Job description
What you will be doing
We are seeking a highly motivated postdoctoral researcher with strong technical expertise to study the oligodendrocyte myelin sheaths in brain tissue in health and disease. Many brain disorders, including rare genetic white matter disorders (leukodystrophies), but also more common diseases such as Multiple Sclerosis, are characterized by white matter pathology including myelin swelling (vacuolization), damage, loss or remodeling. Recently, we found that myelin swelling is not always the start of…
myelin loss, but that it can be followed by repair (Arafa et al. Science 391, eadr4661, 2026). Neuronal activity contributes to myelin swelling, but the mechanisms and dynamics underlying myelin swelling and repair are poorly understood.
Leveraging advanced microscopy approaches you will investigate myelin in living tissue (Higgins, Al-Naqib et al. 10.64898/2026.05.15.725074) to determine the biophysical and molecular mechanisms associated with myelin remodeling. This project is a collaboration with Dr. Rogier Min of the Amsterdam Leukodystrophy Center (ALC), Amsterdam UMC. Well-validated mouse models for various leukodystrophies offer opportunities to study myelin swelling and remodeling in disease contexts, taking an important step towards a better understanding of this understudied, but common phenomenon and building bridges to the clinic.
Requirements
What you will be contributing
- A PhD obtained within the past four years in neuroscience or a related research field.
- Demonstrated experience with single-cell electrophysiology and/or live functional imaging from neurons and/or glia (e.g. 2P/SCoRe).
- Experience (> 2 yrs) with brain-tissue preparation methods preferably involving mouse models.
- Demonstrated capacity to publish research findings in peer-reviewed journals.
- Highly proficient in spoken and written English.
- Experience supervising master/PhD students in research projects.
- Excellent teamwork and communication skills.
- Certification under Article 9 of the Dutch Experiments on Animals Act, or a comparable EU certification for experimental animal use, is an advantage.
- Proficiency with programming languages (Python, MATLAB, R) is a plus.
Conditions of employment
Fixed-term contract: 1 yr + 2 yr.
What do we offer?
You will be joining a highly collaborative neuroscience research environment and benefit from state-of-the-art infrastructure. The Kole group is renowned for their fundamental cellular neuron-glia studies of myelinated and axons. We have new high-end in vitro and in vivo electrophysiological infrastructure, optogenetic and high-speed one and two-photon imaging setups. Through close collaboration with Dr Min at the Amsterdam Leukodystrophy Center, you will have the opportunity to investigate myelin remodeling in clinically relevant disease models, adding a strong translational dimension to the project.
This is a full-time position for 1.0 fte (38 h/week), initially for one year. Subject to satisfactory performance, the contract will be extended for an additional two years. You will have ample opportunities to further develop your scientific knowledge and technical skills through courses offered by the Academy, participation in (inter)national conferences, and additional opportunities for personal development.
Terms of employment
Depending on education and experience the minimum salary is € 3.546 and the maximum salary is € 5.538 gross per month for a full-time appointment (scale 10 cao Nederlandse Universiteiten/KNAW). This is exclusive of 8% vacation allowance, 8.3% year-end bonus, travel allowance, internet allowance, home working allowance and pension accrual with ABP.
The KNAW offers its staff an excellent package of secondary benefits. A package that meets the different needs of employees depending on their stage of life, lifestyle or career ambitions. For example, by working an extra two hours a week, it is possible to increase the number of days off from 29 to 41 days a year (with full-time employment).
For a complete overview of the terms of employment, please refer to the web page: werken bij de KNAW.
Applying for a Certificate of Good Conduct can be part of the employment procedure.
Diversity & Inclusion
The KNAW considers a working environment in which everyone feels welcome and appreciated of great importance. A working environment in which attention is paid to individual quality and where development opportunities are paramount. Together we strive for an inclusive culture in which we embrace differences. We would therefore like to invite candidates who want to contribute to this through their background and experience. In the event of equal suitability, preference will be given to the candidate who thus enhances diversity within the Academy.
We will not respond to any supplier enquiries based on this job advertisement.
Employer
Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience
The Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience is a leading fundamental neuroscience research institute, in the international and progressive city of Amsterdam. It provides a critical mass of scientists (spanning more than 27 nationalities) and neuroscience facilities, in a highly interactive, dynamic, multi-cultural environment, with English as the working language.
Department
Kole Laboratory
The Kole group is renowned for their fundamental cellular neuron-glia studies of myelinated and axons. We have new high-end in vitro and in vivo electrophysiological infrastructure, optogenetic and high-speed one and two-photon imaging setups.
Additional information
More information
General information about the Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience can be found on the institute’s website (nin.nl). For more information about the vacancy, please contact Prof. Dr. Maarten H.P. Kole (m.kole@nin.knaw.nl).
Working at KNAW
The Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (KNAW) is the guardian and interpreter of science in the Netherlands. More about the KNAW