"Data-driven approaches to structure and function in schizophrenia"
In an innovative approach, we will investigate the neurobiological
aberrations in schizophrenia that underlie disturbed thinking, speech,
and behavior. Although agnostic to one specific psychological process,
we have a special interest in altered social-affective processes in
schizophrenic individuals because these cognitive skills set human
beings apart from other species. We will use data-driven methods that
formally extracts patterns in large datasets with a minimum of
a-priori assumptions. The project will take place in close
collaboration between the neuroimaging methods group in Paris, France,
and the cognitive neuroscience group in Düsseldorf/Jülich, Germany.
Completion of this PhD program allows you to become part of the badly
needed new generation of computationally trained imaging
neuroscientists.
What you would work on
- Work on neuroimaging questions in psychiatry that matter with
multivariate statistical tools applicable beyond imaging neuroscience.
- We aim at the characterization of the neurobiology of schizophrenia
neurobiology from the perspective of brain area and network
architectures. We will perform clustering algorithms and network
decomposition for dimensionality reduction. The feature-engineered
data will form the basis for unsupervised structure discovery (e.g.,
t-SNE), supervised classification (e.g., support vector machines),
brain-behavior analyses (e.g., Lasso/Ridge/ElasticNet regression
analyses), and resting-state connectivity analyses (e.g., group-sparse
covariance estimation).
- The multi-modal analyses will be performed on structural
(voxel-based morphometry) and functional (resting-state data) from a
Europe-wide 8-site datasets (n=~500).
- This position is an excellent opportunity to learn how to combine
clinical neuroscience and recently emerged statistical techniques.
What we expect
- High motivation for inter-disciplinary challenges
- An analytical, problem-solving mindset
- MSc or equivalent in computer science, physics, biomedical
engineering, psychology, medicine or biology (natural-science-related
background is preferred)
- Experience with programming is a big plus (especially in Python)
- Fluent in written and oral English language
What we provide
We provide intramural funding for a three-year PhD position. The
position is available starting from September 2015. Applications will
be considered until the position is filled. Payment will correspond to
salary grade 13/2 of the German Collective Bargaining Agreement for
the Civil Services (50% TVL-13, http://bit.ly/1Rf8TjY).
The project will be conducted in close collaboration with the
machine-learning group at Neurospin, France, (Dr. Bertrand Thirion)
and cognitive neuroscience group at the Forschungszentrum Jülich,
Germany (Prof. Simon Eickhoff).
Application
Send CV, motivation letter, and contact details of two academic referees to
Prof. Dr. Danilo Bzdok
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Assistant professor of social and affective neuroscience
Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy, and Psychosomatics
Aachen, Germany
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