Postdoc Position: Affective Neuroscience and Computational Psychiatry at the Donders Centre for Cognitive Neuroimaging

A driven postdoctoral researcher in neurocomputational models of adaptive learning is welcome to join our ERC-funded project. Together we investigate how people make approach–avoidance decisions under threat within a dynamic, interdisciplinary team.

We seek a motivated postdoctoral researcher with expertise in neurocomputational models of adaptive learning. You will be funded by an ERC Advanced Grant entitled ’HEART2ADAPT: Autonomic balance for adaptive decision making’. Together with a team of postdoctoral researchers and PhD candidates we will investigate how people make approach-avoidance decisions under states of threat.

Why do some people stay calm and make flexible decisions under pressure, while others freeze or flee? 'HEART2ADAPT' is on a mission to find out. We are building a new model to understand how the body’s autonomic stress state shapes the way we respond to danger - and how this balance between sympathetic and parasympathetic activity guides adaptation in ever-changing environments.

Using cutting-edge tools to track brain and body activity in real time - think heart rate, posture and advanced neuroimaging - we will explore how stress affects decision-making. We will also test causal mechanisms through pharmacological interventions and transcranial ultrasound stimulation.

Funded by a European Research Council (ERC) Advanced Grant, HEART2ADAPT offers the appointed candidate opportunities to contribute to task development and modelling of behavioural and neural data. Subsequent phases will investigate alterations in anxiety patients and apply interventions to probe underlying mechanisms.

You will collaborate closely with colleagues at the Donders Institute and the Behavioural Science Institute as well as international partners. Responsibilities may also include management, mentoring (PhD, MSc, and BSc students), and teaching-related tasks.

Does this sound like you?

• You have a PhD in a relevant field (e.g. cognitive or affective neuroscience, computational psychiatry; human decision sciences).
• You have a demonstrable interest and experience in probabilistic and/or other modelling approaches to decision making.
• You have proven expertise in neuroimaging techniques (preferably MEG and/or fMRI).
• You have an interest in psychophysiological threat states and autonomic changes in anxiety patients.
• You have good social, communication and organisational skills.
• You are a team player.

Experience in human psychophysiology would be useful, and experience supervising students at various levels would be advantageous.

What we offer you

• We will give you a temporary employment contract of four years.
• Your salary within salary scale 11 depends on your previous education and number of years of (relevant) work experience. If your dissertation has not yet been approved by the dissertation committee at the time of appointment, you will initially be placed in salary scale 10.4. Once your dissertation has been approved, you will be placed in salary scale 11. The amounts in the scale are based on a 38-hour working week.
• You will receive an 8% holiday allowance and an 8.3% end-of-year bonus.
• You will receive extra days off. With full-time employment, you can choose between 30 or 41 days of annual leave instead of the statutory 20.

Additional employment conditions

Work and science require good employment practices. Radboud University's primary and secondary employment conditions reflect this. You can make arrangements for the best possible work-life balance with flexible working hours, various leave arrangements and working from home. You are also able to compose part of your employment conditions yourself. For example, exchange income for extra leave days and receive a reimbursement for your sports membership. In addition, you receive a 34% discount on the sports and cultural activities at Radboud University as an employee. And, of course, we offer a good pension plan. We also give you plenty of room and responsibility to develop your talents and realise your ambitions. Therefore, we provide various training and development schemes.

Where you will be working

Your position will be embedded in the Affective Neuroscience group led by Prof Karin Roelofs at the Faculty of Social Sciences. You will be appointed by the Faculty's Behavioural Science Institute (BSI). BSI participates in the Donders Centre for Cognitive Neuroimaging (DCCN) where you will be based.

Behavioural Science Institute

BSI is an interdisciplinary research institute where fundamental, applied and translational research takes place with the aim of understanding important societal issues and contributing to their solutions. BSI is one of the three research institutes of the Faculty of Social Sciences at Radboud University. Our researchers collaborate across the boundaries of psychology, communication science and pedagogical and educational science. The institute provides excellent research facilities and has strong collaborations with non-academic partners. BSI has state-of-the-art research facilities for observational studies, experiments, eye-tracking studies, EEG measurements and GSR recording, psychobiological research, and behavioural measurements in both real and 3D virtual environments.

The Donders Centre for Cognitive Neuroimaging

The mission of this world class research centre is to conduct cutting-edge fundamental research in cognitive neuroscience. Much of the rapid progress in this field is being driven by the development of complex neuroimaging techniques for measuring activity in the human brain - an area in which the Centre plays a leading role. The research themes cover central cognitive functions such as perception, action, control, emotion, decision-making, attention, memory, language, learning and plasticity. The Centre also aims to establish how the different brain areas coordinate their activity with very high temporal precision to enable human and animal cognition. Our internationally renowned centre currently hosts more than 100 PhD candidates and postdoctoral researchers from more than 25 countries, offering a stimulating and multidisciplinary research environment. The centre is equipped with four MRI scanners (7T, 3x 3T), a 275-channel MEG system, an EEG-TMS/TUS laboratory, several (MR-compatible) EEG systems and high-performance computational facilities.

Both BSI and DCCN are known for their successful graduate schools and strong dedication to open science and team science. They stand for a warm, inclusive and cooperative research environment in which staff are well-supported in a work culture that promotes collaboration and respect.

Faculty of Social Sciences

At the Faculty of Social Sciences, humanity and society are our focus; we study how people behave, think and feel. Within this context, we look at themes such as human behaviour and the human psyche, education and upbringing, communication, society and culture. The faculty provides education to 6,000 students and employs 700 staff. Education is organised into six programme clusters: Psychology; Artificial Intelligence; Pedagogical Sciences and Educational Sciences; Communication Science; Sociology; and Cultural Anthropology and Developmental Sociology, and the Radboud Centre Social Sciences as an institute for post-master education have been merged into the Social Sciences Education Institute. Our research is carried out within three research institutes: the Donders Centre for Cognition, the Behavioural Science Institute, and Radboud Social Cultural Research.

Radboud University

At Radboud University, we aim to make an impact through our work. We achieve this by conducting groundbreaking research, providing high-quality education, offering excellent support, and fostering collaborations within and outside the university. In doing so, we contribute indispensably to a healthy, free world with equal opportunities for all. To accomplish this, we need even more colleagues who, based on their expertise, are willing to search for answers. Will you also contribute to making the world a little better? You have a part to play.