Assistant Professor in data analysis and modeling of cognitive neuroscience data

8 Mar 2024
Job Information

Organisation/Company

Maastricht University (UM)

Research Field

Cultural studies

Researcher Profile

Leading Researcher (R4)
Established Researcher (R3)

Country

Netherlands

Application Deadline

21 Apr 2024 - 21:59 (UTC)

Type of Contract

Temporary

Job Status

Not Applicable

Hours Per Week

38.0

Is the job funded through the EU Research Framework Programme?

Not funded by an EU programme

Is the Job related to staff position within a Research Infrastructure?

No

Offer Description

Who we are
The department Cognitive Neuroscience (CN) is hosted at the Faculty of Psychology and Neuroscience (FPN) at Maastricht University (UM), and currently consists of 33 permanent staff members and about 60 temporary staff (PhD candidates and postdocs). We are a collaborative group that investigates the neural processes that underlie human cognitive functions, including perception, attention, emotion, memory, learning, language and neurocognitive development. CN takes a unique approach to this endeavor by combining a variety of approaches to measure brain activity (e.g., using magnetic resonance imaging [MRI], electroencephalography [EEG], psychophysics) and to manipulate brain activity and overt behavior through non-invasive brain stimulation (NIBS) and neurofeedback. The department combines experimental skills with methodological development and theoretical or computational perspectives to investigate the neural correlates of cognitive processes at a range of spatial and temporal scales. In addition to a fundamental approach, much of the research also links with applications, related to, e.g., the development of BCIs to help locked-in patients, the treatment of depression, and the remediation of dyslexia. Some more information about the department can be found here.

Job description
We are looking for an assistant professor with broad mathematical, statistical, and computational expertise in the analysis and modelling of cognitive neuroscience data. Specifically, we are looking for a staff member who can apply analysis and modeling to various kinds of neurocognitive data, varying from (f)MRI data, over EEG data, to data from invasive recordings (e.g., obtained with ECoG or depth probes). In general, your research interests should fit within the broad array of fundamental and applied topics covered within CN.

We expect that you are passionate about research and enjoy collaborating with other staff within and beyond CN. In particular, we look for someone whose own research is focused on improving existing and developing novel statistical and computational models for advanced neuroimaging data analysis and statistical inference. Moreover, we look for someone who gets satisfaction from enriching the research of others by offering contributions in analysis and modeling. Note that the latter contributions to research in the department are now also explicitly recognized in the new Recognition and Reward HR policies instated at Maastricht University and are accepted as one of the means towards career development. In the staff member we hope to find, this open and helpful attitude is prioritized over building a specific individualized research line, and team science is prioritized over being individually successful in grant acquisition.

We also hope you are an enthusiastic teacher, as the time commitment on the advertised positions entails 50/50 teaching and research. In 2024, FPN (together with the Faculty of Health, Medicine and Life Sciences and the Faculty of Science and Engineering) launches a BSc in Brain Science, where the majority of your teaching will take place. In particular, your data science expertise will be in demand for teaching mathematics, statistics and programming courses, and for contributing that expertise to content courses that are still in development. We expect that you have had formal training in mathematics and have experience in teaching topics ranging from algebra and calculus, to machine learning or biophysical modeling. For students writing a bachelor or master thesis with a strong data science or modeling component, you may be asked to be an internship or thesis (co)supervisor.

You are also expected to be a team player with an open communication and effective management style. Once you are settled in, you should be ready to fulfil administrative roles or committee work in the faculty.

Requirements
Specific Requirements

Requirements

• You have a PhD in Computational Neuroscience, Biomedical Sciences or Engineering, Artificial Intelligence, Data Science, Mathematics or Physics;
• You must have strong analytical/computational skills and be interested in human functional brain data; In particular, you should have experience in developing or applying computational models and/or advanced signal analysis techniques in cognitive neuroscience (i.e., applicable to human behavioural, neuroimaging, or neural data);
• You should have experience as a Postdoc, and possess a publication track record that shows aptitude in applying data science skills and/or computational modeling skills to human neuroscience or neuroimaging data;
• You display outstanding quality in research, and you enjoy and promote interdisciplinary team science. Excellent English communication skills are essential. Knowledge of Dutch is not required.
• You are an experienced and enthusiastic teacher and have demonstrated skill in teaching programming, statistics and mathematics courses.
• We expect that you are willing to help colleagues in the analysis or modeling of their empirical data, either within collaborative projects, or purely in a collegial manner.

Additional Information
Benefits

What we offer

As an Assistant Professor at Faculty of Psychology and Neuroscience, you will be employed by the most international university in the Netherlands, located in the beautiful city of Maastricht. In addition, we offer you:

• Good employment conditions. The position is classified in pay scale 11 according to UFO profile Assistant Professor 2, with a corresponding salary based on experience between €4332,00 and €5929,00 gross per month (based on a full-time employment of 38 hours per week). In addition to the monthly salary, an 8.0% holiday allowance and an 8.3% year-end bonus apply.
• An employment contract for a period of 12 months with a scope of 1.0 FTE. Upon proven suitability, the employment contract will be converted to an indefinite contract. Your development goals will also allow you to grow further to the position of assistant professor level 1.
• At Maastricht University, the well-being of our employees is of utmost importance, we offer flexible working hours and the possibility to work partly from home if the nature of your position allows it. You will receive a monthly commuting and internet allowance for this. If you work full-time, you will be entitled to 29 vacation days and 4 additional public holidays per year, namely carnival Monday, carnival Tuesday, Good Friday, and Liberation Day. If you choose to accumulate compensation hours, an additional 12 days will be added. Furthermore, you can personalize your employment conditions through a collective labor agreement (CAO) choice model.
• As Maastricht University, we offer various other excellent secondary employment conditions. These include a good pension scheme with the ABP and the opportunity for UM employees to participate in company fitness and make use of the extensive sports facilities that we also offer to our students.
• Last but certainly not least, we provide the space and facilities for your personal and professional development. We facilitate this by offering a wide range of training programs and supporting various well-established initiatives such as 'acknowledge and appreciate'.

The terms of employment at Maastricht University are largely set out in the collective labor agreement of Dutch Universities. In addition, local provisions specific to UM apply.

Additional comments

Curious?

Are you interested in this exciting position but still have questions? Feel free to contact Prof. dr. Peter de Weerd, [email protected] for more information.

Applying?
Or are you already convinced and ready to become our new Assistant Professor? Apply now, no later than 21 April, for this position.

Please upload your CV, motivation letter, contact details of 2 references and a statement of research interest.

The vacancy is open for internal and external candidates. In case of equal qualifications, internal candidates will be prioritized.

Maastricht University is committed to promoting and nurturing a diverse and inclusive community. We believe that diversity in our staff and student population contributes to the quality of research and education at UM, and strive to enable this through inclusive policies and innovative projects led by teams of staff and students. We encourage you to apply for this position.

Website for additional job details

https://www.academictransfer.com/338740/

Work Location(s)

Number of offers available

1

Company/Institute

Maastricht University

Country

Netherlands

City

Maastricht

Postal Code

6229ER

Street

Universiteitssingel 40

Geofield

Where to apply

Website

https://www.academictransfer.com/en/338740/assistant-professor-in-data-analysis…

Contact

City

Maastricht

Website

http://www.maastrichtuniversity.nl/

Street

Minderbroedersberg 4

Postal Code

6211 LK

STATUS: EXPIRED