Within this Department, the Imaging Genomics group performs large-scale studies to identify genes involved in left-right asymmetry of the human brain – a trait which can be altered in various neurodevelopmental disorders. A challenge then remains to understand the roles of the implicated genes in brain development and function. Mice show evidence for functional and neurophysiological asymmetries in their brains, and are therefore a promising model for investigating the functions of genes implicated through our studies in humans. Your role will be to investigate asymmetry in developing and adult mouse brain tissue using transcriptomics, immunohistochemistry and histology. This research will be carried out within a dedicated molecular biology laboratory at the Max Planck Institute, and in partnership with labs and facilities of the Radboud University Medical Center, Nijmegen. You will also be keen to learn and involve yourself in the ongoing research of the department more generally, which is focused on genetics of the neuron, brain, behaviour and cognition.

Requirements

You are a research scientist who holds, or shortly expects to obtain, a PhD in a field that has given you extensive wet-laboratory experience of molecular biology as applied to in vivo models. Experience in bioinformatics and statistical analysis would be advantageous. You are qualified in the responsible and respectful handling of animals in research. You have a critical and careful approach to laboratory work and record keeping, and strive for robustness and reproducibility of results. You are proficient at organizing scientific documents and presentations describing your work. 

Fixed-term contract: The term of appointment is full-time for three years.

Conditions of employment

The position is available from October 2022, although later starts can be discussed. The term of appointment is full-time (39 hours per week) for three years. Although located in the Netherlands, the institute is part of the Max Planck Society, an independent non-governmental association of German-funded research institutes dedicated to fundamental research in the natural sciences, life sciences, social sciences, and the humanities. The salary is according to the German TVöD (Tarifvertrag für den öffentlichen Dienst) and is classified in salary group E13, between EUR 54,269 and 78,920 gross per year depending on the experience of the applicant (including 8% holiday bonus), based on full-time employment. Scientists in the Netherlands report among the highest job satisfaction ratings of any in the world.  

Max Planck Institute

Our Institute, located in Nijmegen, is one of more than 80 research institutes that form part of the German Max Planck Society, and it is one of the few outside Germany. The Institute is entirely devoted to psycholinguistics – the study of how we produce and understand language, and how we acquire these skills as first or second language learners.

The Language and Genetics Department

The department

The Language and Genetics Department is located within the Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics, situated on the campus of the Radboud University Nijmegen, with close collaborative links with experts in neuroimaging at the Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour at Radboud University. The department also has extensive and multidisciplinary interactions with other expert departments of the MPI, and the Human Genetics Department of Radboud University Medical Center, as well as networks of international collaborators. Our research aims to bridge the gaps between genes, brains, speech and language. We use the latest molecular technologies and analytic methods to integrate molecular genetics with cell biology, human neuroimaging, and experimental psychology. Our on-going research is described here: https://www.mpi.nl/department/language-genetics/2