Postdoctoral Position in Mathematical Modeling of Stress Responses

Are you interested in how organisms respond to stressors in their environment? Do you enjoy working in an interdisciplinary team? The Department of Evolutionary and Population Biology (EPB) at IBED is looking for a skilled, responsible, and organized postdoctoral researcher to develop mathematical models of adaptive stress regulation. These models will inform empirical research with humans.

Join our team!
We invite applications for a postdoctoral position in the field of mathematical modeling of adaptive cognition and behavior. This position is part of a research project named "CONTEXTualized emotion bioregulation training for professionals and youth at risk" (CONTEXT), funded by an NWO National Science Agenda 2024 consortium grant.

The postdoc position will be embedded in the Developmental Evolutionary Ecological Psychology (DEEP) lab (PI: Willem Frankenhuis) at the University of Amsterdam (Netherlands). The postdoc will collaborate with other PIs in the consortium: Floris Klumpers, Karin Roelofs, and Erno Hermans at the Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour at Radboud University Nijmegen (Netherlands), Lucres Nauta-Jansen at the Amsterdam University Medical Center (Netherlands), Eveline Crone and Marta Marciniak at Erasmus Universiteit Rotterdam (Netherlands), and advisory board member Tim Fawcett at the University of Exeter (United Kingdom). In the CONTEXT project, a large team of scientists from cognitive neuroscience, developmental psychology, and forensic psychiatry works together with societal stakeholders, such as youth organizations and police, to improve emotion regulation for individuals and situations that need it most. The postdoc will develop formal theory designed to inform research and interventions conducted by the consortium, as described next.

There is striking variation in stress responses within and across individuals, populations, and species. To understand this variation, we need to consider how stress responses adapt to the structure of the environment over multiple timescales—through natural selection acting on genes, developmental experiences, and learning in context. To illustrate, animals might exhibit anxiety in the absence of immediate threat when encounters with those threats (e.g., predators) are temporally autocorrelated in the environment. In such conditions, having just encountered a threat increases the likelihood of encountering another in the near future; for instance, while the predator is still in the local area. Such anxiety in the absence of immediate threat could thus reflect adaptation, depending on the environment structure (autocorrelation) and prior experience (having just encountered a threat). However, in other cases, ‘hypervigilance’ might reflect dysregulation. A critical challenge is to distinguish dysregulation from adaptation in context. This requires developing formal benchmarks, established through mathematical modeling, which describe adaptive stress responses as a function of environment structure and prior experience.

What are you going to do?
The primary tasks of this postdoc will be (1) to develop novel (theoretical) mathematical models of adaptive cognition and behavior; (2) to ensure these models provide theoretical predictions for empirical testing in humans; and (3) to be a kind, constructive, and reliable participant in regular consortium meetings. The postdoc will be closely involved in daily supervision of MSc students who work on the CONTEXT project.

Tasks and responsibilities:

• You will develop novel mathematical models of adaptive cognition and behavior;
• You will ensure these models provide theoretical predictions for empirical testing in humans;
• You will help to translate findings from your models to interventions with our target groups;
• You will be a kind, constructive, and reliable participant in regular consortium meetings;
• You will explain your mathematical models in an accessible manner to non-modelers;
• Beyond the consortium, you will participate in departmental and DEEP lab meetings.

Your profile
Your experience and profile:
The ideal candidate will have:

• A PhD in biology, cognitive science, or an adjacent field (e.g. biomedicine, computer sciences);
• A strong academic track record, including high-quality publications (quantity is less important);
• Experience in mathematical modeling of cognition or behavior (e.g. optimality, drift-diffusion);
• Advanced computational and/or programming skills (Matlab, Python, C++, R, or other languages);
• A commitment to transparent research practices (e.g. sharing code, scripts, and/or data);
• The ability to participate in an interdisciplinary and international research environment;
• The interpersonal and communication skills to effectively collaborate in team work;
• A proactive and goal-directed work approach and excellent organizational skills;
• Fluency in written and spoken English.

Candidates who only partially meet this profile are nonetheless strongly encouraged to apply.

Our offer
We offer a temporary employment contract for preferably 38 hours per week (a 0,8 fte working week is negotiable) for a period of 12 months with a probationary period of two months, with the possibility to the extend the contract for another 12 months upon a positive evaluation of your performance. The preferred starting date is as soon as possible. For this position the University Job Classification profile Researcher 4 applies.

The gross monthly salary, based on 38 hours per week and dependent on relevant experience, ranges between€ 3,546 to €5,538 (scale 10). In addition, you will receive a 8% holiday allowance and 8.3% year-end allowance. A favourable tax agreement, the ‘30% ruling’, may apply to non-Dutch applicants.

The Collective Labour Agreement of Universities of the Netherlands is applicable.

Besides the salary and a vibrant and challenging environment at Science Park we offer you multiple fringe benefits:

• 232 holiday hours per year (based on fulltime) and extra holidays between Christmas and 1 January;
• multiple courses to follow from our Teaching and Learning Centre;
• a complete educational program for PhD students;
• multiple courses on topics such as leadership for academic staff;
• multiple courses on topics such as time management, handling stress and an online learning platform with 100+ different courses;
• 7 weeks birth leave (partner leave) with 100% salary;
• partly paid parental leave;
• the possibility to set up a workplace at home;
• a pension at ABP for which UvA pays two third part of the contribution;
• the possibility to follow courses to learn Dutch;
• help with registration at UvA- Housing for a studio or small apartment when you’re moving from abroad.

Where you will work
The Institute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics (IBED) is one of eight research institutes of the Faculty of Science at the University of Amsterdam. The research at IBED aims to unravel how ecosystems function in all their complexity, and how they change due to natural processes and human activities. At its core lies an integrated systems approach to study biodiversity, ecosystems and the environment. IBED adopts this systems approach to ecosystems, addressing abiotic (soil and water quality) and biotic factors (ecology and evolution of plants, animals, and microorganisms), and the interplay between those. The IBED vision includes research encompassing experimental and theoretical approaches at a wide variety of temporal and spatial scales, i.e. from molecules and microorganisms to patterns and processes occurring at the global scale. The University of Amsterdam has excellent high performance computing facilities. Furthermore, IBED has a dedicated computational support team with specialized knowledge of bioinformatics, (geo)database management and scientific programming. IBED also works with non-academic partners to deliver transdisciplinary science for society.

The position will be based in the Department of Evolutionary and Population Biology. Evolutionary and Population Biology Research in the department of Evolutionary and Population Biology focuses on understanding the ecological and evolutionary processes that drive community dynamics and speciation, and determine biodiversity patterns. The current position fits with the department’s focus on the evolution of phenotypic plasticity, the ability of organisms to produce different phenotypes depending on environmental conditions.

If you feel the profile fits you, and you are interested in the job, we look forward to receiving your application. You can apply online via the ‘Apply’-button on the vacancy’s webpage. We accept applications until and including 01 December 2025.

Applications should include the following information (all files besides your cv should be submitted in one single pdf file):

• a detailed CV including the months (not just years) when referring to your education and work experience;
• a letter of motivation (max. 2 pages);
• a list of publications;
• the names and email addresses of two references who can provide letters of recommendation.

Only complete applications received within the response period via the link below will be considered. A knowledge security check can be part of the selection procedure (for details: national knowledge security guidelines). We will invite potential candidates for interviews soon after the closing date.

Do you have any questions, or do you require additional information? Please contact:

• Willem Frankenhuis, Associate Professor
• w.e.frankenhuis@uva.nl