Project

Stress is believed to play a crucial causal role in the development andpersistence of a large variety of mental and physical disorders. However,assessing stress remains challenging, both in experimental and ambulatorysettings. There is a growing need for an integrative approach, assessing andrelating the subjective, endocrine, and autonomic stress response. Combinedwith Experience Sampling Methodology, developments in wearable technology enableaccurate assessment of the physiological stress response in daily life. TheCCP, together with GRASP, is setting up a study that assesses the subjective,autonomic, and endocrine stress response in daily life and associates it withthe response to an experimental stress task. A second project that is alreadyongoing involves an fMRI study on stress reactivity in individuals at high-riskfor developing psychosis. The PhD student will take a leading role in both studies.

Profile

The successful candidate has a Master degree in Psychology or in the Social/HealthSciences, with a strong interest in stress, psychophysiology, and ambulatory assessment. We are looking for an innovative and creative personality, with the ability to independently generate novel solutions in methodologically challenging areas. Experience with psychophysiological methods, and with advanced statistical (i.e. mixed effects) models is an advantage. The candidate should be able to speak some Dutch and have good command of English (written and oral).

Salaries for PhD students are competitive by international standards. A contract for one year will be offered, which is renewable for another three years after positive evaluation. Starting date is flexible but no later than June 2018.

Center for Contextual Psychiatry

The Center for Contextual Psychiatry is a multidisciplinary and internationally oriented research center, widely recognized for its expertise in the design, application, and analysis of studies and clinical trials using Experience Sampling Methodology in the context of Mental Health research. The CCP is headed by prof. Inez Myin-Germeys. The CCP currently consists of 25 researchers from a wide range of backgrounds (psychology - psychiatry - statistics - philosophy - movement sciences - ...). The Center is part of the Department of Neurosciences in the School of Medicine at KU Leuven, one of the most renowned research universities in Europe.

https://gbiomed.kuleuven.be/english/research/50000666/50000673/cpp/