Interested in joining our research team as a volunteer, Honours, MSc or PhD student? Contact Dr. Erb via email at Christopher.Erb (@) auckland.ac.nz.
The CMND Lab has a funded PhD studentship available for an EEG project investigating the development of self-regulation and language during early childhood. The student will be co-supervised by Dr. Christopher Erb (UoA Psychology) and Dr. Justin O’Sullivan (UoA Liggins Institute). The project is part of a larger grant-funded study called Kia Timata Pai, directed by Dr. Elaine Reese (University of Otago), Dr. Vincent Reid (University of Waikato), and Dr. O’Sullivan.
The student will support EEG data collection, processing, and analysis for an ongoing longitudinal study featuring a Go/No-Go paradigm and a semantic anomaly paradigm. Previous experience with EEG is preferred but not required. In addition to the EEG data collected in this portion of the project, a wide range of behavioural, parent-report, and teacher-report data have been collected as part of the broader Kia Timata Pai intervention study. This PhD will explore relationships between our EEG measures and these other variables.
PhD programs in New Zealand are research focused (no required coursework) and last 3 years. The funding will cover tuition fees and an annual stipend of NZ$33,500. The funding is currently available with no fixed start date, though the PhD studentship would ideally commence within the next 3 months. Interested students should send a cover letter and CV to Dr. Erb, with priority given to applications received by July 15th, 2025.
Our lab is also currently recruiting MSc students for 2026. MSc students can get involved in existing lines of research or propose novel research projects that build on the CMND Lab’s expertise. Current MSc students are focusing on links between emotion and cognitive control, developmental differences in the allocation of visual attention, and causal reasoning.