Vacature PHD Position

PhD position in Decision Neuroscience

Abstract

The Erasmus Center for Neuroeconomics seeks a highly motivated PhD student looking to study decision-making using neuroscience methods (fMRI or EEG). Strong applicants typically have backgrounds in (cognitive) psychology, (cognitive) neuroscience, neuroeconomics, or data science, and are looking to pursue careers as world-class academic researchers. At our Center, students define and execute their own projects in consultation with their advisers, and thus need creativity, self-direction, and a passion for scientific research.

Topic

The Erasmus Center for Neuroeconomics is hosted by the Marketing department at the Rotterdam School of Management (RSM), which ranks among the best in the world. Department members publish their research in top journals in marketing as well as related fields such as psychology and neuroscience. They deeply care about open science practices (e.g., data sharing and open-source software), and frequently host seminars to encourage knowledge exchange. The group is diverse (in terms of research interests and cultural background), collaborative, and collegial.

Our PhD program seeks to train the next generation of academics. We want our students to maximize their potential and become independent scholars. We expect students to become experts in and define a research agenda around a topic of their choosing. As such, PhD positions in our group are open. During their years of study, students define and execute their own projects. They do this in consultation with their advisers, but may also work with other faculty, including those at other institutes.

Within the department, researchers at the Center for Neuroeconomics work on a wide range of topics in decision neuroscience such as understanding the neurological basis of emotions, social conformity, dishonesty, charitable giving, consumer judgments and predicting population-level outcomes from neural data.

In addition to standard required course work, decision neuroscience students typically take courses in neuroscience, experimental design, advanced statistics such as multi-level models, programming, machine learning, and seminars in consumer behavior. Moreover, the department offers a workshop series that includes seminars on a variety of topics, content, skills, and method related. Examples are: How to publish successfully, how to prepare for the job market, how to analyze voice-data, how to manage your data and code. These workshops are hosted by internal and external faculty members, which enables students to get to know excellent researchers and establish their own (international) network.

Approach

Experience with EEG and/or fMRI is required for this position. Experience or interest in more advanced fMRI methods, such as multi-voxel pattern analysis (MVPA), representational similarity analysis (RSA), classification algorithms, prediction models, or multivariate approaches to EEG data analyses is a definite plus. Experience with and affinity for programming, particularly in Python (or otherwise Matlab or R) is a must.

Students have access to world-class research facilities :

• The Erasmus Behavioral Lab provides facilities to conduct high-quality behavioral research, including sound-insulated cubicles, group labs, video labs, and facilities for eye tracking, EEG/ERP, facial coding, and hormone-administration studies.
• High-performance computing is available to researchers via SURFSara (a Dutch consortium for scientific computing).
• Researchers have access to multiple MRI scanners at the Erasmus Medical Centre.

Required profile

• Intellectual curiosity, eagerness to learn, and openness to criticism and other perspectives
• Strong commitment to methodological rigor and scientific integrity
• Strong motivation to pursue an international career as a leading scholar
• Excellent speaking and writing ability in fluent English, ideally with experience writing for a scientific audience
• Willingness and motivation to independently formulate research projects and carry them through to completion
• Excellent organizational skills
• Masters' degree (preferably a Research Master's or MPhil degree)
• Background in cognitive neuroscience, cognitive psychology, neuroeconomics
• A definite interest of applying knowledge to the field of decision-making
• Prior experience analysing fMRI data using techniques such as MVPA, as well as neural reliability (inter-subject correlations in neural activity), or prior experience with applying multivariate techniques with EEG

Required by ERIM

All application documents required by ERIM can be found here: https://www.erim.eur.nl/doctoral-programme/phd-in-management/admissions/application/

Interested candidates are invited to visit the ERIM PhD in Management website ( http://www.erim.eur.nl/doctoral-programme/ ) for information about application procedures and criteria. If you have any questions about the formal admission requirements, please contact the ERIM doctoral office: or Dr. Anne Kathrin Klesse ( ).

Note: This year, we offer our second PhD Virtual Open House Day. If you are interested in our PhD program and consider applying, we invite you to join us on November 23 at 6pm to 8pm CETOR on November 27 at 10am to 12pm CET . In these info sessions we provide you with lots of information on our PhD program, department, and school. You will also get to know some of our faculty members and current PhD students, hear them talk about their research, and have the chance to ask questions. Interested? Then please register here or use this QR code:

Expected output

You will generate research that can be published in top-tier peer-reviewed journals in either neuroscience (Journal of Neuroscience, Neuron, Social, Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience, Neuroimage), but also marketing (Journal of Marketing Research, Journal of Consumer Research, Marketing Science, Journal of Marketing). The marketing group at RSM has a strong record publishing in these and other top journals in related fields, including Management, Psychology, and Economics. The final results of the PhD project are published in a PhD dissertation, and most chapters in marketing PhD dissertations at RSM find their way into top journals.

Cooperation

To strengthen your international research network and complement your time at RSM, you will receive funding for a 3- to 6-month research visit at a top international university. Past visits of PhD students from our department have included Stanford, Wharton, Harvard, Chicago, Colorado, Cornell, Columbia, and UCLA. At our Center we are well connected to international groups in consumer neuroscience and neuroeconomics.

Societal relevance

Students are encouraged to pursue topics that not only improve the practice of marketing, but also consumer or societal well-being, and thus align closely with the school's mission to be a force for positive change in the world.

Scientific relevance

PhD research should be of the highest quality, carried out with scientific rigor and the utmost integrity. The department values openness and encourages students to embrace the principles and tools of open science (e.g., making code and data available to others and pre-registering experiments). The marketing group conducts research in our core field of marketing, as well as related disciplines such as management, psychology, judgment and decision making, neuroscience, economics, and statistics. Our diversity and interdisciplinarity make the department a lively, creative, and intellectually stimulating place to conduct research.

Employment conditions

ERIM offers fully-funded and salaried PhD positions, which means that accepted PhD candidates become employees (promovendi) of Erasmus University Rotterdam. Salary and benefits are in accordance with the Collective Labour Agreement for Dutch Universities (CAO) .

Erasmus University Rotterdam aspires to be an equitable and inclusive community. We nurture an open culture, where everyone is supported to fulfil their full potential. We see inclusivity of talent as the basis of our successes, and the diversity of perspectives and people as a highly valued outcome. EUR provides equal opportunities to all employees and applicants regardless of gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, religion, ethnicity, age, neurodiversity, functional impairment, citizenship, or any other aspect which makes them unique. We look forward to welcoming you to our community.

Contact information

For questions regarding the PhD application and selection procedure, please check the Admissions or send us an e-mail via .

Functie:	phd position
Startdatum:	01-11-2023
Ervaring:	Ervaren
Educatielevel:	WO
Contracttype:	Vast
Salaris:	onbekend – onbekend
Uren per week:	1 – 40

Heb je interesse in deze vacature en wil je graag op deze functie solliciteren? Neem dan contact op met Unknown via Unknown of Unknown. Of bezoek hun website Unknown.