We have multiple vacancies for post-doctoral researchers in neuroimaging and/or genetics to work on the development and application of multivariate statistical analyses to large scale data. The project is part of a large HORIZON Europe consortium aimed at better understanding familial transmission of mental health problems. Will you join our project?

The overall focus of the FAMILY Consortium is to better understand the intergenerational transmission of mental health problems, such as mood disorders and psychosis, via multilevel research from the inheritance of the molecular DNA, to the epigenomic and (shared/familial) environmental processes, and systems neuroscience. Our role in this consortium is to integrate genomics and neuroimaging MRI data in ways that allow informative individual (genomic) profiling and (normative/predictive) modelling across different cohorts.

As a postdoc you will apply existing data-driven multivariate statistical techniques (e.g. PCA, ICA) and help develop new analysis pipelines aimed at improved biological interpretation and individual stratification on the basis of genomic data, and structural and functional MRI. The project involves multimodal feature extraction based on very large datasets (UK Biobank, ABCD, Generation R), followed by feature selection and application to smaller, more clinically focused target cohorts. You will be encouraged to make publicly available your new tools and pipelines (e.g on github) to enable other researchers to take advantage of the innovations produced in these projects.

The vacant positions are highly interdisciplinary and integrate machine learning and statistics with neuroimaging, clinical neuroscience and psychiatry. Successful applicants are not required to have experience and knowledge of all disciplines and techniques involved yet. We encourage applications from individuals who have already demonstrated one or more relevant skill and discipline (genetics or neuroimaging or machine learning), and who are motivated to expand their expertise as needed to complete the project. We also highly value an applicant's motivation to help making an impact on mental health.

The project you will be contributing to is a HORIZON Europe consortium project "FAMILY", in close collaboration with partners at Rotterdam Erasmus MC, Leibniz Institute for Resilience Research (Mainz), University College London, Harvard University, and others. The postdoc positions are hosted by the Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behavior at the Radboud University Medical Center (Cognitive Neuroscience department) under the supervision of Dr. Emma Sprooten and Prof. Christian Beckmann, and integrated into the wider academic research environment at the Donders Institute.

Tasks and responsibilities

• Discuss, plan and perform research in a stimulating environment.
• Optimize and apply existing and new multivariate statistical approaches for genomic and neuroimaging analysis.
• Apply these statistical models to large-scale population cohorts and (smaller) clinical family trio datasets.
• Write scientific papers and publish findings in peer-reviewed journals and present at international scientific conferences.
• Make your pipelines and tools publicly available to enable for the use of the wider scientific community.
• Assist with the supervision of (Master) students and more junior staff.
• Work in an interdisciplinary team of international scientists.
• Collaborate with our consortium partners with excellent opportunities to develop and expand academic networks.

We are looking for highly self-motivated candidates who are curious and enthusiastic about scientific research and who will work with others in our lab and in the institute to solve problems and contribute to high-quality neuroscience investigations. You have a keen interest in the different research areas involved from machine learning to neuroscience and mental health. Furthermore:

• Completion (or near completion) of doctoral PhD degree in a numerate relevant scientific discipline such as statistics, computer science, engineering, cognitive neuroscience, (neuro)psychology, biostatistics, bioinformatics, genetics, or other relevant field of study.
• Demonstrated proficiency in programming in one or more languages such as Python, R, Matlab or C++, Bash/Shell.
• Knowledge and understanding of advanced statistics, including multivariate methods, data reduction techniques and/or mechaine learnng.
• Some experience in either:
  • structural or functional MRI research or
  • multifactorial genetics, behavioral genetics, psychiatric genetics.
• Demonstrated scientific writing skills in English, evident from first-author journal articles.
• A strong academic track-record, including publications in international journals.A proactive attitude, good written and oral communication skills, and able to work effectively in an interdisciplinary team.

Fixed-term contract: 3 years.

The positions is for 3 years and should begin in October - December 2022. Working at Radboud university medical center means that you are ahead of the curve and working together on the healthcare of the future. And there is more. Our secondary terms of employment are impressive. These are fully tailored to you thanks to our Employment Conditions Selection Model. At Radboud university medical center, you will be given trust, and you will take the responsibility to handle everything together. We provide annual courses, both professional and personal.

• In addition to your monthly salary and an annual vacation allowance of 8%, you will receive an end-of-year bonus of 8.3%.
• If you work irregular hours, you will receive an allowance.
• As a full-time employee (36 hours per week), you are entitled to approximately 168 vacation hours (over 23 days) per year.
• Radboud university medical center pays 70% of the pension premium. You pay the rest of the premium with your gross salary.
• You get a discount on health insurance as well: you can take advantage of two group health insurance plans. UMC Zorgverzekering and CZ collectief.

In addition to our terms of employment, we also offer employees various other attractive facilities, such as childcare and sports facilities. Want to learn more? Take a look at the CAO UMC.

Radboudumc

The Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour is a world leading centre for cognitive neuroscience and offers a unique, multidisciplinary working and learning environment with opportunities for developing expertise in a diversity of research areas and techniques. The centre is equipped with three MRI scanners (3 x 3T) and access to a high field (7T) MR system plus a 275-channel MEG system, an EEG-TMS laboratory, several (MR-compatible) EEG systems, and high-performance computational facilities.

Radboudumc
Radboud university medical center is a university medical center for patient care, scientific research, and education in Nijmegen. Radboud university medical center strives to be at the forefront of shaping the healthcare of the future. We do this in a person-centered and innovative way, and in close collaboration with our network. We want to have a significant impact on healthcare. We want to improve with each passing day, continuously working towards better healthcare, research, and education. And gaining a better understanding of how diseases arise and how we can prevent, treat, and cure them, day in and day out. This way, every patient always receives the best healthcare, now and in the future. Because that is why we do what we do.

Read more about our strategy and what working at Radboud university medical center means. Our colleagues would be happy to tell you about it. #weareradboudumc