Genetic factors influence how the brain processes and regulates behaviour, but the pathways linking genes to brain function remain poorly understood. This project explores the genetic basis of brain activity, focusing on electroencephalographic (EEG) brain oscillations, which reflect critical neural communication processes. By integrating genetic data and advanced EEG analyses, the project will reveal how genes shape neural dynamics and contribute to behavioural traits and mental health conditions.
The PhD candidate will identify genetic variants associated with EEG features, analyse their impact on brain network organization, and explore links between genetic risk factors and neurodevelopment. These insights will help uncover novel biomarkers for mental health disorders and enhance our understanding of brain function from childhood to old age. This research is part of an interdisciplinary, NWO-funded collaboration within the ENIGMA-EEG consortium, leveraging large-scale datasets and cutting-edge techniques such as machine learning and advanced analyses in the fields of genomics and transcriptomics.
Would you like to know more about the different phases within the PhD trajectory? You can read more about this on this page. Your work is embedded in the ENIGMA-EEG working group of the international ENIGMA consortium (a worldwide consortium aimed at elucidating the link between brain and behaviour). As a PhD student on this project, you will co-develop the research projects, analyse large-scale data, write up scientific manuscripts, present at conferences, and communicate with the international team of collaborators. In particular, for the first two parts of the project you will be conducting innovative genetic analyses using our existing databases and biobanks from around the world. You will collaborate with leading researchers in the ENIGMA-EEG consortium and contribute to the development of protocols and workflows to standardize EEG analyses across cohorts.
More specifically, your role will include exploring age-related brain changes, performing genome-wide association studies (GWAS) on EEG features, and finally integrating these results with earlier findings in neuropsychiatric disorders and behavioural traits. You will co-develop novel EEG biomarkers for cognition and mental health conditions, define objective criteria for genetic subtypes of disorders like obsessive-compulsive disorder and depression. This will greatly improve our understanding of the variability seen in various neuropsychiatric disorders.
We will provide you with extensive training to excel in advanced data analysis methods (e.g., GWAS, polygenic scoring, machine learning, advanced EEG analyses, multi-site statistics) and support you in navigating interdisciplinary research within this highly collaborative project.