Due to the clinical and pathological heterogeneous nature of neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and Parkinson's disease (PD), non-invasive imaging biomarkers for better diagnosis, prognosis and treatment strategies, are highly needed. The aim of the project is to define the pathological sensitivity of (advanced) MRI outcome measures, as biomarkers for (differential) cognitive decline in AD and PD.

Objectives of the project are (i) to ascertain which advanced neuroimaging modalities (e.g. multi-shell diffusion outcome measures) is most sensitive to specific neuropathological disease states, as defined by the distribution and burden of proteinopathy. (ii) To address heterogeneity with pathology-defined neuroimaging patterns. (iii) To explore if artificial intelligence can be used to gain a higher sensitivity and specificity of defining pathology-confirmed subtypes.

By integrating multisource data (clinical, radiological, histopathological), the project will result in new fundamental knowledge leading to improved interpretation of imaging datasets, and contribute to better diagnosis, prognosis and monitoring paradigms in neurodegenerative diseases.

We are looking for a skilled and creative postdoctoral researcher, with a broad interest in neuroscience. You will be part of a young, multidisciplinary team, with ample experience, and an excellent position within the expert field.

• As a PostDoc your main duties and responsibilities are:
• Setting up and conducting the research;
• Collecting postmortem MRI scans;
• Performing MRI data analysis and developing pipelines;
• Statistical analysis of MRI and neuropathology data;
• Writing scientific articles based on the results of your research;
• Making scripts publicly available though our GitHub site;

We are looking for an enthusiastic and ambitious researcher with a strong interest neuroscience, neuroimaging and method development. You have:

• A recent PhD degree in Neuroscience, Biomedical Science, Technical Medicine, or a related field with a keen interest in multi-model neuroimaging in neurodegenerative diseases.
• Experience with neuroimaging processing and analysis (e.g. SPM, FSL).
• Strong programming skills (e.g. Bash scripting, Python, Matlab, C++, R).
• Affinity with neurodegenerative diseases, willing to learn more about neuropathology.
• You are highly motivated, creative and willing to work with human postmortem MRI scans and brain tissue.
• You are communicative, well organized, independent and willing to supervise PhD and Msc students.

• A one-year (12-month) contract with the intention to extend for an additional 18 months.
• Salary scale 10: € 3.359 - € 5.292 bruto with a 36 hour week (depending on qualifications and experience).
• In addition to a good salary, we offer, among other things, 8.3% end-of-year bonus and 8% holiday allowance. Curious about what you will earn? Calculate your net salary here.
• Free and unlimited access to the training offer of our online learning environment GoodHabitz
• Your pension is accrued at ABP. Amsterdam UMC contributes 70% of this premium.
• We reimburse 75% of your public transport travel costs and also offer a bicycle arrangement.

Amsterdam UMC

As postdoc, you will work in the Neuroscale team of the section Clinical Neuroanatomy and Biobanking (CNAB) at the department of Anatomy and Neurosciences, Amsterdam UMC, location VUmc, Amsterdam. Our mission is to unravel the pathological sensitivity of neuroimaging outcome measures in neurodegnerative diseases, to better understand the application of MRI in research and the clinical setting.

Clinical Neuroanatomy & Biobanking – Anatomie en Neurowetenschappen (anatomy-neurosciences.com)
You will contribute to the program Neurodegeneration and Amsterdam Parkinson and Movement Disorder Centre.

Neurodegeneration (amsterdamumc.org)