Postdoctoral Researcher: Connectivity of the Temporal Lobe Language System (Junior) at the Donders Centre for Cognition (1.0 FTE)

• Employment: 1.0 FTE
• Faculty of Social Sciences
• Required background: PhD
• Application deadline: 6 April 2022

A two-year postdoctoral position on individual differences in the organisation of the brain's language network is available at the Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour at Radboud University Nijmegen. We seek a postdoctoral researcher who is interested in using advanced statistical analysis tools to study how differences in the anatomical organisation of the brain are related to differences in brain function and language behaviour. 

You will be responsible for studying individual differences in temporal lobe organisation and language behaviour across a large neuroimaging dataset obtained within the context of the Language in Interaction consortium. You will also be responsible for quality control, pre-processing, and statistical analysis of large neuroimaging datasets including diffusion MRI, resting state fMRI, and task-based fMRI data.

You will adapt and further develop advanced analysis methods to study so-called connectivity gradients, use these to characterise individual variance in brain anatomy, and relate observed variance to functional and behavioural data.

You will communicate with a diverse team of researchers who have designed the study and collected and pre-processed the data thus far. You will translate advanced analysis pipelines developed within the consortium to this dataset and communicate the results to the diverse group of researchers forming the consortium and the larger international scientific community.

You will be expected to become a full member of the Language in Interaction consortium and of the Cognitive Neuroecology Lab and the Sound Learning group at the Donders Centre for Cognition and as such to contribute to lab meetings and consortium meetings, and to perform such scientific citizenship duties that can normally be expected of a postdoctoral researcher.

Profile

• You have a PhD in a field with direct relevance for studying connectivity of the brain's language network in large-scale datasets.
• You have previous training and experience in either neuroimage analysis, neurobiology of language, or (ideally) both.
• You are proficient in coding (preference Matlab, Python, and/or shell) and advanced statistical analyses for neuroimaging data.
• Preferably, you have experience working with large datasets, such as the Human Connectome Project or UK Biobank.
• Preferably you also have affinity with brain anatomy and biology.
• You have a critical and careful approach to science, and strive for robustness and reproducibility of results.
• You are highly organised and adept in communicating project plans and outcomes to others, in both spoken and written form.
• You are interested in working together with researchers from a wide range of backgrounds, including working within a larger consortium where some communication may be partly virtual.

We are
The Netherlands has an outstanding track record in the language sciences. The research consortium 'Language in Interaction ', sponsored by a large grant from the Dutch Research Council (NWO), brings together many of the excellent research groups in the Netherlands with a research programme on the foundations of language.

In addition to excellence in the domain of language and related relevant fields of cognition, our consortium provides state-of-the-art research facilities and a research team with ample experience in the complex research methods that will be invoked to address the scientific questions at the highest level of methodological sophistication. These include methods from genetics, neuroimaging, computational modelling, and patient-related research. This consortium realises both quality and critical mass for studying human language at a scale not easily found anywhere else.

You will be appointed at the Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour . The Donders Institute is a world-class interfaculty research centre, that houses more than 700 researchers devoted to understanding the mechanistic underpinnings of the human mind. Research at the Donders Institute is focused around four themes: 1. Language and communication , 2. Perception, action and decision-making , 3. Development and lifelong plasticity , 4. Natural computing & neurotechnology . Excellent, state-of-the-art research facilities are available for the broad range of neuroscience research that is being conducted at the Donders Institute. The Donders Institute has been assessed by an international evaluation committee as 'excellent' and recognised as a 'very stimulating environment for top researchers, as well as for young talent'. The Donders Institute fosters a collaborative, multi-disciplinary, supportive research environment with a diverse international staff. English is the lingua franca at the Institute.

Radboud University
We want to get the best out of science, others and ourselves. Why? Because this is what the world around us desperately needs. Leading research and education make an indispensable contribution to a healthy, free world with equal opportunities for all. This is what unites the more than 24,000 students and 5,600 employees at Radboud University. And this requires even more talent, collaboration and lifelong learning. You have a part to play!

We offer

• Employment for 1.0 FTE.
• The gross monthly starting salary is €3,807 and will be €3,964 (salary scale 11.1 ) in your second year based on a 38-hour working week.
• You will receive 8% holiday allowance and 8.3% end-of-year bonus.
• It concerns a temporary employment for 2 years.
• You will be able to use our Dual Career and Family Care Services . Our Dual Career and Family Care Officer can assist you with family-related support, help your partner or spouse prepare for the local labour market, provide customized support in their search for employment  and help your family settle in Nijmegen.
• Working for us means getting extra days off. In case of full-time employment, you can choose between 29 or 41 days of annual leave instead of the legally allotted 20.

Additional employment conditions
Work and science require good employment practices. This is reflected in Radboud University's primary and secondary employment conditions . 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 subscription. And of course, we offer a good pension plan. You are given plenty of room and responsibility to develop your talents and realise your ambitions. Therefore, we provide various training and development schemes.
Would you like more information?

For questions about the position, please contact Rogier Mars, Principal Investigator at [email protected] . Alternatively, you can contact James McQueen, Professor/Director at [email protected] .

Practical information and applications
You can apply until 6 April 2022, exclusively using the button below. Kindly address your application to Rogier Mars. Please fill in the application form and attach the following documents:

• A letter of motivation.
• Your CV including the names of at least two persons who can provide references.

The first interviews will take place on Tuesday 26 April. You would preferably begin employment on 1 July 2022 or as soon as possible thereafter.
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