Postdoc in Neuroimaging, Neurodiversity and Brain Evolution at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, Netherlands

Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam (Connectome Lab, Center for Neurogenomics and Cognitive Research) is hiring a Postdoc in Neuroimaging, Neurodiversity and Brain Evolution in Amsterdam, Netherlands. Qualification required: PhD in a neuroscience or quantitative discipline. Closes 15 December 2026.

Job Details

Company: Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam (Faculty of Science; Connectome Lab at the Center for Neurogenomics and Cognitive Research, CNCR)

Position: Postdoc in Neuroimaging, Neurodiversity and Brain Evolution

Location: Amsterdam, Netherlands

Vacancy Number: 1351070

Appointment: At least 0.8 FTE; initial one-year contract

Experience: Postdoctoral (early-career; Freshers eligible as recent doctorates)

Qualification: PhD / Doctorate in Neuroscience / Neuroimaging / Computational Neuroscience / Biomedical Engineering / related

Closing Date: 15 December 2026

Project Details

The project aims to understand how variation in brain anatomy and connectivity contributes to the remarkable diversity of the human brain, and how these features relate to principles of brain evolution. The project combines large-scale human structural, diffusion and resting-state MRI with comparative cross-species datasets under Prof. Martijn van den Heuvel.

A central goal is to understand which aspects of brain organization are highly conserved, which show substantial variation between individuals, and which features may have emerged or expanded during human brain evolution.

Job Description

Do you enjoy working with complex neuroimaging data, large datasets and computational methods? Do you want to work at the intersection of neuroimaging, neuroscience, AI and brain evolution?

You will be part of the computational neuroimaging Lab led by Prof. Martijn van den Heuvel and work in an interdisciplinary environment with researchers from neuroimaging, computational neuroscience, genetics, psychology, psychiatry and artificial intelligence.

Key Responsibilities

  • Analyse large-scale structural MRI, diffusion MRI and resting-state fMRI datasets
  • Develop and apply pipelines for cortical reconstruction, tractography, functional connectivity and connectome analysis
  • Investigate individual variation and neurodiversity in brain structure and connectivity
  • Use LLM and ML to mine and analyze large datasets
  • Perform comparative analyses of human and non-human brain organization in the context of brain evolution
  • Integrate results across neuroimaging datasets and imaging modalities
  • Develop computational and statistical approaches for analysing brain networks
  • Contribute to reproducible and open neuroimaging workflows
  • Supervise MSc and PhD students
  • Collaborate with researchers within the Connectome Lab, CNCR and international research networks
  • Author and co-author scientific publications
  • Present findings at national and international scientific meetings
  • Contribute to the lab, department and have teaching activities where appropriate

Eligibility Criteria

  • PhD in neuroscience, neuroimaging, computational neuroscience, biomedical engineering, physics, computer science, artificial intelligence, mathematics, or a related quantitative discipline
  • Extensive hands-on experience with neuroimaging analysis is essential

Required Skills

Demonstrated experience with several of the following:

  • Structural MRI and cortical reconstruction, including FreeSurfer
  • Diffusion-weighted MRI (DWI), tractography and structural connectivity
  • Resting-state fMRI and functional connectivity analysis
  • FSL and other commonly used neuroimaging software packages
  • Experience in AI/LLM (postdocs with this experience are particularly invited to apply)
  • Processing and quality control of large neuroimaging datasets
  • Connectome and network neuroscience analyses

Strong programming skills are essential. You should have substantial experience with scientific programming in Python, MATLAB, R, Bash and/or comparable languages, and be comfortable developing and maintaining reproducible analysis pipelines.

Experience with one or more of the following would be an advantage:

  • Large-scale neuroimaging datasets such as UK Biobank, HCP or comparable resources
  • Comparative or cross-species neuroimaging
  • Brain atlases, surface-based analysis and registration
  • Machine learning or multivariate statistics
  • LLM
  • High-performance computing
  • Open-source software development and version control
  • Network science and computational modelling

You should also:

  • Have a strong interest in neurodiversity and/or brain evolution
  • Be able to work independently as well as collaboratively
  • Have good scientific communication skills
  • Have an excellent command of written and spoken English
  • Support open and reproducible science and be willing to share tools and data with the wider scientific community

Proficiency in Dutch is considered an important asset, particularly for contributing to teaching activities and engaging with students.

Salary

Salary scale 10: €3,706–€5,760 gross per month on a full-time basis. This is based on UFO profile Researcher 4. The exact salary depends on your education and experience.

Documents Required

  • A motivation letter describing your research interests, relevant neuroimaging expertise and programming experience. In your motivation letter, please explicitly describe your experience with Computational Modeling, LLM, diffusion MRI/DWI, resting-state fMRI and scientific programming, including examples of analyses or pipelines you have developed or used.
  • Your curriculum vitae, including a publication list
  • The names and contact details of two scientific referees

How to Apply

Are you interested in this position and do you believe that your experience will contribute to the further development of the university? In that case, we encourage you to submit your application. Applications received by e-mail will not be considered.

Additional Information

What is offered:

  • A challenging position in a socially engaged organisation
  • A position for at least 0.8 FTE, with an employment contract that will initially last 1 year
  • A full-time 38-hour working week comes with a holiday leave entitlement of 232 hours per year. If you choose to work 40 hours, you have 96 extra holiday leave hours on an annual basis. For part-timers, this is calculated pro rata
  • 8% holiday allowance and 8.3% end-of-year bonus
  • Solid pension scheme (ABP)
  • Contribution to commuting expenses
  • Optional model for designing a personalized benefits package

Research environment: The Connectome Lab’s research focuses on understanding the architecture of the human brain and how its network organization relates to cognition, individual variation, brain disorders and evolution. The project is embedded within the Center for Neurogenomics and Cognitive Research (CNCR), providing a highly interdisciplinary research environment and opportunities for collaboration within VU Amsterdam and with national and international research groups.

About Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam

Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam stands for values-driven education and research. We are open-minded experts with the ability to think freely – a broader mind. Maintaining an entrepreneurial perspective and concentrating on diversity, significance and humanity, we work on sustainable solutions with social impact.

The Faculty of Science has more than 8,000 students studying in one of the 39 programms and employs more than 1,400 staff across 10 scientific departments, making it one of the largest science faculties in the Netherlands.

The university is located on one physical campus, in the heart of Amsterdam’s Zuidas business district. Over 6,150 staff work at the VU and over 31,000 students attend academic education.

CLICK HERE FOR THE ORIGINAL NOTIFICATION / APPLY ONLINE

Applications must be submitted by 15 December 2026. Applications received by e-mail will not be considered.