Narly Golestani

The University of Vienna is advertising a predoctoral / PhD-level university assistant position in the Department of Behavioral and Cognitive Biology within the Faculty of Life Sciences . The successful candidate will join the Brain and Language Lab led by Prof. Narly Golestani . The doctoral project will be developed jointly with the selected candidate and tailored to their background and interests. The lab studies the neurobiological foundations of language and auditory processing , with a focus on individual differences, multilingual and multiliterate experience, language aptitude, dyslexia, brain anatomy, and experience-dependent plasticity . Methods may include structural and functional neuroimaging, EEG/MEG, behavioural methods, computational modelling, automated neuroanatomical phenotyping, machine learning, and advanced statistics . Possible research directions include relationships between multilingualism, language aptitude, dyslexia, and brain structure/activation/connectivity; neural systems supporting visual word-form processing, spoken language, music, and spatial navigation; and markers of risk, resilience, or compensation associated with dyslexia. The project may use existing multimodal adult datasets, including the NEBULA101 dataset. The position is part of the Vienna Doctoral School in Cognition, Behaviour and Neuroscience (CoBeNe) , offering interdisciplinary doctoral training and scientific exchange across psychology, neuroscience, behavioural biology, and related fields. Eligibility highlights: completed Master’s degree or equivalent in psychology, biomedical engineering, cognitive neuroscience, neuroscience, cognitive science, computer science, data science, physics, or another relevant discipline; strong programming and statistics background; empirical research experience in cognitive neuroscience; excellent English; and motivation to complete a dissertation. Experience with MRI, EEG, MEG, neuroimaging analysis, machine learning, computational modelling, Linux/HPC, and reproducible research is desirable. Funding: this is a paid university assistant position with a gross monthly salary of EUR 3,776.10 on a full-time basis, with possible increases based on prior experience. The contract is initially limited to 1.5 years and may extend to 3 years automatically, with a possible total duration of up to 4 years. Application deadline: 19 September 2026. Apply through the University of Vienna job portal and submit a motivation letter, CV, degree proof, transcript, and referee contacts in English.