Dr. Razi's research vision is to perform cross-disciplinary research combining engineering, physics, and machine-learning approaches that are motivated by questions grounded in neurobiology. This will enable us to go beyond the traditional boundaries in order to understand how does the brain implements cognition.

Our research program’s priority areas include: 

• development of multi-modal, multi-scale Bayesian framework, referred to as Dynamic Causal Modelling, to characterise brain network dynamics and how these dynamics reorganise with different brain pathologies;
  
  
• use of classical psychedelics (e.g. LSD and Psilocybin) in combination with computational modelling to understand neural mechanisms underlying altered states of consciousness;
  
  
• development of neuroscience-inspired artificial intelligence schemes (e.g. active inference) to understand how parts of the brain (e.g. prefrontal cortex and cingulate cortex) perform decision-making.

Dr. Razi is a Senior Research Fellow, ARC DECRA Fellow and Director of the recently established Computational and Sytems Neuroscience Laboratory (http://www.adeelrazi.org) at the Turner Institute for Brain and Mental Health and Monash Biomedical Imaging. He is an Honorary Senior Research Associate at the Wellcome Centre for Human Neuroimaging of University College London where he also worked from 2012 to 2018. He was also an Associate Professor in the Department of Electronic Engineering at the N.E.D. University of Engineering & Technology, Karachi, Pakistan. He received the B.E. degree in Electrical Engineering from the N.E.D. University of Engineering & Technology, the M.Sc. degree in Communications Engineering from the University of Technology Aachen (RWTH), Germany, and the Ph.D. degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of New South Wales, Australia in 2012. His industrial stints include employment with Broadcom Corporation as Staff Scientist and internships with Infineon Technologies and Delphi Delco Electronics GmbH.

Our lab (http://www.adeelrazi.org) is highly interdisciplinary so we welcome applications from students with quantitative background in Engineering, Computer Science or Physics and also students with background in Psychology, Neuroscience or Medicine.

• There is one PhD stipend available immediately (at 2020 rate of AUD 27,094 per annum) for the duration of 3 years. The project is funded by the ARC Discovery Project awarded to Dr Adeel Razi. Suitable for domestic students as only PhD stipend is covered.

• Expressions of interest are sought for PhD scholarships, both domestic (PhD stipend) and international students (Tuition fee + PhD stipend). There are two scholarship rounds each year, with deadlines in March and August. August is the main round with larger number of scholarships available. See this link for more details.

• For outstanding students, additional top-up scholarships are available (AUD 5,000 - 10,000 per annum).

The successful applicant(s) will work under the mentorship of Dr Adeel Razi (primary advisor) and will also have an opportunity to spend time in lab(s) of our international collaborators. There is generous funding available to attend/present at international and local conferences every year.  

Expressions of interest should include:

• a curriculum vitae including academic transcript(s) and any published works; and
• names and contact details of 2 academic referees