Jobs

Betina Ip’s Group, part of the Oxford University Centre for Integrative Neuroimaging, Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences, seeks a Research Assistant to support high-resolution neuroimaging studies to investigate systemic effects of visual and circadian influences on the human brain. The position is funded by a Royal Society Dorothy Hodgkin Research Fellowship to Dr Betina Ip.

The RA will work closely with the other members of the research team on all aspects of this study. The RA will help in project development, write and administer all ethical approvals for ongoing studies in the group, ensuring that information is communicated, logged and up-to-date. The post-holder will be responsible for recruitment and will be actively involved in all aspects of data collection, including scheduling and running MRI scan sessions and behavioural testing sessions, as well as data analysis.

Since the project is themed around circadian rhythms, the actual data collection sessions…

Investigating the role of hormonal and circadian mechanisms in pain

Pain is an essential protective signal that alerts us to actual or potential tissue damage. When pain persists or becomes dysregulated, it can drive chronic pain disorders with major personal and societal burden. Many pain conditions also fluctuate across the day and differ by sex, suggesting that timing and biological state are integral to the mechanisms that generate pain.

 This studentship will combine multidisciplinary approaches to understand the role of biological rhythms in pain using advanced in vitro human pain models. Your work will be aligned to the new MRC complex in vitro models initiative.  You will be based at the world leading Kavli Institute for Nanoscience Discovery and part of the Sir Jules Thorne Sleep and Circadian Neuroscience Institute (SCNi). 

This work will allow identification of new cellular targets for the development of future treatment strategies in pain which take into…

Deadline: 26/01/2026 Project title: Chrono-nutrition: turning physiology, behaviour, and psychology into real world interventions Research aims: The overall aims of this project are: 1) better understand how chrono-nutrition (including meal timing, fasting duration and energy restriction) regulate human physiology; and 2) explore how basic laboratory findings can be exploited to improve health through changing eating behaviour in the real world. What you will do: Objective 1. Analyse data sets from ongoing chrono-nutrition research to understand physiological mechanisms. Temporal data sets (blood biomarkers, metabolomics, wearable device data, questionnaire scores) will be analysed to increase understanding of physiological mechanisms that cause health benefits. Objective 2. Design and conduct a novel study of meal timing in a free-living population. Physiological data and behaviour change methods will be used to support real-world changes in eating behaviour. Health outcome measures will be collected along with computerised cognitive tests and self-report measures of sleep, appetite, mental wellbeing. Objective…

Deadline: 18/02/2026 Project title: Mathematical modelling of the cross-talk interactions between the HPA axis and the renin-angiotensin system Hormonal concentrations are regulated by endocrine axes and are the perfect example of complex regulatory systems involving multiple levels of organisation. Endocrine regulation is highly dynamic, with hormone levels exhibiting complex periodic behaviour over short and long timescales (e.g., hourly, daily and monthly rhythms). These systems also exhibit nonlinear responses to perturbations, typically mediated by feedback loops involving multiple components and crosstalk interactions with other endocrine systems. At the same time, endocrine systems exhibit trade-offs between sensitivity and robustness, which allows adaptability to physiological challenges. Importantly, dysregulation of these dynamic processes can lead to disease.

The PhD candidate will leverage multimodal datasets from dynamic hormone profiling (e.g., U-RHYTHM) (3) and biosensors for ambulatory assessment to develop mathematical models of the Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Adrenal axis and its cross-talk interactions with the renin-angiotensin system. The project aims are…