PhD Position: Visual Perception and Decision-Making | 1,0 fte

This PhD position is available in Prof. Janneke Jehee's lab at the Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour. You will work on studies of visual perception and decision-making. Research methods include computational modelling, brain imaging (fMRI), machine learning, behavioural methods, and other techniques.

PhD Position: Visual Perception and Decision-Making

• WO/Master
• 1,0 fte
• min. €2.901 – max. € 3.707
• Application deadline: 13 April 2025

Virtually everything we sense, think and do is uncertain. For instance, when driving a car, you often need to determine how close you are to the car in front of you. It is nearly impossible to estimate this distance with absolute certainty – but it is possible to guess and even to assess the uncertainty associated with that guess. Accordingly, we reduce speed when driving in bad weather because we are less certain about our estimates of the distance to surrounding traffic. But what makes us feel less certain in these conditions? What brain mechanisms underlie this ability? And is there something we could do to improve our estimates?

This project will address these and related questions regarding the neural basis of visual perception and decision-making. It is part of a larger project on visual information processing in the brain, conducted in collaboration with Dr Sam Ling’s research lab at Boston University, USA.

Please see this website for more information on the lab’s research questions, style and approach, and this website for more information about Dr Sam Ling’s lab.

Would you like to learn more about what it’s like to pursue a PhD at Radboud University? Visit the page about working as a PhD candidate.

Profile

• You have a Master's degree (or equivalent) in Psychology, Neuroscience, Computer Science, Mathematics, or another related field.
• You have prior experience in cognitive neuroscience (strongly preferable).
• You have prior experience with computer programming or other quantitative experience (highly preferable).
• It would be advantageous if you have experience with visual psychophysics, fMRI, computational modelling, and data analysis.

We are

The Donders Institute in Nijmegen, Netherlands, is a friendly, collaborative research environment, and home to many outstanding researchers from all over the world. The internationally renowned institute currently hosts more than 600 PhD candidates and postdoctoral researchers from more than 45 countries, offering a stimulating, multidisciplinary and highly international research environment. Facilities include high-field 3T and 7T research-dedicated MRI scanners, a 275-channel MEG system, several (MR-compatible) EEG systems and eye trackers, fully equipped behavioural labs, and high-performance computational facilities. English is the lingua franca at the Donders Institute.

Please see this website for more information on the lab.

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. Will you also contribute to making the world a little better? You have a part to play.

If you want to learn more about working at Radboud University, follow our Instagram account and read stories from our colleagues.

Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour

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. 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 recognized 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.

The mission of the Donders Centre for Cognitive Neuroimaging (DCCN) is to conduct cutting-edge fundamental research in cognitive neuroscience. Much of the rapid progress in this field is being driven by the development of complex neuroimaging techniques for measuring activity in the human brain - an area in which the Centre plays a leading role. The research themes cover central cognitive functions, such as perception, action, control, emotion, decision-making, attention, memory, language, learning and plasticity. The Centre also aims to establish how the different brain areas coordinate their activity with very high temporal precision to enable human and animal cognition. Our internationally renowned centre currently hosts more than 100 PhD candidates and postdoctoral researchers from more than 25 countries, offering a stimulating and multidisciplinary research environment. The centre is equipped with four MRI scanners (7T, 3x 3T), a 275-channel MEG system, an EEG-TMS laboratory, several (MR-compatible) EEG systems, and high-performance computational facilities.

We offer

• We will give you a temporary employment contract (1.0 FTE) of 1.5 years, after which your performance will be evaluated. If the evaluation is positive, your contract will be extended by 2.5 years (4-year contract).
• You will receive a starting salary of €2,901 gross per month based on a 38-hour working week, which will increase to €3,707 in the fourth year (salary scale P).
• You will receive an 8% holiday allowance and an 8,3% end-of-year bonus.
• We offer Dual Career Coaching. The Dual Career Coaching assists your partner via support, tools, and resources to improve their chances of independently finding employment in the Netherlands.
• 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.