Junior Postdoc Position: Multimodal Language, Attention and RIFT

Radboud International; Nijmegen; On-site; EUR 48,000 - 62,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

4-year contract

Holiday allowance 8%

End-of-year bonus 8.3%

Extra leave days (30/41)

Job summary

Radboud University invites applications for a Junior Postdoc in Multimodal Language, Attention and RIFT. The successful candidate will explore how the brain integrates speech with gestures and lip movements using EEG/MEG and naturalistic stimuli.

The role emphasizes advanced analytical approaches and causal methods to link neural oscillations with multimodal comprehension. You will contribute to developing new methods, work within The Communicative Brain lab, and collaborate across linguistics,

Qualifications

• PhD in neurolinguistics or related field with strong focus on language processing and attention.
• Demonstrated experience setting up and conducting RIFT-EEG experiments and multimodal communication studies.
• Strong programming skills in Python and/or MATLAB and/or R.

Responsibilities

• Lead multimodal neuroscience experiments combining speech with gestures and lip movements.
• Analyze EEG/MEG data to study neural dynamics of multimodal integration.
• Apply methods like MVPA and mTRFs to assess temporal dynamics of speech and visual cues.

Skills

Python

MATLAB

R

Neuroscience

Multimodal integration

Experimental design

Statistical modelling

Education

PhD in neurolinguistics

Tools

OpenPose

OpenFace

EEG/MEG analysis

MVPA

mTRFs

Job description

Junior Postdoc Position: Multimodal Language, Attention and RIFT

Do you want to contribute to groundbreaking research at the intersection of language, communication and cognitive neuroscience? As a postdoctoral researcher, you will investigate how the human brain integrates speech with visual signals such as gestures and lip movements. Working with advanced EEG and MEG methods, naturalistic stimuli and innovative analytical approaches, you will help unravel the neural dynamics that support successful communication.

We are looking for a postdoctoral researcher to study how the human brain integrates what we hear and what we see during communication. In daily conversations, spoken language is accompanied by a plethora of visual signals such as hand gestures and lip movements. Although these signals unfold at different speeds and provide different kinds of cues, listeners seem to integrate these signals effortlessly. However, how this happens at a neural level remains a fundamental open question in the language sciences.

As a postdoctoral researcher, you will focus on how multi-timescale oscillatory dynamics support multimodal integration and weighting. You will work with EEG/MEG data to measure how language users process and coordinate multimodal signals, and you will work with rapid invisible frequency tagging to track how the brain integrates and attends to speech, gestures and other visual signals over time. You will also work with naturalistic video materials and modern analytical approaches (e.g. MVPA, mTRFs) to capture the temporal dynamics of multimodal processing (i.e. determining which signals are relevant for comprehension at different moments in time). Finally, you will contribute to the development of novel methods to provide causal evidence for the involvement of neural oscillations in multimodal integration and weighting during language processing.

At Radboud University, I have the opportunity to concentrate on important topics like diversity and inclusion. Inti Brazil Associate Professor of Neuropsychology and Rehabilitation Psychology

Does this sound like you?

For this position, it is essential that you have demonstrable experience in setting up and conducting RIFT-EEG experiments on multimodal communication, as well as neuro- and psycholinguistic experiments focused on attention and speech planning during language comprehension.

In addition, you have:

• Completed a PhD degree in neurolinguistics, preferably on the attentional trade-off to capture speech planning during comprehension.


• Strong programming skills in Python and/or MATLAB and/or R.


• Strong interest in multimodal communication, gesture, language processing and/or neurobiology of language.


• Experience with statistical modelling (e.g. mixed models, regression, MVPA, mTRFs) or a willingness to learn advanced methods.


• A good command of Dutch, or a willingness to learn the language.


• Affinity with working with naturalistic stimuli and computational tools for motion and speech analysis (e.g. OpenPose, OpenFace) is considered an asset.

What we offer you

• We will give you a temporary employment contract of 4 year(s).


• Your salary within salary scale 11 depends on your previous education and number of years of (relevant) work experience. The amounts in the scale are based on a 38-hour working week.


• 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.

Additional employment conditions

Work and science require good employment practices. Radboud University's primary and secondary employment conditions reflect this. 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 membership. In addition, you receive a 34% discount on the sports and cultural activities at Radboud University as an employee. And, of course, we offer a good pension plan. We also give you plenty of room and responsibility to develop your talents and realise your ambitions. Therefore, we provide various training and development schemes.

Where you will be working

You will be part of The Communicative Brain lab, an interdisciplinary team that brings together expertise from linguistics, cognitive neuroscience, multimodal communication, artificial intelligence and advanced signal analysis. The project provides extensive opportunities for training, collaboration and development as an early-career researcher.

Faculty of Social Sciences
At the Faculty of Social Sciences , humanity and society are our focus; we study how people behave, think and feel. Within this context, we look at themes such as human behaviour and the human psyche, education and upbringing, communication, society and culture. The faculty provides education to 6,000 students and employs 700 staff. Education is organised into six programme clusters: Psychology; Artificial Intelligence; Pedagogical Sciences and Educational Sciences; Communication Science; Sociology; and Cultural Anthropology and Developmental Sociology, and the Radboud Centre Social Sciences as an institute for post-master education have been merged into the Social Sciences Education Institute. Our research is carried out within three research institutes: the Donders Centre for Cognition, the Behavioural Science Institute, and Radboud Social Cultural Research.
Radboud University
At Radboud University, we aim to make an impact through our work. We achieve this by conducting groundbreaking research, providing high-quality education, offering excellent support, and fostering collaborations within and outside the university. In doing so we contribute indispensably to a healthy, free world with equal opportunities for all. To accomplish this, we need even more colleagues who, based on their expertise, are willing to search for answers. We advocate for an inclusive community and welcome employees with diverse backgrounds, cultures, and perspectives.
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Is this the job for you?

The first interviews will take place on Friday 30 October. You will preferably start your employment on 1 January 2027.
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