Postdoc Neuroimaging of Neurotransmitter-Network Interactions in Psychiatry

Psychiatric disorders are increasingly understood as disorders of brain networks, in which symptoms arise from altered communication between distributed neural systems. At the same time, neurotransmitter systems play a key role in brain function and psychiatric treatment. Despite their importance, neurochemical processes are rarely incorporated into network-level models of human brain function.

This postdoctoral project is part of a broader research programme that combines ultra-high-field (7T) MRI, magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) and functional connectivity analyses. The programme investigates how neurotransmitter systems relate to large-scale brain networks and functional brain dynamics, both at rest and during experimental interventions.

Depending on your expertise and interests, you will contribute to methodological developments, such as the characterization and validation of functional MRS (fMRS) signals, the integration of neurochemical and functional connectivity measures, and the application of these methods to questions in psychiatric neuroscience.

As a postdoctoral researcher, you will work at the intersection of neuroimaging, computational modelling and psychiatry. You will actively contribute to the development and direction of a growing research programme.

Your responsibilities include:

• acquisition and analysis of advanced MRI data, including fMRI, fMRS and MRSI;
• evaluation and validation of neurochemical MRI measures, including the sensitivity, specificity and temporal characteristics of fMRS signals;
• integration of neurochemical and functional connectivity data using statistical and computational approaches;
• collaboration with physicists, computational neuroscientists and clinicians in an interdisciplinary research environment;
• dissemination of research findings through scientific publications, conference presentations and collaborative projects.

You are an independent and proactive researcher with a strong interest in mechanistic questions within psychiatry and experience in neuroimaging or computational neuroscience.

You also have:

• a PhD in computational neuroscience, functional neuroimaging, physics, engineering or a related field;
• experience with MRI data analysis, preferably including MRS and/or fMRI;
• strong quantitative, statistical and programming skills, including experience developing or adapting analysis and simulation pipelines;
• experience leading methodological or conceptual research projects, such as multimodal data integration, modelling or fMRS signal characterization;
• experience with scientific writing, publishing and supervising or mentoring junior researchers. Experience with MRI pulse programming, for example on Philips systems, is considered an advantage.