Ways To Get Involved
Take part in research studies or help shape decisions about research! The following page provides a list of opportunities to get involved in a variety of studies and projects; these are either studies by OxCIN researchers, or studies by researchers in other University of Oxford departments that take place at OxCIN using our scanning equipment.
There are two ways you can get involved with research at OxCIN:
- You can be a participant in OxCIN research (for example, come in for an MRI scan or do other tests as part of a study), or
- You can help shape decisions about OxCIN research (e.g. participating in focus groups where you share your opinion about what topics should be researched).
Please see the listings below for more details on each.
Some of the hyperlinks below are to PDF downloads - please contact Barbara Robinson if you need the information in an alternative format.
If you are a researcher and would like to list your study, please contact Barbara Robinson.
Opportunities to be a participant in an OxCIN research study:
*All opportunities advertised here are paid*
7T Faces - Study about the Effects of Antidepressant on Processing Faces - Healthy Volunteers
[posted March 2026]
- Involves a 1hr30 screening visit, with a medical assessment
- One 5-hour research visit
- You will complete questionnaires, and have an MRI scan
- You will be assigned to receive either citalopram (a common antidepressant), or a placebo tablet
- Must be aged 18 - 40, with no (history of) mental health disorder, and not pregnant
HEROES Study about Amblyopia (Lazy Eye)
[posted January 2026]
- Involves a 30-minute screening session to assess vision
- 4 days of visual rehabilitation (either at home, or in the lab, depending on group)
- Brain scans (lasting up to 60 minutes) before and after the visual rehabilitation
- Must be 18 - 50 and have been recently been diagnosed as having a lazy eye, or suspect you have lazy eye
SPECTRUM Study about Sleep and Mental Health
[posted November 2025]
- 3 home sleep assessments over 6 months
- 2 overnight sleep assessments at the Churchill Hospital over 6 months
- You will complete questionnaires, attentional tasks, and sleep assessments both at home and in the lab.
- You will be assigned to one of two sleep improvement programmes
- Must be aged 18 - 30 years, experiencing trouble sleeping, with depression or anxiety, and living in the Oxford area
BeADS study about behaviours and attitudes in people suffering from Sciatica
- One 3-hour appointment at the John Radcliffe Hospital.
- You will undergo a neurological examination, questionnaires, a one-to-one interview, a movement task and computer-based games looking at how people with sciatica make decisions in different circumstances.
- You will also be asked to complete a brief movement task once a day for four weeks from home.
- Must be aged 16-75 and experiencing sciatica.
BeADS study about Sciatica – Healthy Volunteers
- One 2-3 hour appointment at the John Radcliffe Hospital.
- You will undergo a neurological examination, questionnaires, a movement task and computer-based games looking at how people make decisions in different circumstances.
- You will also be asked to complete a brief movement task once a day for four weeks from home.
- Must be aged 16-75 and without back or leg pain.
Healthy Controls for Youth Head Injury Study
- 2 visits to JR Hospital, six months apart
- Must be 11-18 years old, fit and healthy, take part in sports
- You will be asked to complete questionnaires and short tasks, have an MRI scan, and have your weight and height measured.
KOALA Study (Kids with Occlusion therapy for AmbLyopiA)
- 30min screening and two 3hr main study visits at the Warneford Hospital site in Headington, Oxford
- Must be 5-8 years old, with lazy eye or healthy vision
- Study investigates the most common cause of vision loss in children.
- Main study visits include a safe and non-invasive MRI brain scan while watching the LEGO movie, and some fun vision tests.
- 3 visits to sleep lab in Oxford (11am-4pm approx)
- Must be aged 18-35 and healthy
- You will be asked to complete questionnaires and cognitive tasks, and have a daytime nap while receiving brain stimulation and having your brain activity measured.
- 2 visits, 9am-5pm
- Must be age 18-40 with regular nocturnal sleep duration of 6-9 hours. You are not eligible if you are left-handed, pregnant, play a keyboard instrument, cannot nap during the day, or have various medical conditions (see poster for full list)
- This study uses MRI, tDCS ( (a form of neurostimulation that uses constant, low current delivered to the brain area of interest via sensors on the scalp), EEG (electroencephalogram to record brain activity), and sleep recordings in the day
- 1x 1.5hr session
- Must be age 18-50, healthy, native English speaker, no history of neurological conditions, no speech and hearing disorders, no metal implant near the head, and not pregnant
- This study uses tDCS (a form of neurostimulation that uses constant, low current delivered to the brain area of interest via sensors on the scalp)
Improving Sleep and Learning in Rehabilitation After Stroke
- Must be a stroke survivor who experiences some difficulties using their hand and arm, and is interested in improving their sleep
- One baseline appointment and one follow-up appointment (questionnaires, movement task, and sleep assessments) for both groups. Group one will continue usual care, and group two will complete an online sleep improvement programme
- All study assessments are done remotely
Kinematic and Neural Fingerprints of Complex Movements in Health and Disease
[posted September 2023, updated March 2026]
- 1 x 150min session, performing hand and arm tasks
- Must be over 18 and in good health
- This study uses EEG (electroencephalogram) to record brain activity
- You can participate if you have sciatica or if you do not - participants in both categories are needed
- Participants with sciatica: first appointment 2-3 hours; some participants will be invited for a second appointment for an MRI; final appointment 12 months later, 1.5 hours
- Participants without sciatica: one appointment, 4-5 hours. Must be aged 40-85
- This study requires you to go in an MRI scanner
- Additional information on their recruitment posters for participants with sciatica and without sciatica
Mechanisms of Neurodynamic Treatments (MONET)
- Two baseline appointments (2.5 and 1.5 hours), then a 3.5hr followup appointment 6 weeks later
- Must have mild to moderate carpal tunnel syndrome
- This study requires you to go in an MRI scanner
- Additional information on their recruitment poster
- 1x 3.5hr session plus potential 45min additional scan
- Must be native English-speaking, aged 18-45
- Recruiting for people who do or do not stammer
- This study involves MEG (Magnetoencephalography - a non-invasive medical test that measures the magnetic fields produced by your brain's electrical currents) for its main session and an additional MRI scan
Opportunities to shape decisions about OxCIN research
(E.g. how it is designed, what the questions are, how it is shared etc.)
March 2026 - No current opportunities
OxCIN researchers, please contact Barbara Robinson to submit an opportunity for posting.