Research assistant post: neural computations of foraging decisions. University of Nottingham (UK)

[Mark Humphries (staff)]

Mark Humphries’ lab at the University of Nottingham is seeking a research assistant to join a project on the neural computations of foraging decisions, in collaboration with the groups of Matthew Apps (Birmingham) and Nathan Lepora (Bristol). 

Whether choosing to leave one shop for another, switching TV programs, or seeking berries to eat, humans and other animals make endless stay-or-leave decisions, but how we make them is not well understood. The goal of this project is to find out if there is a common decision algorithm for leaving across species and what that algorithm is.

You will create predictions for how foragers should vary in their stay-of-leave decisions for different types of decision algorithm, and test them using data from humans and rodents tackling foraging tasks. You will have some experience in computational modelling of behaviour, such as decision-making models or reinforcement learning, and good programming skills.

The post is for up to 7 months, and would suit predoctoral candidates seeking research experience.

Unsure if you're a good fit for the post? Got any questions? Then contact Mark for a chat: mark.humphries@nottingham.ac.uk.   

For full details of the role and how to apply

https://jobs.nottingham.ac.uk/vacancy.aspx?ref=SCI492126

Closing date: April 21st 2026

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