

The Decision and Memory group at the Universitat Jaume I in Castelló de la
Plana, Spain seeks a motivated research assistant (RA) or PhD student to
study the influence of episodic and spatial memory processes in health and
disease using computational cognitive science and/or cognitive neuroscience
approaches(fMRI, intracranial EEG, behavior, and computational models). The
RA position is expected to last one year, and the PhD is expected to last
four years.
Research in our group currently focuses on how human episodic and spatial
memory function in health and disease. The one-year RA position is a great
opportunity for those interested in subsequently pursuing a four-year PhD
since the group has an established record of developing trainees at all
experience levels (all full-time trainees in the group have had
first-author publications in selective peer-reviewed journals). The start
date is relatively flexible and can be anytime between January and June
2026.
Competitive applicants will have a BA and MSc that can be in psychology,
biology, mathematics, computer science, engineering, physics, computational
neuroscience, cognitive neuroscience, or a related field. Applicants are
ideally looking to build innovative careers in scientific research or big
data analysis in industry. Due to funding restrictions, candidates should
be *EU citizens/permanent residents*. Candidates who have recently finished
their undergraduate degree with honours and are eligible for PhD
scholarships are particularly encouraged to apply. Some experience
programming with Python and/or R will be looked upon favourably.  The
research environment is primarily English speaking, but candidates who can
also speak Spanish and Valencian/Catalan are especially encouraged to apply.
RA and PhD candidates will be expected to contribute to at least one
ongoing research line including:
-Episodic memory processing
-Computational models of memory sampling
-Imagination and mental simulation
-Transfer of learning between cognitive domains
-Comparing spatial and social perspective-taking
-Episodic memory functions in Major Depressive Disorder patients
-Age-related changes in transfer of Learning

Here are some relevant publications from our group this year:
M Esposito*, L Abdul*, A Ghouse, M Rodríguez Aramendía, R Kaplan(2025)
Flexible hippocampal representation of abstract boundaries supports
memory-guided choice. Nature Communications 16:2377.

M Rodríguez Aramendía, M Esposito, R Kaplan (2025) Social knowledge about
others is anchored to self-knowledge in the hippocampal formation. PLoS
Biology, 23(4): e3003050
Ghouse, A & Kaplan, R (2025) The Relative Contributions of Traits and
Contexts on Social Network Learning. Open Mind 9:1506-1527.
Group website:
https://www.uji.es/serveis/ocit/base/grupsinvestigacio/detall?codi=338

To apply, interested candidates should directly contact the group leader,
Raphael Kaplan at kaplan at uji.es with a 1-2 paragraph cover/motivation
letter, CV, and contact info for at least two references at their earliest
convenience and by December 2, 2025 at the latest. Please feel free to
direct any questions about the position to Dr. Kaplan.
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