PhD Candidate in Sensorimotor Neuroscience at the Donders Centre for Cognition

Are you an aspiring scientist in the field of cognitive neuroscience, looking to start your academic career off right? Then join the world-renowned Donders Institute as a PhD candidate and work with top-notch experimental equipment to build computational models of body representation, both somatosensory and multisensory.

We are looking for a motivated PhD candidate with interest and expertise in building computational models of body representation, both somatosensory and multisensory.

You will be part of the ERC funded project 'The Body Positioning System: A GPS for somatosensory space'. The goal of the project is to uncover how the brain localises touch on a body whose three-dimensional posture changes from moment to moment (The Body Positioning System). How does the brain transform sensory input on the skin to a full-fledged three-dimensional body representation? To make headway on this fundamental question, we will use a variety of neuroscientific approaches, such as behavioural and M/EEG experiments that employ novel virtual reality and robot-based paradigms. We will also leverage several analytical tools, such as computational modelling and machine learning.

As a PhD candidate, you will design novel, real-world behavioural paradigms to measure tactile localisation in three-dimensional space. Importantly, you will then use computational modelling to characterise and identify the mechanisms underlying the localization behaviour. The goal of these models is to understand the transformations used by the Body Positioning System. Your work is likely to involve close collaboration with fellow members of the team, including colleagues from other departments at the Donders Institute. Project management, mentoring BSc and MSc students, and teaching-related tasks will also be part of your responsibilities.