PhD position on play behaviour and the development of cognitive control (1.0 FTE)

PhD position on play behaviour and the development of cognitive control (1.0 FTE)
PhD position on play behaviour and the development of cognitive control (1.0 FTE)

Published	Deadline	Location
today	9 Nov	Utrecht

Are you interested in understanding how playful experiences shape behaviour and the brain? Check out the details and apply for this PhD position!

Job description

We offer a PhD position on a project addressing how play behaviour promotes resilience in life. To that end we are looking for a highly motivated candidate, that has recently obtained an MSc degree in neuroscience or a related field, and that has demonstrable affinity with studying complex behaviours in rodents. We aim to start the project in February 2023. This PhD project is a collaboration between the Departments of Population Health Sciences (section Animals in Science and Society, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine) of Utrecht University and Translational Neuroscience of the University Medical Center Utrecht.
Play is fun and important. Play facilitates the development of social, emotional and cognitive skills that are essential for optimal functioning in adulthood. This implies that play has the potential to stimulate resilience against the adverse and the unexpected, thereby facilitating mental health. This PhD position is part of the NWO funded project PlayRisC that aims to delineate the impact of play on the development of cognitive control and resilience to stress, and the underlying neural mechanisms. To this aim, you will use a variety of operant cognitive tasks, as well as behavioural and neuroendocrine analyses. This study has major implications for understanding how early life conditions shape the development of cognitive control and resilience to stress, which is essential for individuals to function in everyday life. Understanding the impact of play experience and play restrictions on brain and behaviour will be important for the prevention and treatment mental health problems and to shape policies to stimulate play and help children thrive.

Specifications

• 36—40 hours per week
• €2541—€3247 per month
• Utrecht View on Google Maps

Utrecht University

Requirements
We are looking for a motivated and pro-active candidate who meets the following requirements:

MSc degree in Life Sciences, Neuroscience, Psychobiology or related field;

Affinity with neurobiological research;

Experience with rodent studies;

Team player;

Strong analytical skills;

Good command of written and spoken English..

Affinity with programming (e.g. R, Matlab, Python) and a laboratory animal science qualification (FELASA type C-like) are considered an advantage.

Conditions of employment

The appointment is for four years (full-time). The starting gross salary is €2,541 per month (the PhD student scale within the Collective Labour Agreement for Dutch Universities). Utrecht University offers excellent secondary conditions including a minimum of 29 leave days per year, collective insurance options, an excellent pension scheme, flexible employment conditions and salaries are supplemented with a holiday bonus of 8% and an end-of-year bonus of 8.3% per year. For more information, please visit working at Utrecht University .

Employer

A better future for all. This ambition motivates our scientists in their top-level research and inspiring teaching. At Utrecht University , various disciplines work intensively together on socially important themes: Dynamics of Youth, Institutions for Open Societies, Life Sciences and Sustainability.
The Faculty of Veterinary Medicine of Utrecht University is the only Veterinary School in the Netherlands. It belongs to the international top in education, research and veterinary patient care. The faculty counts approximately 1,500 students and 1000 employees. It organizes its research activities via an Institute of Veterinary Research and participates in the university-wide research programme “Life Sciences ”. The faculty also provides academic training for veterinarians, researchers and trainee specialists.
Research in the Department of Population Health Sciences , section Animals in Science and Society is embedded within the research program Behaviour & Welfare of the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine. This program aims to understand the neural basis of emotional and cognitive processes, how their function contributes to animal and human health and welfare, and how their dysfunction leads to abnormal behaviour and psychiatric disorders. Moreover, we closely collaborate within the strategic theme Dynamics of Youth at Utrecht University, which has resulted in ongoing joint projects with pediatricians, social scientists, game designers and geoscientists.

About Utrecht
Utrecht , one of the oldest cities in the Netherlands, is the fourth largest city in the Netherlands, with a charming old centre and an internationally oriented culture The city with a population of nearly 360,000 is strongly influenced by its century-old university  and forms a hub in the middle of the country. Its ancient city centre and its modern central station can easily be reached from the Utrecht Science Park by public transport or by a 15 minute bicycle ride. Utrecht boasts beautiful canals with extraordinary wharf cellars housing cafés and terraces by the water, as well as a broad variety of shops and boutiques.

Additional information

Would you like to know more about this position? Please feel free to contact Dr Heidi Lesscher (Associate Professor), via [email protected] or +31 030 253 98 76.
Note that international candidates needing a visa/work permit for the Netherlands require at least four months processing time after selection and acceptance. This will be arranged with help of the International Service Desk (ISD) of our university. Finding appropriate housing in or near Utrecht is your own responsibility, but the ISD may be able to advise you therewith. For general questions that you might have about working and living in The Netherlands, please consult the Dutch Mobility Portal where much information can be found.

Working at Utrecht University

At Utrecht University, we work together towards a better future for all of us. You are invited to contribute to a better world.

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Application procedure
Everyone deserves to feel at home at our university. We welcome employees with a wide variety of backgrounds and perspectives. 
To apply, please send your curriculum vitae, including a letter of motivation via the ‘apply’ button.