The department of Brain & Cognition at the Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences of the KU Leuven has a position for a PhD student jointly supervised by profs. Hans Op de Beeck and Céline Gillebert. Our research groups belongs to the department of Brain & Cognition that contains almost 100 scientists, many of them with interest in cognitive neuroscience. The department of Brain & Cognition is located in the centre of Leuven, a vibrant university town which is only a 25-minute commute from the centre of Brussels and its international airport. KU Leuven is one of the best European universities according to international rankings (#42 world-wide in the THE ranking). KU Leuven houses more than 100 labs in neuroscience, brought together in the Leuven Brain Institute.

The student will work on a project in which we aim to apply a multidisciplinary approach including neuropsychological testing, neuroimaging, and computational modelling in order to understand the patterns of deficits in visual recognition that result from brain damage. Which types of problems tend to go together and which symptoms are more likely to appear independently from other symptoms? The candidate will be embedded in the two involved laboratories that comprise experts in neuropsychology, neuroimaging, and statistical and computational methods, and that work on topics such as attention, vision, and learning/rehabilitation. More information about ongoing and past research can be found on the websites of the two research groups that can be found on the website of the department of Brain & Cognition.

Eligible candidates have a master degree in a relevant area, such as a master degree in psychology with specialisation in (cognitive) neuroscience or clinical neuropsychology. Basic skills in programming (e.g., Python or Matlab), affinity with statistics and computational methods, and course/practical experience with brain imaging would be beneficial. Master students that graduate later in the summer (e.g., September 2022) will also be considered. 

There are two profiles of students that could fit well in this project team.

• First, students with a basic quantitative background in the aforementioned area, with an emphasis upon programming, statistics, and brain imaging. Students with this profile do not have to speak Dutch.
• Second, students with a more clinical background in neuropsychology obtained in the context of a master in psychology, including patient testing in Dutch, in addition to affinity with quantitative methods, statistics, and brain imaging.

The PhD position is funded for 4 years. We will support the candidate in obtaining further personal funding if possible. The position is focused upon research, with only limited teaching responsibilities in line with general policies at the Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences (average of about 100 hours of total time investment per year). The student will be registered in the PhD program of Psychology.

For more information please contact Prof. dr. Hans Op de Beeck, tel.: +32 16 32 60 39, mail: hans.opdebeeck@kuleuven.be or Prof. dr. Céline Gillebert, tel.: +32 16 37 27 04, mail: celine.gillebert@kuleuven.be.