We are seeking a highly motivated Postdoctoral Research Scientist to investigate the flexibility of timing responses in the human brain using advanced analyses of ultra-high-field (7T) fMRI data. The researcher will be supervised by Dr. Ben Harvey at the Department of Experimental Psychology, Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences, Utrecht University, the Netherlands. This is a research position for 2.5 years, working on Dr. Harvey’s NWO VIDI Grant. The starting date is between December 2019 and March 2020. The position involves 1.0 FTE (full-time) research.

The research builds on this preprint (free registration required). And the following papers:

• Harvey, B.M., Klein, B.P., Petridou, N., and Dumoulin, S.O. (2013). Topographic representation of numerosity in the human parietal cortex. Science 341, 1123-1126.
• Harvey, B.M., Fracasso, A., Petridou, N., and Dumoulin, S.O. (2015). Topographic representations of object size and relationships with numerosity reveal generalized quantity processing in human parietal cortex. PNAS 112, 13525-13530.
• Harvey, B.M., and Dumoulin, S.O. (2017). A network of topographic numerosity maps in human association cortex. Nature Human Behaviour, 1, 36.
• Klein B.P., Harvey B.M., Dumoulin S.O. (2014) Attraction of Position Preference by Spatial Attention throughout Human Visual Cortex. Neuron 84:227-237.

We are looking for someone who:

• holds (or nearly holds) a PhD degree in Psychology, Neuroscience, Engineering, Computer Science, Artificial Intelligence, or a related field;
• takes a strongly quantitative, computational view of Psychology and Neuroscience;
• has strong computer programming skills;
• takes a practical approach to solving technical problems;
• has excellent written and spoken English communication skills (no Dutch required);
• has a strong publication record for their career stage;
• is effective and efficient, able to work within a team, and to think conceptually.

Some of the following experience is desirable, but not required:

• experience designing and implementing visual stimuli for experiments;
• experience with MRI data acquisition and analysis;
• experience with model-based data analysis.

We offer a full-time position (1.0 FTE) for one year.  Upon a positive performance, the appointment will be followed by a period of a further 18 months (i.e. 30 months total). The gross salary ranges between €2,709 and €4,274 (depending on experience, scale 10 Collective Labour Agreement Dutch Universities) gross per month for a full-time employment. Salaries are supplemented with a holiday bonus of 8 % and a year-end bonus of 8.3 % per year. We offer a pension scheme, collective insurance schemes and flexible employment conditions (multiple choice model). More information is available at our website: working at Utrecht University.

A better future for everyone. This ambition motivates our scientists in executing their leading research and inspiring teaching. At Utrecht University, the various disciplines collaborate intensively towards major societal themes. Our focus is on Dynamics of Youth, Institutions for Open Societies, Life Sciences and Sustainability.

Utrecht is a young and vibrant city with a large academic population, around 30 minutes south of Amsterdam. It combines a beautiful old city centre with a modern university. Utrecht has an excellent quality of life, with plenty of green space and a strong bicycle culture.

The Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences is one of the leading Faculties in Europe providing research and academic teaching in Interdisciplinary Social Science, Cultural Anthropology, Educational Sciences, Pedagogical Sciences, Psychology, and Sociology. More than 5,600 students are enrolled in a broad range of undergraduate and graduate programmes. The Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences has some 850 faculty and staff members, all providing their individual contribution to the training and education of young talent and to the research into and finding solutions for scientific and societal issues.