"PostDoc Fellowship: Robotic and Electrical Stimulation Platform for Integral Neuromuscular Enhancement (RE-SPINE)"

Job Summary

Motor recovery after neuromuscular injuries is often sub-optimal. These limitations largely stem from current rehabilitation technologies operating with limited knowledge of pathology-specific neuromuscular characteristics and their response to prescribed treatments. Based on the technologies created in the NeuBotics Lab, you will develop a platform that: Decodes the activity of ankle muscle motor units in real-time; Evaluates the impact of transcutaneous spinal cord stimulation on motor unit activity; Discerns functional motor units from impaired motor units; Estimates the ankle torque contributed from functional motor units and controls an ankle rehabilitation robot.

Responsibilities

• As a postdoctoral researcher, you will lead the development and integration of advanced neuromuscular interfacing technologies, musculoskeletal models and personalized rehabilitation interventions.
• Performing human measurements involving HD-EMG acquisition from lower-limb muscles of stroke patients and healthy volunteers.
• Developing algorithms for identifying and excluding motor unit filters associated to impaired motor units.
• Integrating real-time-decoded features of motor unit spared from injury into personalized musculoskeletal models to enable robust neural control of robotic assistance in stroke survivors.
• Real-time characterization of the effect that electrical stimulation and robotic assistance elicit over volitional control and motor unit-specific firing features.

Qualifications and Requirements

• PhD in Biomedical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Translational Neurosciences, Mechanical Engineering, robotics or a related discipline.
• Hands-on experience with: Motor unit decomposition and design of motor unit filters; Electromyography and neural signals analysis; Real-time signal processing and programming (C++, Python, MATLAB).
• Demonstrated creativity, initiative, and excellent communication skills (written and oral) in English.
• Preferred: Experience working with clinical populations (e.g., stroke patients); Experience in dynamometry and electrical stimulation; Background in neurophysiology and biological signals processing; Experience with multi-body simulation environments (e.g., OpenSim, CEINMS-RT).

What the Employer Offers

• Be part of a cutting-edge European research project with clinical impact.
• Collaborate with leading researchers and clinicians across Europe.
• Work in a vibrant academic environment at one of the Netherlands’ top technical universities.
• Access to state-of-the-art lab facilities and exoskeleton technologies.
• A full-time post-doc position up to 15 months, depending on starting date.
• A salary between €4241 and €5538 gross per month, depending on education and experience.
• 30% tax ruling option.
• A holiday allowance of 8% of the gross annual salary and a year-end bonus of 8.3%.
• A minimum of 29 holidays in case of full-time employment.
• A proven pension scheme.
• Professional and personal development programs.
• Extraordinary research facilities and working environment.