The project aims to develop and test a VR environment to learn upper limb prosthesis users to control their prosthetic device. The experiments will be performed with able-bodied participants and novice/experienced users of multi-grip prosthetic hands. To set up the experiments and interpret the results, knowledge in the domains of motor learning, perception-action, rehabilitation medicine and serious game development will be integrated. The selected applicant will plan, organize, and execute the experiments, analyze data, and publish papers culminating in a PhD thesis, and give presentations at (inter)national scientific conferences and at patient meetings. The selected applicant will be expected to supervise Bachelor and Master students performing parts of the experiments.

- Master’s degree (or equivalent) in a relevant field (e.g. human movement science, biomedical engineering, electrical engineering, game design, rehabilitation medicine).
- A strong interest in human movement sciences, application of VR, upper limb prosthetic use, and rehabilitation medicine.
- Affinity with myoelectric control, ideally from having worked with prosthesis users.
- Experience with programming VR environments or otherwise extensive programming skills related to human-computer interaction is strongly recommended.
- Experience with opto-electronic measurement systems and knowledge of MATLAB in particular with regard to signal analysis is strongly recommended.
- Understanding of basic concepts of motor learning and perception-action.
- Virtual environment experience, ideally by developing gaming applications.
- Demonstrable biomedical signal analysis skills.
- Experience in, and/or affinity with experimental research with able-bodied participants and patients.
- Ability to recruit, communicate with and motivate Dutch speaking participants.
- Well developed social skills and team spirit, strong communication skills.
- Experience with organizing projects in which different partners are involved (desirable).
- High level of writing and speaking proficiency in English.

As a PhD candidate, the selected individual will be appointed for a period of 4 years (32,4 hours a week), start at October 1st, 2022. An initial performance evaluation occurs after 1 year. If the evaluation is positive, the contract will be extended by 3 years.

Your salary will be a minimum of € 2.631,- gross per month in the first year and a maximum of € 3.336,- gross per month (scale PhD) in the final (4th) year, based on a full-time appointment. In addition, the UMCG will offer you 8% holiday pay, and 8.3% end-of-year bonus. The conditions of employment comply with the Collective Labour Agreement for Medical Centres (CAO-UMC).

Additional information
Additional information about the vacancy can be obtained from:
- Dr. Raoul Bongers, project leader and promotor, e-mail address: r.m.bongers@umcg.nl
- Dr. Alessio Murgia, project leader and co-promotor, e-mail address: a.murgia@umcg.nl
- Prof. Dr. Corry van der Sluis, project leader and promotor, e-mail address: c.k.van.der.sluis@umcg.nl

Bewegingswetenschappen

The Department of Human Movement Sciences, within the University Medical Center Groningen (UMCG), University of Groningen, seeks a highly qualified, motivated, and enthusiastic individual to conduct research as a doctoral student. The individual selected for the position will work within GRiP (Groningen Research in Prosthetics), which is a research collaboration between the Department of Rehabilitation Medicine and the Department of Human Movement Sciences of the UMCG.