PhD Candidate in Computational Cognitive Neuroscience, Multisensory Perception, Learning and Attention

• Employment: 1.0 FTE
• Gross monthly salary: € 2,434 - € 3,111
• Faculty of Science
• Required background: Research University Degree
• Application deadline: 20 January 2022

Adaptive behaviour in a complex, dynamic and multisensory world poses some of the most fundamental computational challenges for the brain, notably perceptual inference, decision making, learning, binding, attention and probabilistic/statistical computations. As a PhD candidate, you will design, plan, conduct, analyse and write up psychophysics, fMRI (3T or laminar analyses at 7T) and/or MEG/EEG experiments in multisensory perception, learning and attention. Additional responsibilities involve helping to mentor and supervise student projects (up to 10% of the appointment), participation in scientific conferences and international collaborations.

Profile

• You hold an MSc or BSc in neuroscience, psychology, cognitive science, computer science, physics, engineering or a related field.
• You have excellent analytical skills and a strong quantitative background.
• You have good data analysis and statistics skills.
• You have good programming skills (e.g. Matlab). Prior experience with psychophysics, fMRI, MEG/EEG or computational modelling (e.g. Bayesian, neural network) is advantageous.
• Prior experience in research in perception, attention, statistical learning or related fields would be a plus.
• You should be able to work independently and troubleshoot.
• Good communication skills and a capacity for team work and promoting an open and collaborative lab culture are essential.

We are

The PhD position is based in the Multisensory Perception, Learning and Attention Lab headed by Prof. Uta Noppeney at the Donders Centres for Cognitive Neuroimaging and Neuroscience. The overall goal of the lab is to understand how the brain enables us to perceive, understand and interact effectively with the multisensory world around us. To define the underlying computations and neural mechanisms we combine psychophysics, computational modelling (Bayesian, neural network) and neuroimaging (fMRI, MEG, EEG, TMS).

The Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour is a world-class interfaculty research centre that houses more than 700 researchers devoted to understanding the mechanistic underpinnings of the human mind. Excellent, state-of-the-art research facilities are available for the broad range of neuroscience research that is being conducted at the Donders Institute. The Cognitive Neuroimaging Centre is equipped with four MRI scanners (7T, 3x 3T), a 275-channel MEG system, an EEG-TMS laboratory, several MR-compatible EEG systems, and high-performance computational facilities. The Donders Institute fosters a collaborative, multidisciplinary, supportive research environment with diverse international staff. English is the lingua franca at the Institute.

The Donders Institute is an equal opportunity employer, committed to building a culturally diverse intellectual community, and as such encourages applications from women and minorities.

We offer

• Employment for 1.0 FTE.
• The gross starting salary amounts to €2,434 per month based on a 38-hour working week, and will increase to €3,111 in the fourth year (salary scale P).
• You will receive 8% holiday allowance and 8.3% end-of-year bonus.
• You will be employed for an initial period of 18 months, after which your performance will be evaluated. If the evaluation is positive, the contract will be extended by 2.5 years (4 year contract).
• You will be able to use our Dual Career and Family Care Services. Our Dual Career and Family Care Officer can assist you with family-related support, help your partner or spouse prepare for the local labour market, provide customized support in their search for employment and help your family settle in Nijmegen.
• Working for us means getting extra days off. In case of full-time employment, you can choose between 29 or 41 days of annual leave instead of the legally allotted 20.

Would you like more information?

Practical information and applications

• A letter of motivation.
• Your CV including the contact details of two referees.

We drafted this vacancy to find and hire our new colleague ourselves. Recruitment agencies are kindly requested to refrain from responding.