PhD position (75%) in Cognitive Neuroscience on Pain Perception and Patient-Practitioner Communication @Hamburg

The research focuses on combining neuroimaging and behaviour to investigate the influence of patient-practitioner communication on pain perception and neural processing. The project is part of the transregional DFG (German Research Foundation) collaborative research centre (CRC/Transregio 289) "Treatment Expectation" investigating the impact of patient expectations on the efficacy of medical treatments (https://treatment-expectation.de/en/). The projects are jointly supervised by Prof Dr Katja Wiech and Dr Helen Blank.

Location

The project will be based at the Institute of Systems Neuroscience at the University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf in Hamburg, Germany.

What we offer

• Opportunity to get hands-on supervision for learning various data acquisition and analysis techniques (e.g., representational similarity analysis (RSA))
• Dynamic, interdisciplinary, and international research environment within the Institute of Systems Neuroscience
• Research-dedicated T3 MR scanner (PRISMA), eye-tracking and EEG laboratories, excellent infrastructure for behavioural testing
• Multiple training opportunities within the institute (e.g., https://goo.gl/pU44vP) and the collaborative research centre
• For PhDs: Possibility to join the local graduate school, which is part of national and international networks https://www.uke.de/kliniken-institute/institute/systemische-neurowissenschaften/lehrangebote-fortbildungen/graduate-school-workshops.html and https://hamburgbrainschool.de/about/
• Exciting opportunities within the collaborative research centre, e.g., mini-grants for side projects

Requirements for the PhD position

• A Master of Science or an equivalent degree in neuroscience, cognitive science, psychology, or a related discipline
• Experience in programming (e.g., MATLAB)
• Keen interest in experimental approaches to study predictive processing and pain including magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)
• Motivation to work independently as well as in a team environment
• Strong organizational skills
• Fluency in English and German

Application

Applications will be accepted until the position is filled. Salary depends on experience and is based on German regulations (TVöD-VKA-13 for PhD positions with a factor 75%). The appointment will end on 30/6/2028. The group is committed to Open Science and to maintaining a diverse and inclusive environment.

If you are interested, please send a pdf-document including 1) your CV, 2) a brief statement of research interest, 3) certificates, and 4) the contact details of two academic referees to katja.wiech@uk-essen.de. Informal inquiries are very welcome.