Research Assistant at the Donders Centre for Cognition: The Body Positioning System

Radboud University; Nijmegen; On-site; EUR 32,000 - 44,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

9-month contract

Salary scale 7

8% holiday allowance

8.3% end-of-year bonus

Flexible working hours

Job summary

Radboud University’s Donders Institute invites applications for a Research Assistant in the Body Positioning System project. You will help collect, analyse and interpret EEG data over a nine-month period, collaborating with MSc students, PhD candidates and postdocs.

The role involves working with EEG, virtual reality and robotics within an interdisciplinary team. A MSc in Cognitive Neuroscience or a related field and experience with EEG data are required. Weekly team meetings support progress.

Qualifications

• MSc in Cognitive Neuroscience or a related discipline (e.g., Artificial Intelligence, Psychology, Cognitive Science, or Engineering).
• Experience collecting and analysing EEG data.
• Strong interest in neural correlates of tactile body representation.
• Proficiency in programming languages such as Matlab, Python, R or C++.

Responsibilities

• Collect, analyse and interpret EEG data over a nine-month period.
• Collaborate with MSc students, PhD candidates and postdoctoral researchers.
• Participate in weekly team and lab meetings.
• Contribute to two projects: neural oscillations in sensorimotor transformations and tool representation in space.

Skills

EEG data analysis

Programming (Matlab/Python/R/C++)

Education

MSc in Cognitive Neuroscience or related field

Tools

Matlab

Python

R

C++

Job description

Research Assistant at the Donders Centre for Cognition: The Body Positioning System

Are you passionate about cognitive neuroscience and EEG research? Join our ERC-funded project exploring how the brain localises touch and represents the body in space. You will collaborate in an interdisciplinary research team and contribute to innovative studies using EEG, virtual reality, robotics and computational methods.

You will be part of the project 'The Body Positioning System: A GPS for somatosensory space'. The goal of the project is to uncover how the brain localises touch on the body in three dimensions (the body positioning system). How does the brain transform sensory input on the skin to a full-fledged three-dimensional body representation? To make headway on this fundamental question, we are using a variety of neuroscientific approaches such as behavioural and M/EEG experiments that employ novel virtual reality and robot-based paradigms. We are also leveraging several analytical tools such as computational modelling and machine learning.

As a Research Assistant, you will help collect, analyse and interpret EEG data collected in the lab over a nine month period. Throughout your employment, your work will involve close collaboration with fellow members of the team, including MSc students, PhD candidates and postdoctoral researchers. There will be weekly team meetings to discuss project progress as well as weekly lab meetings.

You will specifically be involved in two research projects: the first project will investigate which neural oscillations are involved in transforming touch from a sensory signal (i.e. where is the touch in space?) into a motor command (i.e. how should I move my eyes to look at the touch?). This question gets at the heart of the body positioning system. The second project will investigate how these sensorimotor transformations are re-used for representing tools in space. Specifically, this project will investigate which neural oscillations underly the ability to localise and represent finger-extending exoskeletons in space. This project addresses how plastic the body positioning system is.

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?

• You hold a MSc degree in Cognitive Neuroscience or a relevant discipline such as Artificial Intelligence, Psychology, Cognitive Science or Engineering.
• You have a strong interest in and expertise in studying the neural correlates of tactile body representation.
• You have experience with collecting and analysing EEG data.
• You have experience with common programming languages such as Matlab, Python, R or C++.
• You are a team player who possesses good social, communication and organisational skills.
• You have a passion for science and the pursuit of knowledge.

What we offer you

• We will give you a temporary employment contract of 9 months.
• Your salary within salary scale 7 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

The Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour is a world-class interfaculty research centre that houses more than 700 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.
• Natural 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 has been assessed by an international evaluation committee as 'excellent' and recognised as a 'very stimulating environment for top researchers, as well as for young talent'. The Donders Institute fosters a collaborative, multidisciplinary and supportive research environment with a diverse international staff. English is the lingua franca at the Institute.

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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