Researcher in the Domain of the Integrative Model-based Cognitive Neuroscience

Are you interested in doing research in the domain of the Integrative Model-based Cognitive Neuroscience (IMCN) group, an in particular to contribute to our ongoing brain atlasing efforts? Are you familiar with neuroanatomy, magnetic resonance imaging, and have good knowledge of programming and statistics? Do you have good project management skills and are good at working as part of a team? We are looking for one highly motivated candidate for a research assistantship (0.8fte) for a total duration of 24 months, starting immediately, to help support a research project funded by the ERC awarded to Prof. Birte Forstmann.

The project will be conducted within the IMCN group which is part of the Brain and Cognition program group at the University of Amsterdam. Within the Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences, the discipline of Psychology offers a range of Bachelor's and Master’s degree programmes, while its research is carried out at the Psychology Research Institute (Psyres).

What are you going to do?

• You will be familiarized with the existing structural UHF-7T MRI data. These include several different MR contrasts including MP2RAGE T1-weighted images, T2*-weighted images, a quantitative susceptibility maps (QSM) and functional MRI;
• You will continue to segment subcortical structures in UHF-7T MRI data. Validation analyses will be performed including interrater-reliability analyses and postmortem data validation;
• Subsequently, probabilistic atlases will be created in standard MNI-space;
• Together with a postdoc, you will apply these atlas maps for the analysis of UHF-7T fMRI data.

The Researcher candidate will have a strong background in both psychology and mathematics. They will have an affinity and experience with model-based cognitive neuroscience. Additionally the candidate should have experience with working both independently and as a contributor in a larger project.

Your experience and profile

• A (research) Master’s degree in psychology/computer science/ other related fields;
• A strong record of computer programming, specifically in process modelling;
• Working knowledge of mathematical psychology, cognitive psychology and MRI;
• Demonstrated ability to work both independently and as a member of an effective team.

The candidate should already have experience with mathematical modelling, further than implementing existing models, but rather developing new models.

The appointment will be for a period of 12 months, with the possibilities of an extension of a further 12 months.

The gross monthly salary will range between €3226 and €5090 depending on relevant experience, based on a full-time position of 38 hours per week, plus 8% holiday allowance and 8,3% end-of- year allowance, in conformity with scale 10 of the Collective Labour Agreement for Dutch Universities.

The UvA offers excellent possibilities for further professional development and education.

What else do we offer

• A position in which initiative and input are strongly appreciated;
• An enthusiastic and specialized team, that is looking for new colleagues;
• An inspiring academic and international work environment in the centre of Amsterdam.

In our research unit, we use an integrative model-based cognitive neuroscience approach to gain a mechanistic understanding of cognitive processes such as decision-making and how they are implemented in the brain. We combine knowledge from functional and structural neuroanatomy, mathematical/computational modeling, and the cognitive/clinical neurosciences. Click here and here for more details.

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