Postdoctoral Researcher in Cognitive Neuroscience of Bilingualism and Creativity
Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań, Poland, is offering a fully funded three-year postdoctoral position in cognitive neuroscience focused on bilingualism and creativity. The project, led by PI Rafał Jończyk at the Psychophysiology of Language and Affect (PoLA) Lab and the Cognitive Neuroscience Center, investigates how creative idea generation and idea evaluation are represented in the brain, and how these processes may differ across a bilingual speaker’s first language (Polish) and second language (English).
The successful candidate will join an interdisciplinary and internationally connected team working at the intersection of language, emotion, creativity, psychology, and neuroscience. The project combines behavioral experiments with cutting-edge neurophysiological methods, including EEG/ERP work, time-frequency analysis, hyperscanning, and hierarchical modeling of EEG data. The lab environment includes two 64-channel BioSemi EEG systems with GSR sensors, adjacent testing booths for dual-EEG studies, and access to eye-tracking, fNIRS, tDCS, and TMS facilities. Collaboration with Prof. Guillaume Thierry at Bangor University adds an international dimension and creates opportunities for research visits and broader academic networking.
The research program is structured around six experiments that examine creative problem-solving, the neural signatures of idea generation versus evaluation, and how bilingualism and language of operation influence these processes. The postdoc will contribute to study design, stimulus preparation, experiment programming, participant recruitment, behavioral and electrophysiological data collection, data analysis and visualization in R and MATLAB, dissemination of findings, and grant writing for national and international funding schemes. There is also an opportunity to co-supervise doctoral students and strengthen mentoring experience.
Applicants should hold, or be close to completing, a doctoral degree in psycholinguistics, psychology, cognitive neuroscience, or a related field such as linguistics or cognitive science. The call seeks candidates with research experience or a documented interest in bilingualism and/or creativity, strong English proficiency, evidence of publication output, and solid organizational and teamwork skills. Desirable experience includes advanced EEG analysis, experimental programming, online data collection tools, conference presentations, and grant-writing experience.
The position is full-time and temporary, with an expected start date of 31 October 2026. The application deadline is 11 September 2026. Applications should be submitted by email to the principal investigator and must include a cover letter, CV, diplomas or certificates, reference contacts, and the required data-protection consent. The post offers a competitive salary and a supportive research environment with strong prospects for publication, methodological development, and international collaboration.