PhD EEG measurements in epilepsia and NDD

The multi-disciplinary N=You Neurodevelopmental Precision Center is looking for a talented PhD candidate for a 4-year project that will be jointly supervised by Prof. Dr. Hilgo Bruining (child psychiatrist at Amsterdam UMC location AMC) and Dr. Klaus Linkenkaer-Hansen (https://cncr.nl/ at the VU Amsterdam).

The balance between excitatory (E) and inhibitory (I) signaling is crucial for proper brain development and functioning. Indeed, alterations in E/I balance supposedly underlie clinical manifestations of neurodevelopmental disorders ranging from behavioral disturbances to seizures. Many existing and new pharmacological interventions target elements of E/I-balance regulation; however, lack of technology to track changes in E/I ratio that is clinically insightful is limiting their implementation. In the BRAINinBALANCE public-private partnership between the N=You Neurodevelopmental Precision Center at Amsterdam UMC and MedTech company Clouds of Care, we aim to solve this problem.

Specifically, based on our patent-pending algorithm to quantify network-level E/I ratio directly from EEG signals (Bruining et al., Scientific Reports 2020), we will build a standardized EEG analysis workflow for individual-subject monitoring of E/I regulation through pharmacological interventions. This includes different anti-epileptic drugs, which is the focus area of Epilog, a brand of Clouds of Care, and bumetanide treatment of children with autism spectrum disorder that have participated in a large EEG-assisted trial at the N=You Neurodevelopmental Precision Center.

As a PhD candidate, your research will focus on bridging the gap between qualitative and quantitative EEG analysis and push the state-of-the-art in using high-density EEG for precision medicine.

• You will perform or assist in EEG recordings in children with a neurodevelopmental disorder.
• You will perform qualitative visual scoring of clinical EEG before and after pharmacological intervention in patients with epilepsy or children with a neurodevelopmental disorder.
• You will proactively contribute to the improvement of the workflow and software for analysis and visualization of EEG that are developed for clinical decision making in our group.
• You will help supervise masters students and publish influential papers in the peer-reviewed literature.

A challenging position in a socially involved organization.

You will be part of a collaborative, enthusiastic team consisting of multiple PhD-students and experienced post-docs in which we collectively work on important research questions ranging from fundamental aspects of neuronal network dynamics to translational neuroscience.