PhD Position: Fatigue in Motion

1. Introduction

Fatigue profoundly impacts mobility and quality of life in people with neurological disorders, yet its effects on everyday movement remain poorly understood. In this PhD project, you will combine cutting-edge physiological measurements, motion analysis and wearable technology to uncover how fatigue shapes mobility in daily life.

2. Job description

This PhD project investigates how fatigue affects gait, balance and functional mobility in individuals with neurological disorders. A key component of the project is the use of plethysmography to assess physiological responses associated with physical and cognitive fatigue, combined with advanced motion analysis in the laboratory and wearable sensors in daily life. By linking physiological markers of fatigue to movement quality and real-world activity, you will gain new insights into why mobility deteriorates during daily activities and how fatigue limits participation.

This project is embedded within the NWO-TTW funded Care is Coming Home programme. This large multidisciplinary consortium brings together academic medical centres, universities, healthcare organisations and industry partners to develop and implement innovative technologies for home-based healthcare and rehabilitation. The PhD project Fatigue in Motion is conducted in close collaboration with Sint Maartenskliniek, a leading specialist hospital in posture, gait and movement disorders, and Kinetic Analysis, an expert partner in advanced movement measurement and analysis.

As a PhD candidate, you will play a central role in the design and execution of this research project. Your responsibilities will include developing study protocols, conducting laboratory and real-world measurements, analysing quantitative and qualitative data, and disseminating findings through scientific publications and conference presentations. You will collaborate closely with clinicians, researchers and industry partners across the consortium to advance the assessment and understanding of fatigue-related mobility limitations in neurological populations.

Additional responsibilities may include mentoring BSc and MSc students and taking on limited teaching duties.

Would you like to learn more about what it’s like to pursue a PhD at Radboud University? Visit the page about working as a PhD candidate .

3. Profile

• You hold an MSc degree in Human Movement Sciences, Neuroscience, Biomedical Engineering, Technical Medicine, Biomedical Sciences, Medicine, or a related field, and have a strong interest in clinical research.
• You have experience with movement analysis, physiological measurements, and/or qualitative research methods, combined with excellent analytical, organisational and communication skills in both Dutch and English.
• You are proactive and persistent, and enjoy working at the interface of neuroscience, technology, rehabilitation and clinical practice.

4.

We are

You will be embedded in the Sensorimotor Neuroscience department of the Donders Centre for Cognition (DCC), part of the Faculty of Social Sciences, and one of the six centres of the interfaculty Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour. The Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour houses more than 800 researchers devoted to understanding the mechanistic underpinnings of the human mind. Research at the Donders Institute is focused around four themes:

• Language and communication.
• Perception, action and decision making.
• Development and lifelong plasticity.
• Neural computation and 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 fosters a collaborative, multidisciplinary and supportive research environment with a diverse international staff. English is the lingua franca at the Institute.

5.

We offer

• We will give you a temporary employment contract (1.0 FTE) of 1.5 years, after which your performance will be evaluated. If the evaluation is positive, your contract will be extended by 2.5 years (4-year contract).
• You will receive a starting salary of €3,204 gross per month based on a 38-hour working week, which will increase to €4,051 in the fourth year ( salary scale P ).
• 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.

6. Practical information and applying

You can apply only via the button below. Address your letter of application to Prof. dr. N. Keijsers. In the application form, you will find which documents you need to include with your application. We look forward to receiving your application.

The first interviews will take place on Monday 5 October. Any second interview will take place on Monday 12 October. You will preferably start your employment as soon as possible.

We can imagine you're curious about our  application procedure . It describes what you can expect during the application procedure and how we handle your personal data and internal and external candidates.