Research Assistant for Cognitive Neuroscience

• Employment: 0.8 FTE
• Gross monthly salary: € 2,376 – € 3,208
• Donders Centre for Cognitive Neuroimaging
• Required background: Research University Degree
• Application deadline: 17 April 2022

Are you intrigued by the remarkable efficiency with which we generate meaning during language comprehension? To understand the mechanisms underlying language and communication, high quality research in cognitive neuroscience is needed. As a research assistant, you can contribute to advances in neuroscience through supporting activities within the Language in Interaction consortium at the Donders Centre for Cognitive Neuroimaging.

As a research assistant for the Big Question 5 team of the Language in Interaction consortium at the Donders Centre for Cognitive Neuroimaging, you will have the chance to familiarise yourself and help out with a wide range of tasks, from behavioural and neuroimaging data collection to data handling and processing, by working closely with multiple researchers studying the underlying mechanisms of the human brain. You will build up expertise and be involved in a diverse set of projects. Depending on the projects at hand, you will be responsible for the participant recruitment and handling process (recruitment, inclusion and exclusion procedures, appointments, informed consent procedure), explain the experimental procedure and tasks to participants, as well as train, assist and/or conduct behavioural studies, EEG, MEG and/or MRI recordings. You will be responsible for collecting, checking and archiving all documents essential according to Good Clinical Practice (GCP) guidelines within the study. Your responsibilities will also include managing or performing data analysis under supervision, and reporting.

You will be embedded in Prof. Roshan Cools‘ Motivational and Cognitive Control group at the Donders Centre for Cognitive Neuroimaging. Moreover, you will be part of the Big Question 5 team of the Language in Interaction consortium.

Profile

• You hold at least a Master’s degree in cognitive neuroscience, psychology or a related field.
• You have good organisational skills (scheduling appointments, managing datasets with information on participants).
• You have a fluent command of written and spoken English and Dutch.
• You have excellent social skills, a proactive attitude and team spirit.
• Accuracy and patience are essential because of the nature of the studies.
• Preferably, you hold an ICH-GCP qualification or are willing to obtain one.
• Preferably, you have experience with EEG, MEG and fMRI techniques.

We are

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. 

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.

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 24,000 students and 5,600 employees at Radboud University. And this requires even more talent, collaboration and lifelong learning. You have a part to play!

We offer

• Employment for 0.8 FTE.
• The gross monthly salary amounts to a minimum of €2,376 and a maximum of €3,208 based on a 38-hour working week, depending on previous education and number of years of relevant work experience (salary scale 7).
• You will receive 8% holiday allowance and 8.3% end-of-year bonus.
• It concerns a temporary employment for 1.5 years. 
• 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.
• Working for us means getting extra days off. In case of full-time employment, you can choose between 29 or 41days of annual leave instead of the legally allotted 20.

Additional employment conditions

Work and science require good employment practices. This is reflected in Radboud University’s primary and secondary employment conditions. You can make arrangements for the best possible work-life balance with flexible working hours, various leave arrangements and working from home. You are also able to compose part of your employment conditions yourself, for example, exchange income for extra leave days and receive a reimbursement for your sports subscription. And of course, we offer a good pension plan. You are given plenty of room and responsibility to develop your talents and realise your ambitions. Therefore, we provide various training and development schemes.

Would you like more information?

For questions about the position, please contact Roshan Cools, Principle investigator & Coordinator at roshan.cools@donders.ru.nl. Alternatively, you can contact Xiaochen Zheng, Coordinating Postdoc at xiaochen.zheng@donders.ru.nl.

Practical information and applications

You can apply until 17 April 2022, exclusively using the button below. Kindly address your application to Roshan Cools. Please fill in the application form and attach the following documents:

• A letter of motivation.
• Your CV.

The first round of interview will take place on Wednesday 20 April. You would preferably begin employment on 1 June 2022 or as soon as possible.

We can imagine you’re curious about our application procedure. It offers a rough outline of what you can expect during the application process, how we handle your personal data and how we deal with internal and external candidates.

Please click here to apply.