<html><head><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"></head><body style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; line-break: after-white-space;" class=""><div class=""><b class="">Please share with students and colleagues. **Please note particular call for applicants interested in using EEG to study the effects of aging on speech perception**</b></div><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class="">Ph.D. student position in Speech Perception, at Univ. of Massachusetts Amherst</div><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class="">The Language, Intersensory Perception, and Speech (LIPS) lab, directed by Dr. Alexandra Jesse, has openings for Ph.D. students in Cognition and Cognitive Neuroscience. The lab conducts basic research on how humans recognize speech sounds and spoken words from auditory and audiovisual speech, using a variety of methods (e.g., psychophysical methods, eye tracking, EEG, motion tracking). The research program has three major themes:</div><div class="">a) Dynamics of speech recognition: </div><div class="">How do listeners dynamically process and bind speech information as it unfolds over time to recognize sounds and words? How does contextual information (e.g., sentence content, speaking rate, prosody) affect, for example, lexical competition?</div><div class="">b) Perceptual learning: </div><div class="">How do listeners adjust to talker's idiosyncrasitic ways of speaking? How do listeners learn about a speaker's "visual voice"?</div><div class="">c) Perceptual and cognitive factors in speech recognition: </div><div class="">What abilities explain individual differences in speech recognition? A special focus here is on age-related changes in speech recognition and multisensory processing.</div><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class="">Applicants should be interested in pursuing research (broadly) related to these research themes. It is strongly recommended to contact Dr. Jesse prior to applying to ensure that your interests indeed align with the research program. </div><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class="">Preference will be given to candidates with a particular interest in audiovisual speech perception and aging, who would conduct research related to an NIH-sponsored R03 grant on “Electrophysiological indices of audiovisual benefits to speech processing in aging adults”. The objective of the grant-funded research is to understand the mechanisms by which aging adults benefit from seeing the speaker during speech processing. Electrophysiological measures in younger, middle-aged, and older adults are used to define age-related and individual differences in audiovisual processing. Prior background in electrophysiology is a plus, but not a must.</div><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class="">The LIPS lab is a member of UMass Cognitive Science and of the Initiative on Neurosciences (IONs). We highly encourage collaborations with other faculty working on speech recognition and language in the various involved disciplines, as well as with other members of the Cognition and Cognitive Neuroscience Program and the Neuroscience and Behavior Program, whose research interests include attention, categorization, memory, and visual perception.</div><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class="">Applicants with a strong background in Psychology, Linguistics, Cognitive Neuroscience, Communication Disorders/Speech Sciences and/or other related fields are especially encouraged to apply. Applications should be submitted through the University of Massachusetts’ general application process. <b class="">The deadline for applications is December 1</b>. Start date is September 2019.</div><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class="">The ideal candidate for any of these positions would have:</div><div class=""><ul class=""><li class="">Strong interest in auditory/audiovisual speech perception, perceptual learning, perceptual and cognitive factors within speech perception, and/or changes therein with aging</li><li class="">Previous experience with eye tracking and/or electrophysiology would be a plus, but not a requirement</li><li class="">Background in cognitive psychology, cognitive neuroscience, linguistics or speech sciences</li><li class="">Programming skills</li><li class="">Excellent English language skills</li></ul></div><div class="">Applicants from outside the U.S. are welcome to apply but must qualify for a valid visa.</div><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class="">For information on how to apply, please visit: <a href="http://www.umass.edu/pbs/graduate-programs" class="">http://www.umass.edu/pbs/graduate-programs</a></div><div class="">For questions about the general application process please contact Mrs. Sabrina Flagg (Graduate Administrative Assistant), <a href="mailto:sflagg@umass.edu" class="">sflagg@umass.edu</a>.</div><div class="">For specific question about the LIPS lab, please contact Dr. Jesse, <a href="mailto:ajesse@psych.umass.edu" class="">ajesse@psych.umass.edu</a></div><div class="">For information on the LIPS lab, please visit: <a href="http://lips.psych.umass.edu" class="">http://lips.psych.umass.edu</a></div><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class="">The University of Massachusetts is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer. Women and members of minority groups are encouraged to apply.</div><div class=""><div class="" style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; line-break: after-white-space;">---------------------------------------------------------------<br class=""> Alexandra Jesse, Ph.D.<br class=""> Associate Professor<br class=""> Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences<br class=""> 433 Tobin Hall<br class=""> 135 Hicks Way<br class=""> University of Massachusetts Amherst<br class=""> Amherst MA 01003<br class=""> phone: +1- 413-545-2175<br class="">---------------------------------------------------------------</div></div><div class=""><div style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; line-break: after-white-space;" class=""><br class=""><br class=""><br class=""><br class=""><br class=""></div>
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