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

Over the past few years we have set up a unique collection of post-mortem neuroimaging data in combination with brain tissue, to answer the following objectives:

• 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.
• To address heterogeneity with pathology-defined neuroimaging patterns.
• To explore if artificial intelligence can be used to gain a higher sensitivity and specificity for 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, relevant for the clinical setting.

We are looking for an enthusiastic, skilled and creative postdoctoral researcher with experience in neuroimaging in neurodegenrative duseases. You will be part of a young, multidisciplinary team.

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;
• Statistically analysing of MRI and neuropathology data;
• Writing scientific articles based on the results of your research;
• Making scripts publicly available through our GitHub site;
• Bringing your own ideas for follow-up studies, including applying for grants;
• Supervising students and some teaching duties.

We are looking for an enthusiastic and ambitious researcher with a strong interest in neuroscience and neuroimaging of neurodegenerative diseases. You have:

• A recent PhD degree in Neuroscience, Biomedical Science, or a related field;
• Experience with neuroimaging processing and analysis (e.g. SPM, FSL);
• Programming skills (e.g. Bash scripting, Python, Matlab, 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. 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.

Here is a link to the research team: Clinical Neuroanatomy & Biobanking. Moreover, you will contribute to the program Neurodegeneration and Amsterdam Parkinson and Movement Disorder Centre.