Joint PhD position：Investigating Strengths and Limits of Rhythmic Priming on Language Processing 

International 3-year PhD position across (1) the Laboratory for Research on Learning and Development, LEAD – CNRS UMR5022 (http://leadserv.u-bourgogne.fr/en), Université de Bourgogne, Dijon, France, and (2) The MARCS Institute for Brain, Behaviour and Development (https://www.westernsydney.edu.au/marcs), Western Sydney University, Sydney, Australia. The successful candidate will spend an equal amount of time at and be awarded their PhD from both Institutions within a joint agreement arrangement (“cotutelle”). They will be co-supervised by Anna Fiveash and Barbara Tillmann, with additional supervision and collaborations across both sites. The PhD position is jointly funded by the The MARCS Institute for Brain, Behaviour and Development and the Burgundy-Franche-Comté Regional Council, and integrates under a memorandum of understanding between the two Universities.

The PhD will be part of an ongoing, international research project focusing on the strengths and limits of the rhythmic priming effect, whereby regular rhythms have been shown to boost language processing compared to irregular rhythms or other control conditions. The project involves investigating the multiple facets of rhythmic priming and its neural correlates, including (for example) the role of attention, the duration of the effect, benefits of sensorimotor coupling, individual differences (i.e., reading age, chronological age, musical training/abilities etc), and cross-language effects. The PhD will investigate benefits to different types of language perception and production tasks (including phonological processing, grammatical processing, reading, and sentence reproduction). The PhD candidate will be working with children and adults across Dijon and Sydney, mainly with typical development but with possible extensions to neurodevelopmental disorders.

Required: background in experimental/developmental psychology, cognitive neurosciences or neuropsychology; motivation for teamwork; statistical and programming skills; English fluency.

Preferable: knowledge in the field of neurosciences of music, speech/language and/or auditory perception, research experience in developmental science, prior experience with EEG or eye-tracking, French fluency, musical training.

Applications should include a CV, a cover letter specifying research interests and motivation, and contact details for two referees. They should be sent to barbara.tillmann@cnrs.fr and A.Fiveash@westernsydney.edu.au.

Applications will be evaluated as they come in, and the position will be open until filled (with flexible starting date up to end 2024).