PhD Position: Transcranial Ultrasound Stimulation and Computational Affective Neuroscience

1. Introduction

Are you passionate about affective neuroscience computational modelling and transcranial ultrasound stimulation? Come and join our PhD project on approach-avoidance decisions under threat, funded by the ERC Advanced Grant HEART2ADAPT, and work with a dynamic team.

2. Job description

Why do some people remain calm and make flexible decisions under stress, while others freeze or flee? HEART2ADAPT aims to answer this question. We are developing a new model to understand how the body’s autonomic stress state shapes responses to threat and how the balance between sympathetic and parasympathetic activity supports adaptive decision making in dynamic environments.

Using state-of-the-art methods to track brain and bodily signals in real time – such as heart rate, posture and advanced neuroimaging – we will investigate how stress influences decision-making. A key component of this specific PhD project is testing causal mechanisms using transcranial ultrasound stimulation (TUS), including both offline TUS and the development of MR-compatible online TUS.

Funded by a European Research Council (ERC) Advanced Grant, the project HEART2ADAPT offers you the opportunity to contribute to protocol development, data collection and computational modelling of behavioural and neural data. You will apply TUS to key nodes of our model, including the amygdala, ventral striatum and dorsal ACC.

You will work closely with colleagues at the Donders Institute and the Behavioural Science Institute, as well as with international collaborators. Responsibilities may also include mentoring of BSc and MSc students.

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 have a Master’s degree in cognitive neuroscience or an adjacent field (psychology, biology, biomedical sciences, computer sciences, or other relevant MSc).
• You have a strong interest in fundamental research in cognitive and affective neurosciences and in computational psychiatry.
• You have experience with applying functional MRI (acquisition and analyses), including the use of Matlab, Python, SPM, FSL and/or other software tools, or you have experience with MEG (acquisition and analyses), including the use of Fieldtrip or similar.
• You have experience in non-invasive neuromodulation (preferably Transcranial Ultrasound Stimulation) or are willing to master this technique.
• You have experience in the acquisition and analysis of peripheral psychophysiological data (e.g. autonomic nervous system measures).
• You have the capacity to participate in an interdisciplinary and translational research environment.
• You have interpersonal and communication skills to effectively collaborate and communicate in academia.
• You have a proactive and goal-directed attitude and good organisational skills. You are fluent in written and spoken English.

Even if you do not meet all criteria, you are encouraged to apply if the role interests you.

4.

We are

Your position will be embedded in the Affective Neuroscience group led by Prof. Karin Roelofs at the Faculty of Social Sciences. You will be appointed by the Faculty's Behavioural Science Institute (BSI). You will be based at the Donders Centre for Cognitive Neuroimaging (DCCN) . You will also work closely with Lennart Verhagen’s group.

Both BSI and DCCN are known for their successful graduate schools and strong dedication to open science and team science. Together, they create a warm, inclusive and cooperative research environment in which staff are well-supported in a work culture that promotes collaboration and respect.

Behavioural Science Institute

BSI is an interdisciplinary research institute where fundamental, applied and translational research takes place with the aim of understanding important societal issues and contributing to their solutions. BSI is one of the three research institutes of the Faculty of Social Sciences at Radboud University. Our researchers collaborate across the boundaries of psychology, communication science and pedagogical and educational science. Our mission for the coming years is to join forces in interdisciplinary research on the theme ’Empowering the Young’. We study the challenges that young people face in our current society and contribute to their empowerment. The institute provides excellent research facilities and has strong collaborations with non-academic partners. BSI has state-of-the-art research facilities for observational studies, experiments, eye-tracking studies, EEG measurements and GSR recording, psychobiological research, and behavioural measurements in both real and 3D virtual environments.

The Donders Centre for Cognitive Neuroimaging

The mission of this world class research centre is to conduct cutting-edge fundamental research in cognitive neuroscience. Much of the rapid progress in this field is being driven by the development of complex neuroimaging techniques for measuring activity in the human brain - an area in which the Centre plays a leading role. The research themes cover central cognitive functions such as perception, action, control, emotion, decision-making, attention, memory, language, learning and plasticity. The Centre also aims to establish how the different brain areas coordinate their activity with very high temporal precision to enable human and animal cognition. Our internationally renowned centre currently hosts more than 100 PhD candidates and postdoctoral researchers from more than 25 countries, offering a stimulating and multidisciplinary research environment. The centre is equipped with four MRI scanners (7T, 2x 3T), a 275-channel MEG system, an EEG-TMS/TUS laboratory, several (MR-compatible) EEG systems and high-performance computational facilities.

5.

We offer

• We will give you a temporary employment contract (0.8 FTE 5- year contract - 1.0 FTE 4- year contract) 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) or 3.5 years (5-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 from the fourth year onwards ( 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 Karin Roelofs. 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 Thursday 26 November. Any second interview will take place on Wednesday 2 December. You will preferably start your employment in January 2027.

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.