PhD: Neuroimaging, Genetics & Cross-Species Brain Evolution

Vrije Universisteit; Amsterdam; On-site; EUR 36,000 - 45,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

PhD position (4 years)

Holiday allowance 8%

End-of-year bonus 8.3%

Pension scheme (ABP)

Commuting allowance

Personalized benefits package

Job summary

Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam invites applications for a PhD candidate in Neuroimaging, Genetics and Cross-species comparison within the Connectome Lab at CNCR. The project combines large MRI datasets with cross-species data to study brain evolution and individual variation.

You will work in an interdisciplinary team on computational approaches and reproducible workflows. You will analyze structural, diffusion, and resting-state MRI, apply connectome analyses, and integrate genetics with imaging

Qualifications

• MSc in neuroscience, neuroimaging, genetics, biomedical engineering, physics, computer science, AI, mathematics, psychology or related quantitative field.
• Hands-on experience with computational analysis is important.
• Experience with FreeSurfer, diffusion MRI (DWI), tractography, and structural connectivity.
• Experience with resting-state fMRI and functional connectivity analysis.
• Proficiency in Python, MATLAB, R and/or Bash; ability to work with analysis pipelines.
• Familiarity with large datasets (UK Biobank, HCP) and machine learning or multivariate statistics is a plus.

Responsibilities

• Analyze large-scale structural MRI, diffusion MRI and resting-state fMRI datasets.
• Develop and apply pipelines for cortical reconstruction, tractography and connectome analysis.
• Investigate individual variation and neurodiversity in brain structure and connectivity.
• Integrate genetics with neuroimaging.
• Perform cross-species comparative analyses in brain evolution context.
• Contribute to reproducible, open neuroimaging workflows.
• Collaborate with the Connectome Lab and CNCR researchers; present findings.

Skills

Neuroimaging analysis

Computational analysis

Scientific programming

Python

MATLAB

R

Bash

English proficiency

LLM/AI experience

Education

MSc degree in neuroscience or related quantitative discipline

Tools

FreeSurfer

FSL

Python

MATLAB

R

Bash

Git / version control

UK Biobank / HCP datasets

Job description

Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam invites applications for a PhD candidate in Neuroimaging, Genetics and Cross-species comparison within the Connectome Lab at CNCR. The project combines large MRI datasets with cross-species data to study brain evolution and individual variation.

You will work in an interdisciplinary team on computational approaches and reproducible workflows. You will analyze structural, diffusion, and resting-state MRI, apply connectome analyses, and integrate genetics with imaging