PhD student (f/m/d)

At the University of Göttingen, a new Collaborative Research Center (CRC) 1528 “Cognition of Interaction” will be established with funding from the German Research Foundation (DFG). In 22 projects, the CRC 1528 “Cognition of Interaction” investigates how fundamental cognitive functions and their neurobiological foundations contribute to human and nonhuman primate social behavior and social interactions. The CRC is formed by a highly interdisciplinary consortium formed by systems and computational neuroscientists, data scientists, psychologists and behavioral and cognitive biologists. Partner institutions are the University of Göttingen, the University Medical Center, the German Primate Center, the Max Planck Institute for Dynamics and Self-Organization, the University Hospital Hamburg-Eppendorf and the Weizmann Institute of Science.

In the context of this CRC, the Neural Circuits and Cognition Lab of Caspar Schwiedrzik at the European Neuroscience Institute Göttingen is looking for an outstanding PhD student interested in studying face perception and predictive processing. The project investigates neural mechanisms of face perception and predictive processing at the level of circuits and single cells, utilizing functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) in combination with electrophysiology and pharmacology in non-human primates.

The Neural Circuits and Cognition Lab seeks to understand the cortical basis and computational principles of visual perception and experience-dependent plasticity in the macaque and human brain. To this end, we use a multimodal approach including fMRI-guided electrophysiological recordings in non-human primates and fMRI and iEEG in humans. The PhD student will play a key role in our research efforts in this area. The lab is located at the European Neuroscience Institute Göttingen (https://www.eni-g.de) and the German Primate Center (https://www.dpz.eu), which are interdisciplinary research centers with international faculty and students pursuing cutting-edge research in neuroscience. Further scientific exchange within the CRC and the Leibniz ScienceCampus ‘Primate Cognition’ (https://www.primate-cognition.eu) ensures a broad interdisciplinary framework for networking and cooperation. The PhD student will have access to a dedicated imaging center with a dedicated 3T research scanner, state-of-the-art electrophysiology, and behavioral setups. For an overview of our work and representative publications, please see our website https://www.eni-g.de/groups/neural-circuits-and-cognition.

The position is available immediately with an initial appointment for 2 years and a salary according to 65% TV-L E13. Extensions beyond 2 years are possible. The successful candidate will join one of the many excellent graduate schools on the Göttingen Campus.

Candidates should have a degree (master, diploma or equivalent) in a relevant field (e.g., neuroscience, psychology, biology), and ideally prior experience with non-human primates, strong quantitative, programming, and experimental skills, and share a passion for understanding the neural basis of visual perception and its plasticity. A good command of English is a requirement, but fluency in German is not essential.

Interested candidates should send their curriculum vitae, a description of their scientific interests and the names and contact information of two references who are able to comment on your academic background and who agreed to be contacted to Caspar M. Schwiedrzik (cschwie3@gwdg.de)

The University Medical Center Göttingen is committed to professional equality. We therefore seek to increase the proportion of under-represented genders. Applicants with disabilities and equal qualifications will be given preferential treatment.

We look forward to receiving your application by 01.07.2022: