Postdoc Position in Heart-Brain Interactions

The Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences in Leipzig (MPI CBS) is an internationally recognized research institute of the Max Planck Society and is dedicated to the study of human cognitive abili­ties and brain processes. The Department of Neurology offers a

Postdoc Position (F/M/DIV) for three years “Heart-Brain Interactions”

The scientific focus of the position will be on the mechanisms of heart-brain inter­action in humans using non-invasive approaches. Studies on basic mechanisms in healthy volunteers as well as in patients with cardio­logical or neurological diseases are possible. Pro­jects could include neuroimaging studies combining neuro­imaging (mainly advanced fMRI) with peri­pheral physiological measure­ments, but also data analyses of large data­bases (UK Biobank, German National Cohort, LIFE Study). The exact research topic will be adjusted accor­ding to the interests and/or specific qualifi­cations of the applicant.

Prerequisites are outstanding records (e.g., in form of accepted publications) in a rele­vant area of neuro­imaging research. Educational background could be from cognitive (neuro)science, psychology, medicine, neuro­science, computer science, physics, or mathematics. Excellent program­ming skills (Python, MATLAB) are required. Previous experience should involve advanced (f)MRI data analysis, ideally also on large data sets. We are looking for scienti­fically ambitious people contributing to a highly cooperative multi­disciplinary team.

Candidates will be part of an enthusiastic team embedded in a world-leading research environ­ment with out­standing facilities and research infra­structure (four 3T MR scanners, one of them in a clinical setting, a Siemens Connectom MR scanner, a 7T MR scanner, MEG, EEG, fNIRS, VR labs, eye tracking, and psycho­physics labs). All facilities are suppor­ted by experienced IT and physics staff. In addition to strong coopera­tions within the Department of Neurology and with the Clinic of Cognitive Neurology at the University of Leipzig Medical Center, there are also strong inter­actions among the different depart­ments and research groups at the Max Planck Institute.

Starting date is autumn 2024 or later (to be negotiated) and the duration of the position is three years (prolongable). Salary depends on experience and is based on regulations of the Max Planck Society. The Max Planck Society is committed to increasing the number of individuals with disabilities in its workforce and therefore encourages applications from such qualified individuals. Furthermore, the Max Planck Society strives for gender equity and diversity and welcomes applications from all backgrounds.

We look forward to receiving your complete online application (reference number PD 12/24). The application should include a cover letter also describing your vision in heart-brain interaction research, your CV, and list of publications, and contact details of two referees. There is no formal closing date for the applications, however, we will start screening applications from October 15, 2024.

Further information with regard to the research in the Department of Neurology can be found here (https://www.cbs.mpg.de/departments/neurology) or contact Sandra Zurborg, PhD (zurborg@cbs.mpg.de) or Prof. Dr. med. Arno Villringer (villringer@cbs.mpg.de).