[visionlist] Postdoc and PhD positions in the cognitive computational neuropsychology of visual and numerical cognition (Leuven, Belgium)

[Hans Op de Beeck]

Dear colleagues,



We are looking for 4 excellent scientists, including postdocs and PhD candidates, to work on a large project entitled “The domain-specific and domain-general cognitive and neural processes underlying human success and failure”. The project is a collaboration between Hans Op de Beeck (www.hoplab.be<http://www.hoplab.be> ), Céline Gillebert (www.neuropsychologylab.be<http://www.neuropsychologylab.be> ), Bert De Smedt (https://ppw.kuleuven.be/pserg/psergstaff/00040938/ ), and Kobe Desender (www.desenderlab.com<http://www.desenderlab.com> ). In this project we investigate how domain-specific representations in visual and numerical cognition interact with more domain-general processes like metacognition and working memory in healthy individuals (adults & children) as wells as individuals with neurodevelopmental disorders or acquired brain damage. The research involves experimental studies using psychophysics, neuroimaging (fMRI/EEG) and computational modelling, with a particular focus upon multivariate analyses approaches in all these methods.



We specifically search for new team members on the following research lines:



  1.  An experienced postdoc to support and carry out the neuroimaging experiments and computationally oriented data analyses in the context of this project. This position will involve providing support and advise to the more junior members of the team for up to 50% of the time. For the other part, the postdoc will be able to lead their own experiments involving multivariate fMRI/EEG.
  2.  A PhD position or postdoc in the field of neuropsychology, interested in the impact of brain damage on visual processing and its interaction with other cognitive processes. The research will involve multivariate and multimodal analyses (including fMRI).
  3.  A PhD position or postdoc in the field of educational neuroscience, interested in the development of the neural representations underlying numerical cognition and reading. The position will involve (multivariate) fMRI experiments.
  4.  A PhD position or postdoc in the field of computational cognitive neuroscience, interested in the investigation of how the geometry of visual representations underlies complex decision making. The position will involve multivariate fMRI and EEG experiments and computational modelling.

We look for highly motivated candidates that have or are about to obtain a master (for PhD positions) or PhD (postdoc positions) in a relevant discipline (e.g., cognitive, computational, or educational neuroscience; experimental psychology; speech & language pathology) and expertise in cognitive/visual neuroscience, neuroimaging, multivariate analyses, or computational methods.  Postdoc candidates should be able to demonstrate their expertise through first-authored peer-reviewed publications. A quantitative background and good programming skills (e.g. R, Python, Matlab) are important. Further assets are a creative mind, excellent problem solving skills, excellent academic English writing and presentation skills, and a collaborative and collegial attitude.

The positions are funded for 4 years (PhD students), up to 3 years (postdocs in lines 2-4), or even 6 years (postdoc in research line 1). We have a good track record of helping postdocs obtain their own personal prestigious fellowships (national and international), allowing them to extend their stay and broaden the range of research questions. The net amount of the salary will be highly competitive internationally and in accordance with the university fellowship scales for PhD and postdoctoral researchers. The postdoc positions are research-only without teaching obligations, but teaching opportunities can be arranged if desired.

KU Leuven (Belgium) is one of the best European universities according to international rankings (e.g., #45 world-wide in the Times Higher Education ranking). Most of our research groups belong to the department of Brain & Cognition, which contains almost 100 scientists, many of them with interest in vision, cognition, and neuroscience, and we are all united in the Leuven Brain Institute that includes more than 150 research teams. Our labs and office spaces are located in the center of Leuven. Leuven is a vibrant university town which is only a 25-minute train commute from the center of Brussels and its international train hub (with 2-hour train rides to Paris, London, and Amsterdam). From Leuven it also only takes a 15-minute train ride to the well-connected international airport of Brussels. Leuven is a very pleasant place to live where walking and cycling win from car driving.

The starting date would ideally be around October-December 2024.

For further information contact Hans Op de Beeck<mailto:%20hans.opdebeeck at kuleuven.be> or one of the other principal investigators. Formal applications should be submitted through the electronic application system of KU Leuven (https://www.kuleuven.be/personeel/jobsite/jobs/60324272?lang=en ). Applications should include a motivation letter and CV (for the PhD positions including the grades obtained during education, as a whole and for individual courses), mentioning the names and contact information of at least two referents. The motivation letter should mention which of the 4 aforementioned research lines is/are preferred and why.  The submission deadline is May 23th. Candidates that are shortlisted will be invited for an (online) interview that will happen on June 11th or 12th.
Best wishes,

Hans, Céline, Bert, & Kobe


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Prof. Dr. Hans P. Op de Beeck, PhD

Research Unit Brain & Cognition, Leuven Brain Institute
University of Leuven (KU Leuven), Belgium
Tiensestraat 102, 3000 Leuven, Belgium, PO Box 3714

Email: hans.opdebeeck at kuleuven.be<mailto:hans.opdebeeck at kuleuven.be>
Personal profile: https://ppw.kuleuven.be/bc/team/00029058
Lab Website: https://www.hoplab.be<https://www.hoplab.be/>


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