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Sensory Ecology PhD project (domestic and international students)
Location: La Trobe University, Bundoora with options for travel to Japan and/or Slovenia
Team: Dr Amanda Franklin (La Trobe University) & Dr Patricia Jusuf (University of Melbourne)
Contact: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.; https://www.amanda-franklin.com/
Eligibility: Domestic student with an Honours or Masters thesis scored at 70 or above by La Trobe standards. Details here: https://www.latrobe.edu.au/courses/doctor-of-philosophy#/overview?location=BU&studentType=dom&year=2026
Start date: ideally second half of 2026, but open to discussion.
Project details: Deep-red vision and infrared sensing in jewel beetles
Insects use tiny sensory systems to detect and rapidly combine information from multiple senses to perform complex behaviours. The underlying processes are poorly understood, particularly for less common senses. This project aims to understand how jewel beetles detect and integrate deep-red light and heat information to drive behaviour. The PhD student will have the option to conduct field and laboratory studies, including electrophysiology, microscopy, and behavioural assays, depending on their interests. They will join an international research team (Prof Kentaro Arikawa, Japan; Prof Gregor Belušič, Slovenia) and have the opportunity to complete research visits with these groups.
PhD Positions - Integrative Neuroscience of Decision-Making
Monash University, Turner Institute for Brain and Mental Health
We are recruiting talented and motivated PhD students to join an ARC-funded research program investigating how the brain transforms sensory information into decisions. Perceptual decision-making, the process by which noisy sensory input is integrated to guide behaviour, will be studied across humans and rodents to uncover how excitation–inhibition balance shapes the neural computations underlying evidence accumulation.
The program is based at Monash University within the Turner Institute for Brain and Mental Health (Prof. Mark Bellgrove; Dr Mana Biabani; Dr Kevin Walsh) and Monash Biomedicine Discovery Institute (Dr Mehdi Adibi) and involves an international collaboration with Trinity College Dublin (Prof. Redmond O’Connell) and Maynooth University (Dr Peter Murphy), Ireland.
PhD students will work within a single integrated program spanning human and animal neuroscience. The human stream focuses on measuring and modelling decision processes using EEG and neuroimaging, linking brain activity to behaviour and computational models. The animal stream focuses on directly recording and manipulating neural circuits during decision-making behaviour in rodents using electrophysiology, single-photon miniscopy and optogenetics to establish causal mechanisms.
Monash University is a top-50 institution globally, ranked 36th in the 2026 QS World University Rankings, with a strong international reputation in neuroscience. The Turner Institute and the School of Psychological Sciences provide an excellent research environment with advanced facilities and strong integration across cognitive systems and computational neuroscience.
A generous top-up scholarship of $5,000 per year is available for outstanding candidates.
Eligibility and requirements
For the animal stream, interest or experience in rodent experiments is desirable. For the human stream, a background in neuroscience, psychology, engineering, or quantitative data analysis is advantageous.
Applicants must meet PhD admission requirements at Monash University [https://www.monash.edu/graduate-research/study/apply] . Highly competitive candidates typically demonstrate strong academic performance, research experience (e.g. honours or research masters), and/or evidence of research output or potential.
Several scholarship schemes are available through Monash and national programs. Further details can be found on the Monash Graduate Research website: https://www.monash.edu/graduate-research/study/scholarships/fees-scholarships#ScholarshipsandgrantsforMonashAustralia
For enquiries and expressions of interest, please contact Prof. Mark Bellgrove (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.) and indicate your area of interest (human or animal stream). Please include a CV and academic transcripts.
Starting Date: July-August 2026 (mid-year intake) or early 2027
Principal Research Fellow - Menzies Institute for Medical Research
Multiple Positions at Levels C - E based on 5-year fixed term
Play a leading role in advancing impactful, world-class health and medical research that improves the lives of Tasmanians and contributes globally.
You will drive excellence in one or more research themes/platforms and flagships, while helping shape a collaborative, high-performing research culture.
Key Points:
- Deliver internationally recognised research at academic level C, D or E
- Build sustained partnerships across the health system, government and community
- Support the Tasmanian community to deliver a focused, impact-driven approach to health and medical research that is both place-based and globally relevant
About the Opportunity
Aligned to the strategic priorities of the Menzies, these mission-critical roles offer an opportunity to lead and grow impactful research programs. You will:
- Undertake high-quality, innovative research aligned to Menzies’ research priorities
- Secure and grow competitive research funding
- Publish in leading journals and contribute to the global evidence base
- Supervise and mentor research higher degree students and early-career researchers
- Build meaningful partnerships with industry, government, health services, and communities
We welcome applications from research leaders across laboratory-based, clinical and population health research, who have a strong record in, and continuing commitment to research that has achieved national and/or international recognition. These roles are suited to researchers who are motivated to deliver research that translates into policy, practice and real-world outcomes.