Senior Researcher/Researcher in Visual Neuroscience

Location: Amsterdam
Max hours per week: 38 hours per week
Max salary: € 4.670,00
Duration of agreement: 1-3 years
Apply until: 1 March 2023

The retinal signal processing group has a great opportunity for a:

Senior Researcher/Researcher in Visual Neuroscience

Have you always been fascinated by the visual system? Are you interested in basic neuroscience research, and solving complex problems that may lead to clinically relevant solutions? Are you interested in working in a multidisciplinary, highly collaborative research group? Do you want to contribute to an ambitious project at the cutting edge of the field? This position may be perfect for you.

Project description

Vision is our main sensory input, on which we depend strongly in our daily lives. When vision is malfunctioning, the quality of life reduces enormously. One important aspect of vision is the control of eye movements by the oculomotor system. If this system malfunctions, nystagmus (oscillating small amplitude eye movements) occur and vision will be strongly impaired. Finding the cause of the nystagmus is therefore not only of high scientific interest but also of great clinical and societal relevance.

A new ambitious collaborative project of the Kamermans and the De Zeeuw labs studies the cause of nystagmus and the related reduced visual acuity. We recently showed that infantile nystagmus has a retinal origin (Winkelman et al., Plos Biology, 2019; www.kamermans.net/nystagmus.mp4). This discovery led to a paradigm shift in the field. What we do not know is how nystagmus develops, what the cause is of the reduced visual acuity and how we can cure nystagmus and the visual acuity loss. To fill this gap we will use mouse models where we can genetically manipulate the retinal mechanism inducing infantile nystagmus. We will measure eye-movements, neuronal activity in the retina and the brain in various developmental stages and use behavioral test to determine the visual acuity of the mice.

You are:

An ambitious, highly motivated scientist with a PhD in neuroscience, medicine, (bio)physics or related fields and a few years of experience in recording single unit activity either electrophysiologically or by means of Ca-imaging in mouse brains. Preferably you have experience with behavioral assays with mice as well. Programming skills – in particular with Matlab or Python – will be very useful. Knowledge of the visual system and especially the retina is highly appreciated. You are a team player and comfortable communicating, presenting and writing in English.

We offer:

• State of the art infrastructure.
• Excellent technical support.
• A stimulating, international, strongly multidisciplinary and collaborative research environment.

The environment

The Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience (www.nin.nl) is the country’s 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.

Appointment

A position is for a period of 3 years. The first appointment is for one year with the option for an extension for the remaining period pending on an evaluation. Because of the upcoming the retirement of Prof. Dr. Kamermans, active support will be given to the candidate for the acquisition of additional grants to ensure continuation of this exciting research line.

Depending on education and relevant work experience, the gross monthly salary based on full-time employment varies between € 3413,- and € 4.670,- gross per month (salary scale 10), in accordance with the Collective Labour Agreement for Dutch Universities (CAO NU), excluding 8% holiday allowance and 8.3% end-of-year bonus. We offer travel expenses, paid parental leave, flexible working hours, 30 days paid leave per year and help by finding a house.

For more information; https://nin.nl/research/researchgroups/kamermans-group/ , www.kamermans.net/nystagmus.mp4 or call Dr. M. Kamermans Phone: +31 20 5665180 or E-mail: m.kamermans@nin.knaw.nl

Apply:

Please submit your application by 1 March 2023:

• A curriculum vitae including two letters of reference and
• One cover letter

The evaluation of candidates starts immediately and continues until the position is filled.

About the Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience

The Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience is the country’s 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.

Terms of employment

Depending on education and experience the minimum salary is € 3.413,00 and the maximum salary is € 4.670,00  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.

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.

Please click here to apply.