Postdoc Position: Affective Neuroscience and Computational Psychiatry at the Donders Centre for Cognitive Neuroimaging Radboud University in Netherlands

This postdoctoral position at Radboud University’s Donders Centre for Cognitive Neuroimaging offers a unique opportunity to join the ERC-funded HEART2ADAPT project, focusing on affective neuroscience and computational psychiatry. The project investigates how people make approach–avoidance decisions under threat, aiming to understand why some individuals remain calm and flexible under pressure while others freeze or flee. The research centers on neurocomputational models of adaptive learning, exploring how the body’s autonomic stress state—balancing sympathetic and parasympathetic activity—shapes responses to danger and guides adaptation in dynamic environments.

As a postdoctoral researcher, you will contribute to task development and the modelling of behavioural and neural data, using advanced tools to track brain and body activity in real time, including heart rate, posture, and neuroimaging techniques such as MEG and fMRI. The project also involves testing causal mechanisms through pharmacological interventions and transcranial ultrasound stimulation. Subsequent phases will examine alterations in anxiety patients and apply interventions to probe underlying mechanisms.

The position is embedded in the Affective Neuroscience group led by Prof Karin Roelofs at the Faculty of Social Sciences, with close collaboration between the Behavioural Science Institute (BSI) and the Donders Centre for Cognitive Neuroimaging (DCCN). The research environment is highly interdisciplinary, with strong connections across psychology, communication science, and educational science, and offers state-of-the-art facilities for observational studies, experiments, eye-tracking, EEG, GSR, and behavioural measurements in both real and virtual environments.

Radboud University provides excellent employment conditions, including a four-year temporary contract, a gross monthly salary ranging from €4,728 to €6,433, an 8% holiday allowance, an 8.3% end-of-year bonus, extra days off, flexible annual leave options, a pension plan, sports and cultural discounts, and various training and development schemes. The university is committed to fostering an inclusive and collaborative research culture, supporting staff in their professional growth and ambitions.

Applicants must hold a PhD in a relevant field (cognitive or affective neuroscience, computational psychiatry, human decision sciences), have experience in probabilistic and/or other modelling approaches to decision making, and possess proven expertise in neuroimaging techniques (preferably MEG and/or fMRI). Interest in psychophysiological threat states and autonomic changes in anxiety patients is expected, along with strong social, communication, and organisational skills. Experience in human psychophysiology and supervising students is advantageous.

The application deadline is 24 March 2026. Interviews will be held in April 2026, with a preferred start date of 1 June 2026. Applications must be submitted online via the provided link, addressed to Prof Karin Roelofs, and include all required documents as specified in the application form. The Donders Centre for Cognitive Neuroimaging is internationally renowned for its multidisciplinary research environment, hosting over 100 PhD candidates and postdoctoral researchers from more than 25 countries, and is equipped with cutting-edge neuroimaging and computational facilities.