Language and Literacy Lab, Dalhousie University
Dr. Hélène Deacon, Director of the Language and Literacy Lab at Dalhousie University, is seeking a Post-Doctoral Fellow to support her large-scale research program dedicated to understanding the skills children and adults need to achieve full literacy. This fellowship includes a minimum salary of $46,000 (CDN), health benefits, and conference travel funds; the position will initially be for one year, with the strong possibility for extension based on performance review.
Anticipated start date of September 1, 2025 (and is open to flexibility). Past post-docs have been highly successful in securing tenured faculty positions in Education, Linguistics, and Psychology at strong international universities (e.g., CUNY, University of Hong Kong), with the remainder working in leadership and policy, such as senior positions in Statistics Canada.
The Post-doc will support a new longitudinal study on children’s reading development, designed to examine the predictors and outcomes of orthographic learning in early readers. The post-doc will support the design of new tasks, data analyses, and manuscript preparation, as well as student mentorship. The post-doc will work within a wellsupported lab environment, with full-time staff dedicated to school liaison and data collection. In addition to working on existing research questions, the post-doc will have the opportunity to develop new research ideas and seeing these through to completion, including by adding measures to the study and writing first author manuscripts. For instance, the lab also has grant funding for research on digital literacy and bilingualism.
For more information on this project and other projects with data sets ready to analyze, publish, and make an impact in the field, see https://langlabatdal.weebly.com/leaps-and-bounds.html, https://langlabatdal.weebly.com/readingstudy.html, https://ensuringliteracy.ca/.
Get to Know Us!
Dr. Hélène Deacon is a Member of the College of the Royal Society of Canada and a University Research Professor in the Faculty of Science at Dalhousie University, where she directs the Language and Literacy Lab. She completed her doctoral research as a Rhodes Scholar at the University of Oxford in 2004 and has secured over $16 million in research funding. She is currently co-Director of a new 2.5-million-dollar Partnership Grant: Ensuring Full Literacy in a Multicultural and Digital World. Deacon has world-renowned expertise in reading development, with active collaborative research examining how children achieve the reading skills they need to fully participate in society. Deacon’s research is conducted with amazing partner schools and collaborators around the world. In 2022 she was named by Stanford University as one of the top 2% scientists in the world, across all disciplines and ages.
The LLL is a well-resourced research lab with a diverse and well-rounded team of postdocs, graduate and undergraduate students, volunteers, and research staff. Team members work in a friendly and collaborative environment that includes weekly lab meetings and social (sometimes adventurous!) outings. The LLL frequently connects outside of the lab to enjoy events like picnics, food truck festivals, coastal hikes, kayaking, ziplining, and cultural events. The team is supported by a full-time lab manager and is connected, both nationally and internationally, to a wonderful group of collaborators who often come to visit, join in meetings, and give colloquium talks. To learn more about the LLL visit our website, Facebook, and Instagram pages.
The Language and Literacy Lab is in the Psychology and Neuroscience Department of Dalhousie University which is located in the heart of Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. Halifax is a vibrant and historic city on the Atlantic Coast of Canada; the summer is a wonderful time for interns to explore this city, its beautiful waterfront, and fun festivals
What Do We Look For in a Post-Doc Applicant?
• recently graduated with a PhD in Psychology, Linguistics, or Education. Students nearing completion of a PhD are also encouraged to apply and indicate on their application their anticipated date of dissertation submission.
• strong quantitative data analysis skills, with preference for SEM and/or multi-level modeling experience experience conducting language and literacy research
• an excellent academic record
• a professional demeanor, effective interpersonal skills, and be self-motivated
• strong oral and written communication skills (writing sample could be requested)
• a clear Criminal Record, Vulnerable Sector, and Child Abuse Registry checks and/or be able to obtain
Interested In Joining Our Team?
Please send a copy of your CV, transcripts (unofficial on copies are fine!), 3 professional and/or academic references, and a brief cover letter describing your scientific interests and what you can bring to this position by email to Dr. Hélène Deacon at Helene.Deacon@dal.ca, cc’ing langlabmanager@dal.ca and we will find a time to connect
Beyond this grant funded position, there are additional funding opportunities.
The below organizations offer Post-doctoral Fellow funding.
Canadian and International students can apply for:
• Killam Postdoctoral Fellowship (Dalhousie University)
• Mitacs Accelerate
• Banting Postdoctoral Fellowship (note that the deadline is EARLY! The University’s internal deadline last year was July 22nd).
Canadian students can apply for:
• Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC)
• Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC)
• Fonds de recherche du Québec – Society and Culture (FRQSC) – Postdoctoral Fellowship (Quebec Citizens Only)
Closing Date:
Contact: Helene.Deacon@dal.ca