A PhD candidate for a project which provides a great opportunity to gain expertise in both experimental and computational neuroscience. You will study Reinforcement Learning (RL) processes in animal models using experimental and computational approaches. They will establish a mathematical model for RL behaviour in mice, identify neural correlates for value-related parameters in the model using in vivo high-density electrophysiology, manipulate the neural correlates, and measure corresponding changes in RL-guided behaviour. The overall aim of the project is to investigate the neural mechanism by which value signals guide decision making. This will inform state-of-the-art deep learning approaches and shed light on novel interventions for psychiatric diseases. Guided and supported by our supervisory team, you will design and perform experiments in mice, analyse data, conduct computational modelling, and prepare manuscripts. You will also have the opportunity to write grants, peer-review journal articles, and contribute to teaching and event organization.

• A dedicated, reliable, detail-oriented, and well-organised team player.
• Experience in animal behaviour preferred.
• Experience in electrophysiology preferred.
• Experience with MATLAB or Python preferred.
• Good communication and writing skills in English.

Fixed-term contract: you will be appointed for an initial period of 18 months, after which your performance will be evaluated. If the evaluation is positive, the contract will be extended by 2.5 years(4 year contract) or 3.5 years (5 year contract).

• Employment: 0.8 FTE (5 year contract) - 1.0 FTE (4 year contract).
• The gross starting salary amounts to €2,395 per month based on a 38-hour working week, and will increase to €3,061 from the fourth year onwards (salary scale P).
• In addition to the salary: an 8% holiday allowance and an 8.3% end-of-year bonus.
• Duration of the contract: you will be appointed for an initial period of 18 months, after which your performance will be evaluated. If the evaluation is positive, the contract will be extended by 2.5 years (4 year contract) or 3.5 years (5 year contract).
• Your education task may be up to 10% of your appointment.
• The intended start date is 1 April 2021.
• You will be able to use our Dual Career and Family Care Services. Our Dual Career and Family Care Officer can assist you with family-related support, help your partner or spouse prepare for the local labour market, provide customized support in their search for employment  and help your family settle in Nijmegen.
• Have a look at our excellent employment conditions. They include a good work-life balance (among other things because of the excellent leave arrangements), opportunities for development and a great pension scheme.

Radboud University

We want to get the best out of science, others and ourselves. Why? Because this is what the world around us desperately needs. Leading research and education make an indispensable contribution to a healthy, free world with equal opportunities for all. This is what unites the more than 22,000 students and 5,000 employees at Radboud University. And this requires even more talent, collaboration and lifelong learning. You have a part to play!

Faculty of Science

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: 1. Language and communication, 2. Perception, action and control, 3. Plasticity and memory, 4. Neural computation and neurotechnology. 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, supportive research environment with a diverse international staff. English is the lingua franca at the Institute.

Paul Tiesinga’s group aims to understand how information is processed in the brain by building computational models of the brain and developing methods to analyse signals recorded from the brain. Liya Ma’s group studies how cognitive control processes are supported by cortical microcircuits and network-level long-range communications. You will be supported by the two teams' extensive expertise in high-density electrophysiology in behaving rodents, advanced data analyses and computational modelling. To help PhD candidates achieve their ambitions within and beyond academia, Radboud University provides various career training courses and coaching opportunities. Our groups are deeply committed to the professional development of doctoral candidates. PhD candidates at Radboud University receive a competitive salary with holiday pay, year-end bonus and other benefits. Their partners have access to Radboud University's Dual Career and Family Care Services.