Job description
Join a unique translational neuroscience project! We are looking for an enthusiastic and ambitious PhD candidate to join a new multidisciplinary research programme investigating how ECT restores neuroplasticity in depression. The project combines advanced neuroimaging, electrophysiology and computational neuroscience within a national consortium involving Radboudumc, Amsterdam UMC, UMC Utrecht and the Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience.
Major depressive disorder (MDD) has negative impact on daily functioning and quality of life and has been associated with profound alterations in brain plasticity and network functioning. Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is the most effective treatment for severe depression, yet the neurobiological mechanisms underlying its therapeutic and side-effects remain poorly understood.
At the Nijmegen site, you will coordinate a prospective longitudinal study of patients with unipolar depression undergoing ECT. Participants will be assessed before, during and after treatment using Structural and functional MRI, EEG and TMS-EEG.
You will work closely with clinicians, neuroscientists and computational modelers at the Donders Institute. Within the consortium, your data will be integrated with PET imaging, post-mortem neuroscience and advanced multiscale modelling to identify biomarkers of therapeutic neuroplasticity.
What will you do?
- Recruit and assess patients receiving ECT.
- Coordinate longitudinal MRI, EEG and TMS-EEG measurements in these patients.
- Perform neurophysiological and neuroimaging analyses.
- Integrate clinical, cognitive and neurophysiological data.
- Present your work at international conferences.
- Publish in leading journals in psychiatry and neuroscience.
- Complete a PhD thesis within four years.
Requirements
Profile
We are looking for a highly motivated candidate with a Master's degree in a numerate discipline, such as statistics, mathematics neuroscience, psychology, medicine, biomedical sciences, cognitive neuroscience or a related discipline.
Moreover you have:
- Strong interest in psychiatry and brain stimulation.
- Affinity with MRI and/or (TMS)-EEG TMS research.
- Excellent analytical skills.
- Experience with statistics or programming (R, Python or MATLAB) is essential.
- Eagerness to learn; a PhD is a next step in academic education, your willingness to learn and gain experience is more important than the skills you may already have.
Conditions of employment
Fixed-term contract: 1 year with the prospect of extension.
Well arranged
With us, you receive 8% holiday allowance, an 8.3% end-of-year bonus, and – depending on your role – an irregular hours allowance ranging from 47% to 72%. In addition, you are entitled to 176 vacation hours per year (based on a 36-hour work week).
Compensation
You will receive a €0.18 per kilometer travel allowance. Public transport costs (2nd class) are fully reimbursed. If you work partly or entirely from home, you will receive €2.40 per home-working day. This way, everything is well arranged—wherever you work.
Flexible benefits scheme
With our flexible benefits scheme, you decide how to use part of your employment benefits. Purchase extra leave days or use your year-end bonus to buy a bicycle with tax benefits. You choose what suits you best.
Warm welcome
We believe a good start is important. Thanks to our onboarding app, you’ll be well prepared even before your first working day. During the introduction day, you’ll get to know your colleagues and our organization.
Changing allowance
If you are required to wear Radboudumc work clothing and change outside working hours, you will receive a changing allowance of €80 gross per month for a full-time position, provided this applies to your role.
Salary increase
At our organization, your work is valued. Your salary will increase in line with the collective labor agreement in two steps: by 3.5% as of July 1, 2026, and an additional 3.5% as of May 1, 2027. This means you’ll see a solid increase in your salary within a short period of time.
Work–life balance
We consider a healthy work–life balance essential. Through inspiring training sessions, mindfulness activities, and caregiver consultation hours, we support you in every phase of your life.
Growth and development
Our online learning environment offers a wide range of training courses, e-learnings, and educational programs—from professional specialization to personal development. This allows you to keep growing and make the most of your talents.
Employer
Radboudumc
Welcome to Radboud university medical center (Radboudumc), where our research groups strive for innovative solutions that make impact on health and healthcare. We challenge the status quo to overcome current and future health challenges. Our goal is to shape the future of healthcare for generations to come. Our focus is on prevention, sustainability, and meaningful care, which we achieve through our in-depth understanding of disease mechanisms, clinical science, public health research, medical technology and data science. Our approach is centered on breakthroughs that can truly enhance personalized healthcare and public health.
At Radboudumc, a comprehensive range of research programs provide the compass for our research efforts. Each program has a clear goal, where collaboration within and outside our organization is highly valued. We integrate care, education and research in partnership with our patients to ensure that our research programs have significant impact on health and healthcare. We invite you to join us in our mission to create a healthy future for all.
Department
Department of Psychiatry
Place of work
You will become part of an internationally recognized research environment at the Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour and the Department of Psychiatry of Radboud university medical center.
The Department of Psychiatry at Radboudumc and the Donders Institute are internationally recognized for their work in neuroimaging, cognitive neuroscience and biological psychiatry. The successful candidate will become part of an ambitious research programme aiming to understand how brain stimulation restores neuroplasticity in depression and to develop biomarkers that enable personalized treatment.
This project is conducted in close collaboration with Amsterdam UMC, UMC Utrecht and the Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience, providing a unique opportunity to work at the interface of clinical psychiatry, neuroscience and computational modelling.
Additional information
The salary depends on education. Scale 10 will be offered to MSc medical graduates. Those holding degrees in other disciplines will be offered scale 10A.
The first job interviews will take place on 28 September 2026. Please take this into account.
This position requires a Certificate of Conduct (VOG).
We are recruiting for this position ourselves. Unsolicited marketing is not appreciated, but do feel free to share the vacancy in your network!
Want to know more?
We’re happy to provide more information!
Philip van Eijndhoven
📱 06-11479326
📧 Send an email
#weareradboudumc
Radboud university medical center is a university medical center for patient care, scientific research, and education in Nijmegen. We want to have a significant impact on healthcare. Will you make the difference?
This is a Preview Listing…
You must sign in to see the full job description, and to apply.
Manage / Upgrade this job to a Full Job Listing.
Find Your Best Opportunity
Tell them AcademicJobs.com sent you!