PhD Student Mesoscale Cerebellar MRI

About the project

The human cerebellum is an intricately shaped brain region, implicated in a wide range of functions. The cerebellar cortex, a thin layer of grey matter, is very tightly folded, resulting in a highly convoluted architecture. Its visualisation requires detailed imaging, beyond what is currently possible in humans in vivo.

In this NWO-funded Vici project, we will leverage Ultra-High Field MRI (7T) with recent advances in MRI hardware, acquisition strategies and image analysis to bring the cerebellar mesoscale organization into view. With multimodal submillimetre MRI data including structural, microstructural, vascular, and functional MRI, we will pinpoint the mesoscale functional subunits within the human cerebellum.

The PhD project will focus on the visualization of functional subunits in the cerebellar cortex – including high-resolution morphological and functional imaging of the human cerebellum. This project will give you the chance to work on a wide range of MR-topics and contrasts, including parallel transmit, quantitative MRI, diffusion-based microstructural characterization and BOLD-based fMRI.

What you will be contributing

We are looking for a researcher that combines MRI physics with a vivid interest in neuroscience. The ideal candidate will have, or will be about to receive, an MSc in biomedical engineering, physics, biology or a related field and a demonstrable

interest in MRI or medical imaging. A vivid interest in high-resolution imaging or the human cerebellum would be a plus. Proficiency in spoken and written English and team-work  is required. Programming experience (e.g., Python or MATLAB) and familiarity with pulse sequence development is a plus.

What do we offer?

You will be part of the Vici project-team consisting of 3 PhD students, a postdoctoral researcher and the PI (Wietske van der Zwaag). You will be joining a highly collaborative research environment in the Ultra-High Field Neuroimaging group of the Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience and the Spinoza Centre for Neuroimaging. This research environment combines state-of-of the art neuroimaging expertise and facilities, including 7T MRI, with a diverse interdisciplinary community of MR-physicists and cognitive and clinical neuroscientists.

It concerns a position for 1.0 fte (38 h/week) for 4 years. You will have ample opportunities for further development of knowledge and technical and personal skills through courses at the Academy and (inter)national conferences.

More information

General information about the group, the institute and the project can be found on our websites: https://spinozacentre.nl/zwaag/, www.nin.nl/ https://sites.google.com/view/cerebellum-mesoscale/

For more information about the vacancy, please contact Dr. Wietske van der Zwaag (w.vanderzwaag@spinozacentre.nl).

Application Procedure

You can submit your motivation letter and curriculum vitae no later than June 5th, 2026. We aim to conduct the first-round online interviews later in June and in-person interviews shortly afterwards.

About the Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience
The Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience is the country’s leading fundamental neuroscience research institute, in the international and progressive city of Amsterdam. It provides a critical mass of scientists (spanning more than 27 nationalities) and neuroscience facilities, in a highly interactive, dynamic, multi-cultural environment, with English as the working language.

Terms of employment
Depending on education and experience the minimum salary is € 3059,- and the maximum salary is € 3881,- gross per month for a full-time appointment (phd scale Cao Nederlandse Universiteiten/KNAW). This is exclusive of 8% vacation allowance, 8.3% year-end bonus, travel allowance, internet allowance, home working allowance and pension accrual with ABP.

The KNAW offers its staff an excellent package of secondary benefits. A package that meets the different needs of employees depending on their stage of life, lifestyle or career ambitions. For example, by working an extra two hours a week, it is possible to increase the number of days off from 29 to 41 days a year (with full-time employment).

For a complete overview of the terms of employment, please refer to the web page: werken bij de KNAW.

Applying for a Certificate of Good Conduct can be part of the employment procedure.

Diversity & Inclusion
The KNAW considers a working environment in which everyone feels welcome and appreciated of great importance. A working environment in which attention is paid to individual quality and where development opportunities are paramount. Together we strive for an inclusive culture in which we embrace differences. We would therefore like to invite candidates who want to contribute to this through their background and experience. In the event of equal suitability, preference will be given to the candidate who thus enhances diversity within the Academy.

We will not respond to any supplier enquiries based on this job advertisement.