Functieomschrijving
Your function
Do you enjoy working with complex neuroimaging data, large datasets and computational methods? Do you want to work at the intersection of genetics, neuroimaging, neuroscience, neurodiversity and cross-species analyses? We are looking for a highly motivated PhD candidate to join the Connectome Lab at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam
The Connectome Lab at the Center for Neurogenomics and Cognitive Research (CNCR), Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, is seeking a PhD candidate in Neuroimaging, Genetics and Cross-species comparison.
The project aims to understand how variation in brain anatomy and connectivity contributes to the remarkable diversity of the human brain, and how these features relate to principles of brain evolution. We will combine large-scale human neuroimaging datasets with comparative datasets across species to investigate variation in brain structure, connectivity and functional organization.
A central goal is to understand which aspects of brain organization are highly conserved, which show substantial variation between individuals, and which features may have emerged or expanded during human brain evolution. The project therefore brings together neuroimaging, connectomics, neurodiversity, comparative neuroscience and computational neuroscience.
You will work with large structural MRI, diffusion MRI and resting-state fMRI datasets and develop and apply computational approaches to quantify variation in brain organization across individuals, populations and species. There is particularly attention for the use of LLM in data mining.
You will be part of the computational neuroimaging Lab led by Prof. Martijn van den Heuvel and work in an interdisciplinary environment with researchers from neuroimaging, computational neuroscience, genetics, psychology, psychiatry and artificial intelligence.
Your duties
contribute to teaching activities where appropriate
Your profile
MSc degree in neuroscience, neuroimaging, genetics, biomedical engineering, physics, computer science, artificial intelligence, mathematics, psychology, biology, or a related quantitative discipline.
Hands-on experience with computational analysis is important. Ideally, you have experience with several of the following:
connectome and network neuroscience analyses
Strong interest in and experience with scientific programming is essential. You should have experience with Python, MATLAB, R, Bash and/or comparable languages, and be comfortable working with computational analysis pipelines. Experience with one or more of the following would be an advantage:
network science and computational modelling
We are particularly interested in candidates who enjoy working with complex data, think critically about methodology, and are motivated to develop strong computational and neuroimaging expertise. You should also:
As a university, we strive for equal opportunities for all, recognising that diversity takes many forms. We believe that diversity in all its complexity is invaluable for the quality of our teaching, research and service. We are always looking for talent with diverse backgrounds and experiences. This also means that we are committed to creating an inclusive community so that we can use diversity as an asset.
We realise that each individual brings a unique set of skills, expertise and mindset. Therefore we are happy to invite anyone who recognises themselves in the profile to apply, even if you do not meet all the requirements.
What do we offer?
A challenging position in a socially engaged organisation. At VU Amsterdam, you contribute to education, research and service for a better world. And that is valuable. So in return for your efforts, we offer you:
We also offer you attractive fringe benefits and regulations. Some examples: