PhD Opportunities in Neuroscience in Netherlands

This PhD project investigates how the resident virome of insects shapes immune responses and fitness, and how this in turn influences interactions with incoming virus infections. You will work on fundamental questions in insect virology using lepidopteran species as the study system. The project focuses on defining virome composition, testing how resident viral communities affect insect life-history traits and responses to infection, and examining vertical transmission of the virome across gener...

The Amsterdam Leukodystrophy Center at Amsterdam UMC is offering a four-year PhD position on Vanishing White Matter (VWM), a severe inherited disorder that affects the brain’s white matter. The project is embedded in a highly specialized, internationally recognized research environment focused on leukodystrophies, with expertise spanning clinical symptoms, neuropsychological effects, MRI, genetics, neuropathology, and molecular and cellular disease mechanisms. The doctoral researcher will work o...

This PhD project at Radboud University Medical Center focuses on multiple system atrophy (MSA) , a rare and serious brain disorder that often resembles Parkinson’s disease but progresses more rapidly. The position combines two connected research tracks aimed at improving care for people with MSA and the professionals who diagnose and study it. In the first track, the project develops an AI-supported pathway for MSA knowledge sharing and education . Because most neurologists see MSA only rarely, ...

This PhD position is part of the Cerebrovasculaire Ziekten research line in the Department of Neurology & Neurosurgery at UMC Utrecht . The project sits at the interface of neurology and radiology and focuses on innovative imaging of atherosclerosis in the carotid arteries. The research aims to determine how inflammation caused by atherosclerosis can best be visualised with imaging. A key goal is to generate new insights that may support the clinical implementation of a new imaging marker for id...

This PhD project at Maastricht University and Maastricht UMC+ explores how the smallest blood vessels in the brain contribute to dementia and the clearance of harmful waste products from brain tissue. The work is part of the MODEM consortium, which studies the biological mechanisms underlying the onset and progression of dementia. You will investigate the neurovascular unit, with a particular focus on how capillaries interact with surrounding brain tissue and how microvascular function may relat...

This PhD project at Wageningen University & Research investigates how taste is encoded in the brain of specialist caterpillars and butterflies. The work focuses on deciphering the neuronal code that these insects use to recognize their host plants, using the cabbage white butterflies ( Pieris spp.) as a model system. The project sits at the intersection of neuroscience, ecology, and evolutionary biology. It explores how insect herbivores and plants have coevolved, how toxic plant compounds and i...

This PhD project at UMC Utrecht focuses on person-centred care and technological innovation in brain diagnostics, with a specific emphasis on bringing MRI closer to the patient and into primary care. The project is part of the consortium initiative Brain Matters and the broader Reimagine Imaging programme, which aims to redesign how people are referred, guided, and supported through the imaging pathway. The PhD student will work on the development of a largely automated MRI set-up in which patie...

Erasmus University Rotterdam is offering a fully funded, salaried PhD position in Decision Neuroscience through the Erasmus Center for Neuroeconomics, hosted by the Marketing department of the Rotterdam School of Management. The project is open-ended: PhD candidates develop and execute their own research projects in consultation with advisers. Research may address decision-making, persuasive communication, emotions and choice, dishonesty, charitable giving, consumer judgments, advertising, neuro...

Wageningen University & Research is offering a fully funded PhD position in insect neurobiology, sensory ecology, and insect-plant coevolution. The project will investigate how specialist caterpillars and butterflies encode plant taste in the brain and use chemical cues to recognize host plants. Using cabbage white butterflies ( Pieris spp.) as a model system, the researcher will compare gustatory coding between closely related species and between caterpillar and adult life stages. The work focu...