Announcements
Accepting Applications for IBACS E-Lab Manager Position (Electrophysiology & Eye Tracking)
We invite applications for the E-Lab Manager position for the academic year 2026/2027 with possible summer 2026 funding.
In this 10-hour / week position, the E-lab (Electrophysiology and Eye Tracking) manager assists lab users with training of lab members, scheduling, inventory, troubleshooting equipment, and enforcing lab policies & procedures.
Application Deadline: March 9, 2026
Learn more about the E-Lab on our webpage. If you have questions, please email the IBACS Coordinator, Crystal Mills at crystal.mills@uconn.edu.
Seeking Nominations for the 2026 NIH Outstanding Scholars in Neuroscience Award Program (OSNAP)
Dear DTR Grantees,
The NIH Outstanding Scholars in Neuroscience Award Program (OSNAP) is open and seeking nominations of graduate students and postdoctoral fellows engaged in neuroscience research.
Spring 2026 IBACS Seed Grant Applications Due 4/8
The Institute for the Brain and Cognitive Sciences (IBACS) seed grant application is now open. Seed Grants provide funding to eligible affiliates for interdisciplinary projects and research initiatives consistent with the IBACS mission. Successful applications typically involve collaborations that require expertise across laboratories and traditional disciplinary boundaries. IBACS prioritizes projects that will provide pilot data in support of applications for external funding and publications. Seed funding is intended to support direct research costs such as supplies, participant fees, animal costs, and student support. Please submit letters of intent as soon as possible, but at least 2 weeks prior to the seed grant application deadline (by 3/25/26), to allow time for review and feedback prior to submission of the full proposal.
Open to: Faculty and postdoctoral affiliates. UCH investigators are eligible to apply so long as a Storrs collaborator is listed as a Co-PI. Please view the webpage for full eligibility requirements.
Key Application Dates: Large awards (>$10K) spring deadline: April 8, 2026. Our small seed grant awards (<$10K) are accepted on a rolling basis, but funds have been exhausted. However, we encourage those who wish to submit a small seed grant proposal to still do so following the large seed grant deadline.
Current Priorities:
- Given the current funding landscape, we will be prioritizing proposals on topics of federal priority and relevance to brain and cognitive science fields such as critical and emerging technologies (AI), Health, and more.
- Applications with more efficient budgets will be prioritized so we can fund as many projects as possible. You are encouraged to request only funds that are critical to the proposed project (rather than aiming for the maximum allowable funding amount).
For full details on the seed grant program, including the letter of intent application, full seed grant application, and allowable costs, please check our seed grant webpage.
Any questions should be directed to the Institute Coordinator, Crystal Mills at crystal.mills@uconn.edu or (860) 486-4937.
IBRAiN Research Software Engineer Role – Apps Due 2/23
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Helping design and implement experimental procedures for functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), electroencephalogram (EEG), transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), etc.
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Advising users on how to effectively prepare research participants.
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Advising users on data analysis.
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Overseeing use of equipment by others.
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Training undergraduate students with basics of equipment use.
Students will participate in common training activities but will primarily specialize in one of three roles at BIRC. Note – this call is for the Research Software Engineer role ONLY:
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Research Software Engineer. This role assists researchers in using BIRC facilities including equipment training, data analysis, sing existing software, and engineering and implementing new analytic tools when needed, implement changes to BIRC webpage when necessary. Qualified candidates will have demonstrated proficiency in Python, MATLAB, or Julia, as well as Unix-like computing environments.
Key Application Dates: Opened on Feb. 2, 2026 and will close on Feb. 23, 2026.
Subject to funding constraints, these assistantships could be renewed for a further year. Please view full details on our IBRAiN webpage before applying.
If you have any questions, please contact the Institute Coordinator, Crystal Mills at crystal.mills@uconn.edu.
IBACS Outreach Fellowship Applications Due 2/20
Students will be expected to participate in SAM’s outreach events, leading demos and engagement activities. We hope these activities can relate to fellows research interests or methods they are familiar with. Our goal is to host events and provide opportunities in areas with underrepresented populations to increase interest in education within the brain and cognitive science fields. During the academic year, time will need to be spent developing plans for demos and educational activities for all ages, but we expect the majority of outreach events to take place in the summer (3-4 in the summer and 1-2 per semester). Events will be on campus on Fairfield Way, at regional campuses, or at various other locations within the state. We understand that fellows will not be able to attend all events due to scheduling conflicts.
Preference may be given to students who (1) are members of a group that is underrepresented at the University of Connecticut; (2) have overcome obstacles such as socioeconomic, educational, or other societal disadvantages (arising, for example, through prejudice and/or discrimination); or (3) have worked with such groups to help overcome these or other obstacles.
Please view all details, including eligibility and conditions, on the Outreach Fellowship webpage prior to applying.
IBACS Sponsored Talk: Dr. Matthew Sacchet on 2/2
Talk Sponsored by The Institute for the Brain & Cognitive Sciences (IBACS): Dr. Matthew Sacchet from Harvard Medical School and Mass General
Date/Time: February 2, 2026, at 12:20pm (during TalkShop)
Location: SHH 101
Bio: Dr. Matthew D. Sacchet, Ph.D., is an Associate Professor and the Director of the Meditation Research Program at Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital (Mass General). Dr. Sacchet and his team study advanced meditation: states, stages, and endpoints of meditative development and mastery. He has authored more than 150 publications that have been cited more than 10,000 times, and his work has been presented more than 170 times at international, national, regional and local venues including at Cambridge, Harvard, Oxford, Princeton, Stanford, and Yale Universities, and the United Nations. His research has appeared in leading scientific journals in the mind and brain sciences and psychiatry, including American Journal of Psychiatry, Biological Psychiatry, Cerebral Cortex, JAMA Psychiatry, Journal of Neuroscience, Molecular Psychiatry, Nature Mental Health, Neuropsychopharmacology, Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, and World Psychiatry. He has received generous support from numerous foundations and repeat awards from federal funding bodies in the United States, including the National Institutes of Health and National Science Foundation. His work has appeared in many major media outlets where it has been viewed many millions of times, including in 10% Happier, CBC, CBS, Forbes, Men’s/Women’s Health, NBC, New Scientist, NPR, Scientific American, TIME, Vox, and Wall Street Journal, and Forbes named him one of its “30 Under 30.” Dr. Sacchet is an Associate Editor of the leading meditation academic journal Mindfulness, and a Research Fellow of the Mind & Life Institute. He has been nominated for mentorship awards five times in the last five years.
Talk Abstract: Mindfulness has gained considerable momentum globally as an intervention for improving health and wellbeing. Beyond mindfulness, advanced meditation includes states, stages, and endpoints that result from mastery of meditation. Matthew D. Sacchet Ph.D. (Harvard/Mass General) will provide an overview of current directions in advanced meditation research that characterize the third wave of meditation research. The study and practice of advanced meditation promise incredible new opportunities for elevating human potential in diverse clinical and non-clinical contexts. See the Meditation Research Program’s website for more information: https://meditation.mgh.harvard.edu/
Welcome Back, IBACS Affiliates!
Staffing and Research Support
Research Facilities
Other Resources & Services
IBACS Undergraduate Summer Research Award Apps Due 1/30/26
- The project description is well-written and clearly explains the project and the project timeline is feasible.
- The project clearly focuses on a research area associated with the IBACS mission.
- The budget is itemized, appropriate to the project described, and reports the total cost of the project (even if it exceeds the funding requested).
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The faculty advisor is familiar with the student’s project and rates the student’s work to date highly.
- Students are expected to develop the submission with the mentorship of their research advisor, and research mentors are encouraged to provide feedback to applicants, but the submission should be primarily the student’s own work. Where project applications are equally meritorious, the reviewers will take note of how the student’s project will contribute to the advisor’s research goals.
- The student and his/her project meet the eligibility criteria.
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The student has secured research compliance approval(s) if necessary for the project. No award will be issued until documentation of approval(s) is received.
Reminder: IBACS Undergraduate Research Supply Award Apps Due 2/2/26
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The project description is well written and clearly explains the project.
- The project clearly focuses on a research area associated with the IBACS mission.
- The budget is itemized, appropriate to the project described, and reports the total cost of the project (even if it exceeds the funding requested).
- The faculty advisor is familiar with the student’s project and rates the student’s work to date highly.
- The student and his/her project meet the eligibility criteria.
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The student has secured research compliance approval(s) if necessary for the project. No award will be issued until documentation of approval(s) is received.