Martijn van den Heuvel

Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam (VU) is offering a PhD position in the Connectome Lab at the Center for Neurogenomics and Cognitive Research (CNCR) for a project at the interface of neuroimaging, genetics, computational neuroscience, neurodiversity, and brain evolution. The project investigates how variation in brain anatomy and connectivity shapes human brain diversity, and how these patterns compare across species. Using large-scale human neuroimaging datasets together with comparative data from non-human species, the project aims to identify which aspects of brain organization are conserved, which vary substantially between individuals, and which may have emerged or expanded during human evolution. The successful candidate will work with structural MRI, diffusion MRI, and resting-state fMRI data, developing and applying computational approaches for cortical reconstruction, tractography, functional connectivity, connectome analysis, and cross-species comparisons. A particular interest in the use of large language models (LLMs) for data mining is noted. Supervision and collaboration will take place within the computational neuroimaging lab led by Prof. Martijn van den Heuvel, in an interdisciplinary environment including researchers from neuroimaging, genetics, psychology, psychiatry, artificial intelligence, and computational neuroscience. Key duties include analysing large-scale imaging data, integrating genetics with neuroimaging, performing comparative analyses of human and non-human brain organisation, building reproducible and open workflows, presenting findings at scientific meetings, writing manuscripts, collaborating across networks, and contributing to teaching where appropriate. This is a research-focused PhD opportunity for candidates interested in brain networks, connectomics, computational analysis, and cross-disciplinary neuroscience. The application deadline is 2026-12-15. Applications are submitted through the AcademicTransfer link provided in the posting.

Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam is recruiting a Postdoc in Neuroimaging, Neurodiversity and Brain Evolution for the Connectome Lab at the Center for Neurogenomics and Cognitive Research (CNCR) . This position sits at the intersection of neuroimaging, neuroscience, artificial intelligence, connectomics, and comparative brain evolution. The project aims to understand how variation in brain anatomy and connectivity contributes to the diversity of the human brain, and how these features relate to principles of brain evolution. The successful candidate will work with large-scale human neuroimaging datasets as well as comparative datasets across species to study variation in brain structure, connectivity, and functional organization. A key goal is to identify which aspects of brain organization are highly conserved, which vary strongly between individuals, and which may have emerged or expanded in human evolution. The research environment is highly interdisciplinary, bringing together researchers in neuroimaging, computational neuroscience, genetics, psychology, psychiatry, and artificial intelligence. The postdoc will be part of the computational neuroimaging lab led by Prof. Martijn van den Heuvel and will contribute to projects involving structural MRI, diffusion MRI, and resting-state fMRI. Typical work includes analysing large neuroimaging datasets; developing and applying pipelines for cortical reconstruction, tractography, functional connectivity, and connectome analysis; investigating individual variation and neurodiversity in brain structure and connectivity; using ML and LLM approaches to mine and analyse large datasets; conducting comparative analyses of human and non-human brain organization; and integrating results across imaging modalities and datasets. The role also includes developing computational and statistical methods for brain network analysis, contributing to reproducible and open neuroimaging workflows, supervising MSc and PhD students, collaborating with internal and international teams, publishing papers, and presenting at scientific meetings. Institution: Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Netherlands. Position type: Postdoctoral researcher. Deadline: 2026-12-15. Application: Apply through the AcademicTransfer link provided in the posting.