PhD student Genetics of brain activity in health and disease

Working at Amsterdam UMC

PhD student Genetics of brain activity in health and disease

We invite an enthusiastic and ambitious PhD student to join our interdisciplinary team. The candidate will take part in an innovative research project investigating the genetics of brain activity in relation to neuropsychological disorders.

The project

Genetic factors influence how the brain processes and regulates behaviour, but the pathways linking genes to brain function remain poorly understood. This project explores the genetic basis of brain activity, focusing on electroencephalographic (EEG) brain oscillations, which reflect critical neural communication processes. By integrating genetic data and advanced EEG analyses, the project will reveal how genes shape neural dynamics and contribute to behavioural traits and mental health conditions.

The PhD candidate will identify genetic variants associated with EEG features, analyse their impact on brain network organization, and explore links between genetic risk factors and neurodevelopment. These insights will help uncover novel biomarkers for mental health disorders and enhance our understanding of brain function from childhood to old age. This research is part of an interdisciplinary, NWO-funded collaboration within the ENIGMA-EEG consortium, leveraging large-scale datasets and cutting-edge techniques such as machine learning and advanced analyses in the fields of genomics and transcriptomics.

About your role

Your work is embedded in the ENIGMA-EEG working group of the international ENIGMA consortium (a worldwide consortium aimed at elucidating the link between brain and behaviour). As a PhD student on this project, you will co-develop the research projects, analyse large-scale data, write up scientific manuscripts, present at conferences, and communicate with the international team of collaborators. In particular, for the first two parts of the project you will be conducting innovative genetic analyses using our existing databases and biobanks from around the world. You will collaborate with leading researchers in the ENIGMA-EEG consortium and contribute to the development of protocols and workflows to standardize EEG analyses across cohorts.

More specifically, your role will include exploring age-related brain changes, performing genome-wide association studies (GWAS) on EEG features, and finally integrating these results with earlier findings in neuropsychiatric disorders and behavioural traits. You will co-develop novel EEG biomarkers for cognition and mental health.

About you

• A MSc degree in the field of epidemiology, biomedical sciences, bioinformatics, neurosciences, psychology, or a related and relevant discipline;
• Interested in the project’s topic and motivated to engage with ENIGMA-EEG cohort members worldwide;
• Prior experience in data analysis using (bash) scripting, python and/or R is desirable;
• Prior experience in genetic analysis or physiological data; the combination is desirable;
• Affinity with quantitative statistics and big data analysis;
• Proficiency in English is required.

Our offer

• A flying start to your career in scientific research;
• Plenty of room for your drive to shape tomorrow's healthcare;
• The opportunity to work on large-scale international data-sets and receive trained in the most cutting edge epidemiological and genetic methods;
• The intended start date for the project is between June and September 2025;
• You will be employed by Amsterdam UMC Research BV;
• A contract for 12 months (extension possible, for the full extent of the promotion);
• Pension accrual with BeFrank, a modern, comprehensible and fairly priced pension;
• For >7 km each way, 100% reimbursement for public transport travel costs and, for private transport, €0.18 per km up to a maximum of 40 km each way.
• Do you prefer walking or cycling? Take advantage of our good bike scheme. Moreover, you will receive a reimbursement of €0.18 per km.

About your workplace

You will become part of the Genetic Epidemiology research group of the Department of Psychiatry at Amsterdam UMC. The group currently has 5 permanent senior researchers, 4 assistant professors, 2 postdoctoral researchers and 9 PhD students who conduct genetic research on a wide range of complex traits, including mental illness, substance use, brain structure and function, socio-economic outcomes, cardiovascular disease, and musicality. Within our group we have a very open and accessible culture and we encourage everyone to bring in their own ideas. You will also actively participate in the “psychiatric imaging” research group of prof. dr. van Wingen at the same department. Internationally, we are active members of larger (genetics) communities Genetics Network Amsterdam (GENE Amsterdam) and Psychiatric Genomics Consortium (PGC).

You will work together with members of the ENIGMA-EEG consortium to be part of the interdisciplinary research project in genetics of brain activity. The working group is a collaboration of Universities in the US (New York, Minnesota, Washington U., USC in Los Angeles), Europe (Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Utrecht, Barcelona, Leipzig/Berlin) and Australia (Brisbane). The project is headed by dr. Dirk Smit and co-chaired by dr. Philippe Jawinski of Humboldt U. in Berlin.

Amsterdam UMC Research BV supports non-profit scientific research. In doing so, we provide researchers with everything they need to excel. Our principal investigators (PIs) and project leaders offer support in the field of project management, finance and human resources. In medical scientific research projects, legal support is also provided.

Amsterdam UMC has an open culture. This means that we hope that everyone feels welcome in our organization and that we strive to offer equal opportunities to everyone. We therefore cordially invite all interested parties to respond to this vacancy.

During the publication period, applications will be handled continuously. If the vacancy is filled, it will be closed prematurely.

If you have any questions about this position, please feel free to contact Dr. Dirk Smit at d.j.smit@amsterdamumc.nl.

For more information about the application procedure, please contact Kim Hooijmans, Recruitment advisor, via k.i.m.hooijmans@amsterdamumc.nl.