Doctoral Position (m,f,x) in Computational Neuroscience (Project Z02)

In order to fill a fixed-term position in part-time (29.87 hours/week = 75%) from 01.01.2027, pending funding approval, we are looking for 1

Doctoral Position (m,f,x) in Computational Neuroscience (Project Z02)

Are you curious about how the human brain stores and retrieves memories? You want bridge the gap between academia and the wider public? The Collaborative Research Center “Episodic Memory” (CRC 1844) is an interdisciplinary consortium consisting of researchers from psychology, computational neuroscience, philosophy and neuroscience. The basis for our research is the Scenario Construction Framework which conceptualizes scenarios as mental simulations of past episodes, constructed from episodic memory traces and semantic information.

We are actively seeking a talented PhD student to join our science communication project within the CRC 1844, which develops a digital serious game for citizen science, establishing a bidirectional bridge between episodic memory (EM) research and the general public. On the one hand, the game facilitates dissemination and intervention studies, with the public being involved in game design and extensions. On the other hand, the game allows for large-scale EM data collection from a diverse population. It also enables longitudinal research on EM, as well as prospective studies of EM changes preceding psychopathology.

Scope: part-time

Duration: fixed-term, 31.12.2030 (end of project)

Start: from 01.01.2027, pending funding approval

Apply by: 2026-11-02

Your tasks:

• The primary task will be the analysis of the behavioral data from gamified EM tasks, development of novel analyses, and interpretation of the results
• Help adapt laboratory experiments into a serious game setting in collaboration with the Cologne Game Lab
• Help validate the collected EM data in collaboration with experimental projects in the CRC 1844
• Assist the outreach coordinator associated with this project with player recruitment and outreach activities
• Correlate memory performance data from the game with demographic and psychological data in collaboration with the DZPG (German Center for Mental Health)
• Engage in interdisciplinary collaborations with experimental and computational neuroscientists, psychologists, and philosophers
• Present your results and findings in international conferences and scientific journals

Your profile:

• An excellent master’s degree, or equivalent, in computational neuroscience, physics, mathematics, computer science, or a related field
• Ability to work independently
• Competence in mathematical modeling and statistical analysis
• Excellent programming skills, e.g., Python
• Relevant research experience in neuroscience or a related field
• Excellent communication skills in English
• Team spirit
• Experience working within a collaborative research group (optional)

https://jobs.ruhr-uni-bochum.de/jobposting/fec7155cf49f90ef54729f1412129f5b84aed4f70?ref=AfA