PhD Position / Doctoral researcher in the Translational Psychology Group

UOL; Oldenburg; Hybrid; EUR 52,000 - 60,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

PhD opportunity

Collaborative environment

Interdisciplinary collaboration

Job summary

University Medicine Oldenburg is seeking a motivated researcher to join the Translational Psychology Group and contribute to the project “The Everyday Brain: Towards Capturing Temporal Dynamics Beyond the Lab.” The role focuses on long-term EEG-based studies, measuring cognitive-state dynamics, attention, and fatigue in naturalistic settings.

You will design experiments, collect and analyze EEG data, and develop methods to characterize cognitive state changes over several hours, integrating

Qualifications

• Completed university degree in psychology, neurocognitive psychology, cognitive neuroscience, or a closely related discipline.
• Hands-on experience with EEG data acquisition in a research setting.
• Experience conducting experimental research with human participants.
• Experience with statistical analysis of empirical data.
• Programming experience in MATLAB, Python, or R.
• Very good written and spoken English.

Responsibilities

• Design, implement, and run cognitive neuroscience studies focusing on auditory perception and state dynamics.
• Record and analyze EEG data in laboratory and naturalistic environments.
• Apply statistical and computational methods to EEG and long-term time series.
• Interpret findings in relation to theories of perception, cognition, and brain-state dynamics.
• Prepare manuscripts for international peer‑reviewed journals and present findings at conferences.
• Collaborate with researchers and contribute to the scientific development of the group.
• Participate in teaching activities within the Department of Psychology (3 LVS / three teaching hours per week during the semester).

Skills

EEG data acquisition

Experimental research

Statistical analysis

Programming (MATLAB/Python/R)

English proficiency

Education

Master or Diploma in psychology/neurocognitive psychology/cognitive neuroscience

Tools

MATLAB

Python

R

Job description

About us:

The School VI of Medicine and Health Sciences comprises the fields of human medicine, medical physics and acoustics, neurosciences, psychology and health services research. Together with the four regional hospitals, School VI forms the University Medicine Oldenburg. Furthermore, the university cooperates closely with the University Medicine of the University of Groningen.

The Translational Psychology Group, led by Prof. Dr. Martin Bleichner, investigates how the human brain processes information in everyday life. Our research combines cognitive neuroscience, experimental psychology, and mobile neurophysiological methods, with a particular focus on auditory perception, attention, and the dynamics of cognitive states.

A central goal of our work is to move beyond traditional laboratory experiments and investigate brain activity over extended periods of time under more naturalistic conditions. To this end, we develop and apply mobile and ear-centered EEG technologies, combining controlled experimental paradigms with recordings in everyday environments.

We are looking for a motivated researcher to join our team and contribute to our research programme "The Everyday Brain: Towards Capturing Temporal Dynamics Beyond the Lab", funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG) through the Heisenberg Programme.

Research project

Our cognitive states are constantly changing. Throughout the day, we fluctuate in our levels of attention, cognitive engagement, and fatigue, influencing how we perceive and respond to our environment. Yet, much of what we know about the neural mechanisms of cognition comes from relatively short experiments conducted under highly controlled laboratory conditions. As a result, we know surprisingly little about how cognitive states evolve over extended periods of time and how these changes are reflected in ongoing brain activity.

In this project, we want to address this gap by investigating whether the brain's responses to sounds can serve as indicators of changing cognitive states. Auditory stimuli are particularly promising because sounds are an integral part of everyday life, and their neural processing is influenced by attention, cognitive demands, and other internal and external factors. By measuring auditory brain responses repeatedly over several hours, we aim to determine whether their variability provides reliable and interpretable information about changes in cognitive state. The central challenge is to distinguish changes in neural processing that reflect the person's cognitive state from those caused by variations in the acoustic environment or other external factors.

Building on our existing mobile EEG technology, we will combine controlled auditory stimulation with naturally occurring sounds to investigate how this approach can be extended from the laboratory to more naturalistic environments. The project will involve designing experimental studies, collecting and analyzing long-term EEG recordings, and developing analytical approaches to characterize changes in cognitive states.

The successful candidate will contribute to establishing a methodological and conceptual foundation for studying the dynamics of cognition in everyday life, combining experimental cognitive neuroscience with longitudinal data analysis and potentially dynamical systems approaches.

Your tasks:

• Designing, implementing, and conducting experimental studies in cognitive neuroscience, with a focus on auditory perception and cognitive-state dynamics.
• Recording and analyzing EEG data in laboratory and naturalistic environments.
• Developing and applying statistical and computational methods for the analysis of EEG and long-duration physiological time series.
• Interpreting experimental findings in relation to current theories of perception, cognition, and brain-state dynamics.
• Preparing scientific manuscripts for publication in international peer-reviewed journals and presenting findings at scientific conferences.
• Collaborating with other researchers and contributing to the scientific development of the research group.
• Participating in teaching activities within the Department of Psychology (3 LVS / three teaching hours per week during the semester).

Your profile:

Required qualifications

• Completed university degree (Master/ (Diploma (Uni)) in psychology, neurocognitive psychology, cognitive neuroscience, or a closely related discipline with a substantial focus on human cognition and experimental neuroscience.
• Demonstrable hands-on experience with EEG data acquisition, obtained through a research assistant position, Bachelor's or Master's thesis, research project, or comparable research activity. Experience limited to coursework, theoretical knowledge, or the analysis of previously recorded EEG data is not sufficient.
• Practical experience in conducting experimental research with human participants, acquired through a thesis, research project, or comparable research activity.
• Practical experience with the statistical analysis of empirical research data.
• Practical programming experience in MATLAB, Python, R, or comparable programming languages for experimental research or data analysis.
• Very good written and spoken English, demonstrated through academic writing and oral communication.

Preferred qualifications

• Practical experience with EEG data preprocessing and analysis, including event-related potentials, time-frequency analysis, or comparable approaches.
• Demonstrated familiarity with sound and its properties, gained through training in acoustics, psychoacoustics, or auditory perception, musical training or experience, or other relevant practical activities.
• Experience analyzing longitudinal data, time series, or large physiological datasets.
• Knowledge of dynamical systems theory or its application to cognitive or neural processes.
• Experience with advanced statistical methods, such as regression, mixed-effects models, or multivariate analysis.
• Demonstrated ability to develop scientific arguments and communicate research findings in writing, evidenced by a thesis, research report, manuscript, or publication.
• Experience with reproducible research practices, version control, or open science workflows.

We offer:

• The opportunity to pursue a doctorate within an established research programme in neurocognitive psychology.
• A friendly, collaborative, and intellectually stimulating research environment that values curiosity, open discussion, and shared scientific discovery.
• A research culture that encourages exploring new ideas, questioning assumptions, and learning from mistakes, while emphasizing scientific rigor, transparency, and responsible research practices.
• Close collaboration within a research group consisting of a postdoctoral researcher, research assistants, and Master's students, with regular lab meetings, journal clubs, and scientific discussions.
• The opportunity to take ownership of your research project, develop scientific independence, and contribute to the shared goals of the research group.
• Access to mobile and laboratory EEG systems and established experimental infrastructure.
• Opportunities to present findings at international conferences, publish scientific papers, and develop professionally.
• Opportunities for interdisciplinary collaboration, including connections to a startup working on acoustic event detection and sound classification.

You can find comprehensive information and benefits about working at the University Medicine Oldenburg at the following link https://uol.de/en/fk6/profil-und-struktur/personalmanagement/jobs/benefits.

Our standards:

The University of Oldenburg is dedicated to increase the percentage of female employees in the field of science. Therefore, female candidates are strongly encouraged to apply. In accordance to § 21 Section 3 NHG, female candidates with equal qualifications will be preferentially considered. Applicants with disabilities will be given preference in case of equal qualification.

Further information:

The position offers the opportunity for personal scientific qualification (doctorate).