The most common cause of dementia is Alzheimer's disease (AD). Other causes include Vascular Cognitive Impairment (VCI), dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB), and frontotemporal dementia (FTD). The overall goal of TAP-dementia project is to improve diagnostics of these dementias.

By improve diagnosis, we mean making it Timely, Accurate, and Personalized (TAP). TAP dementia improves diagnostics by (i) developing, (ii) validating, and (iii) implementing diagnostic tests. This allows appropriate care to be provided, which contributes to the quality of life of the person with dementia.

About your role
In this project, you will work together with clinical and technical experts to develop technologies that can improve dementia diagnosis. For this project we are looking for a person who gets excited about large scale, complex data analyses, involving fluid biomarkers, clinical information, and neuroimaging data. Specifically, you will be responsible for:

• Finding the optimal combination of existing blood-based biomarkers to differentiate frontotemporal dementia from other types of dementias.
• Developing a novel explainable AI that combines neuroimaging and clinical data. You will be responsible for studying how this technique can be used in our large Amsterdam dementia cohort (N>7000), and in other cohorts from our national and international collaborations.
• Using multi-modal biomarkers to detect dementia caused by multiple pathologies.

As a researcher, you will strengthen the fluid biomarker and AI team in the Amsterdam Alzheimer Center. Together with other PhD students in the TAP-Dementia consortium, you ensure that the etiology of dementia can be determined in a timely and accurate manner in the future.

An ideal candidate would have:

• Completed a relevant academic education (e.g. Data science, Bioinformatics, Neuroscience), a completed Research Master is an advantage.
• Demonstrable experience with statistical programming, data science, and machine learning in R / python. Experience working with Neuroimaging or proteomics data would be a plus.
• Affinity for translational research in a multi-disciplinary environment.
• Demonstrable English language skills in (academic) writing and oral communication.
• The ability to think critically and independently.
• Excellent social and organizational skills to form a bridge between technical and clinical experts in the consortium.

• Salary scale in accordance with the Collective Labor Agreement for University Medical Centers.
• A flying start to your career in scientific research.
• Plenty of room for personal development with a wide range of training & development of academic skills
• Working on large-scale and own research, with motivated colleagues
• A pleasant, informal atmosphere with plenty of room for humour, music and table football!
• A contract for 12 months with the prospect of extension for the duration of the PhD program.
• An attractive salary (scale OIO; minimum EUR 2.789,- gross per month - maximum 3.536,- based on 36 hours/week).
• In addition to a good basic salary, we offer 8.3% year-end bonus and 8% holiday allowance.
• Your pension is accrued at ABP. VUmc contributes 2/3 of this premium.

Amsterdam UMC

The research will be conducted at the Amsterdam Alzheimer Center, an (inter)national leading center in the field of top clinical care and high-quality scientific research into dementia. The Alzheimer Center Amsterdam is a stimulating workplace with more than 100 employees where an informal atmosphere goes hand in hand with ambitions and attention to personal development. For more information, visit: www.alzheimercentrum.nl.