PRR Project

Summary

Clinical neuropsychology has rapidly evolved in the last three decades, being the clinical application of psychology with highest growth in the number of professionals and research with published work in several European and American countries. Neuropsychological syndromes such as neurological conditions, neurodevelopmental conditions and neuropsychiatric conditions faced in the last century a growing attention, regarding the understanding of the mechanisms of the disease as well as the development of interventions aimed to promote recovery and well-being, to reduce disease burden and promote the best possible functionality. Merging cognitive neuropsychology field studies with its clinical application to assess, monitor and intervene with individuals with neuropsychological syndromes, we are facing an improvement in the number of evidence-based interventions with a strong scientific framework. However, there is an evident need for innovation (technology based, multidimensional approaches), to perform large-scale validation studies, cultural adaptations and improve outcome measurement approaches. Neuropsychological rehabilitation is one of the subfields that has evolved with innovation and extreme clinical relevance.Within the abovementioned background, this position in neuropsychological rehabilitation is fundamental for a RU developing cutting edge research in the development and validation of (neuro)psychological interventions. As such, the selected applicant to this position should demonstrate leadership records in clinical research in this field, having also a solid academic record in the field of clinical neuropsychology. Specifically, the prospective candidate is expected to contribute to produce high-quality research in clinical neuropsychology aiming to a) develop and validate evidence based neuropsychological interventions for individuals with brain injury and pathological ageing, b) contribute to understand the mechanisms of change associated with preventive and rehabilitation programs in different neuropsychological syndromes and c) to examine the role of new rehabilitation tools (e.g. mobile technology) and holistic approaches in the cost-effectiveness and accessibility of cognitive and neuropsychological rehabilitation programs.It is also expected that the prospective assistant professor to a) coordinate and/or participate in translational and applied research related to promote high-quality practices in neuropsychological rehabilitation in several settings and in psychogerontology  interventions; b) attract young researchers to the field, aiming to establish a strong and committed research team; c) establish and foster an international collaborative network of researchers and practitioners in the field, and participate in consortiums to capture competitive research funding; d) commit with knowledge transfer to relevant stakeholders in the field of rehabilitation and gerontology settings, offering consultancy services, as well as promote dissemination of research outputs to both scientific and lay community.Regarding this position’s profile, collaboration with other departments and research units is encouraged, given the translational potential withing the neuropsychological rehabilitation field of research. One of CINEICC research topics – Neuropsychological Assessment and Intervention – aims to produce high quality research in the field of applied neuropsychology and there is the need improve scientific outputs in the field of neuropsychological interventions, particularly following a lifespan approach. The faculty has a strong record in age-related neuropsychology studies involving elderly samples, so it is expected that the applicant also contributes to maintain and expand research with older populations, being populations’ aging a hot topic in the field of clinical neuropsychology.Rationale for the need to hire for this scientific areaThe RU strategic plan is aligned with several sustainable developmental goals of the United Nations. The current position aims to empower the RU capacity to answer to several societal and health challenges such as the high prevalence of neurological conditions and neurodegenerative conditions with impact in functionality and well-being. By recruiting an expert in Neuropsychological Rehabilitation and neuropsychological interventions in Aging, it will be possible to foster the developmental of both preventive and rehabilitative interventions across lifespan, in alignment with the SDG 3. In addition, given the prevalence of risk and actual neurological conditions affecting cognition and behavior to be higher in women and be higher in individuals with poorer socio-economic status and living in rural areas, to work towards developing accessible solutions for neuropsychological prevention and rehabilitation will contribute to reduce sex/genders gaps as well as other inequalities in access to adequate health interventions, aligning with SDG 5 and SDG 10.