The Department of Psychology, part of the Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences (FMG), has a vacancy for a Postdoctoral researcher in cross-cultural neuroimaging of cannabis dependence.

The personal and societal burden associated with cannabis use disorders (CUDs) is in sharp contrast with our limited knowledge of the underlying mechanisms. Moreover, there is growing worldwide concern surrounding the impact of changes in cannabis legalization on CUDs. The goal of this longitudinal neuroimaging study is to identify reliable neurobiological mechanisms in two independent cohorts of individuals with CUD, and test whether cannabis culture moderates these brain-behavior associations. This project will be a team effort, conducted in close collaboration with the University of Texas Dallas. Together with a PhD student, you will be primary responsible for conducting and managing the fMRI study in Amsterdam, maintaining close contact with the Dallas site. You will have the opportunity to supervise (PhD) students, work with existing neuroimaging data sets and perform different kind of (multimodal) fMRI analysis. Besides research related activity, you will also be involved in teaching, including supervision of student research projects and assistance in addition/neuroscience related courses.

You have:

• A PhD in psychology or a related field such as cognitive neuroscience, psychobiology, or biomedical science;
• neuroimaging experience;
• a strong interest in the neuroscience of addiction and cannabis;
• affinity with teaching;
• strong analytical and statistical skills;
• an excellent command of written and spoken English;
• good project management skills;
• excellent social skills and team spirit;
• experience with programming (e.g., R, Matlab, Python, Presentation).

The position starts as soon as possible, and is initially till January 2019, with possible extensions of the contract to a total of three years depending on satisfactory performance. The gross monthly salary will be between €3,475 to €4,757 (scale 11) depending on the candidate’s qualifications and experience. The UvA also knows a 8% holiday allowance and 8,3% end-of- year allowance. The Collective Labour Agreement of Dutch Universities is applicable.

University of Amsterdam

With over 5,000 employees, 30,000 students and a budget of more than 600 million euros, the University of Amsterdam (UvA) is an intellectual hub within the Netherlands. Teaching and research at the UvA are conducted within seven faculties: Humanities, Social and Behavioural Sciences, Economics and Business, Law, Science, Medicine and Dentistry. Housed on four city campuses in or near the heart of Amsterdam, where disciplines come together and interact, the faculties have close links with thousands of researchers and hundreds of institutions at home and abroad.  

The UvA’s students and employees are independent thinkers, competent rebels who dare to question dogmas and aren’t satisfied with easy answers and standard solutions. To work at the UvA is to work in an independent, creative, innovative and international climate characterised by an open atmosphere and a genuine engagement with the city of Amsterdam and society.

http://www.uva.nl/en/home

Department of Psychology

The Department of Psychology is part of the Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences (FMG), the largest educational and research institution in the social sciences in the Netherlands. The Faculty serves 7500 students in numerous Bachelor and Master programs in Psychology, Political Science, Sociology, Anthropology, Communication Science, Social Geography, Planning and International Development Studies, and Educational Sciences. Psychology is situated centrally in Amsterdam, and hosts program groups focusing on social, organizational, developmental, clinical, statistical, and cognitive psychology. It offers excellent facilities for undertaking research in a broad range of areas, including a range of psychophysiological, behavioural, EEG and TMS laboratories, as well as a 3T and 7T MRI scanner.

https://www.uva.nl/en/disciplines/psychology