Research Assistant Position to determine markers of emotional states in humans induced by others

Location: Amsterdam
Max hours per week: 38 hours per week
Max salary: between € 2.715,00 and € 3.266,00
Duration of agreement: 6 months
Apply until: 25 November 2024

Are you interested in characterising the physiological measures that uniquely contribute to humans emotional reactions in response to other’s emotional states, by combining facial expression responses with electrocardiogram, respiration and startle reflect potentiation? And are you curious to know how these read-outs help to dissociate self distress from motivation to avoid harm or help others and compare the results to what is measured in rodents during similar paradigms? If you want to help us address these questions, and prepare yourself to later apply for a competitive PhD program, then consider joining the social brain lab in an exciting collaboration with UCSD’s Sanford Center for Empathy and Compassion. If you are curious, have a passion for working in interdisciplinary environments, like finding patterns in complex datasets and wish to work in a vibrant, international, and highly collaborative environment at the forefront of social and affective neuroscience, then this position might be ideal for you.

What you will be doing

As a research assistant you will be a critical part of the team, working closely with lab members interested in examining what people and rodents feel in response to the distress of others and what brain mechanisms trigger this feeling and observed physiological responses. Your aim will be to refine our ability to measure what people feel while witnessing the distress of others directly from physiological read-outs rather than verbal reports, and identify which of these measures, or combination thereof, uniquely characterise empathic responses in humans. The read-outs will include facial expressions, pupil dilation, heart rate and its variability, respiration and startle potentiation. You will work closely with another research assistant that will examine similar readouts in rodents witnessing the distress of others to identify the generalisability of these measures.

During your research assistantship you will have the opportunity to:

• learn to use tools to provide fine-grained analyses of facial expressions and behavior
• learn to record electro-cardio and electro-myograms, eye movement and pupil dilation.
• closely collaborate and coordinate with other members of the team in Amsterdam and our
• collaborators at the university of California at San Diego (UCSD) Sanford center for empathy and compassion
• coauthor your findings in open access scientific journals
• prepare yourself for a competitive PhD program in affective or social neuroscience

What you will be contributing

We are looking for an enthusiastic team-player, who

• has a research master in the field of neuroscience, behavioral psychology or related fields
• enjoys advanced data analyses and statistical inferences
• enjoys learning new techniques
• functions well both in a team as well as independently, and possess good communication skills
• enjoys finalizing projects and writing papers

What we are offering

In this 6 month project, you will have the opportunity to learn state-of-the-art research skills from leaders in the field. You’ll enjoy working in a close-knit team of scientists that values an open culture where everybody feels free to ask questions and make suggestions. In particular, you can expect to

• learn a highly valued skill: to analyse behaviour and psychophysiological paradigms to measure affective responses objectively in ways that can be directly compared with those in animals
• training in performing empathy and harm-aversion related paradigms
  help you become an expert in social neuroscience
• The opportunity to work with leading researchers at the intersection between social and affective neuroscience
• You’ll be part of a community of research assistants PhD students and postdocs within the social brain lab working on related projects using a variety of methods
• Guidance, support and mentoring from two PIs
• A contract for 6 months for 1.0 fte according to the CAO NU
• Additional benefits including an 8.3% end-of-year bonus and 8% holiday pay.

Your Workplace

The Social Brain Lab at the Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience 

This will be your main home, in which your main supervisors, Dr. Valeria Gazzola and Prof. Christian Keysers will be working on a daily base, and where you will work closely with another research assistant, several PhD students and postdocs on related projects. The Social Brain Lab is the results of the joint venture of the research groups of Christian Keysers and Valeria Gazzola, aiming at shedding light on the neural mechanisms of empathy by combining studies in humans and rodents. The SBL is funded by multiple European (ERC, Marie Curie), Dutch (VENI/VIDI/VICI, Gravitation, XL) and international (Sanford Center for Empathy and Compassion) grants, and is characterized by an unusually diverse environment, with members from all over the world, backgrounds (ranging from philosophy to engineering with an emphasis on biology and psychology), and neuroscientific techniques (spanning from ultra-high field fMRI in humans to single-cell recordings in rodents). The SBL is appreciated for its collaborative, enthusiastic and supportive environment, where people strive to become successful, recognized and appreciated scientists.

Terms of Employment

The appointment will initially be for 6 months but may be extended based on performance and funding availability

For more information

Please contact Laura Hammock l.hammock@nin.knaw.nl 

Application procedure

Evaluation of candidates will begin immediately, and after about 2 weeks from the deadline candidates will be informed whether they passed the first round or not. Shortlisted candidates will receive, taking into account candidates’ availability, a short assignment to be done within 48h. Based on the results of the assignment, we will organize a 1h Zoom interview followed by a visit on site for the best candidates. We foresee a final decision to be communicated within three months after the first submission date. If no excellent candidate can be identified, we might re-advertise the position.

We will not respond to any supplier enquiries based on this job advertisement.

You can submit your motivation letter and curriculum vitae via this system no later than 24 November 2024, 23:59 CET.

About the Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience

The Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience is the country’s leading fundamental neuroscience research institute, in the international and progressive city of Amsterdam. It provides a critical mass of scientists (spanning more than 27 nationalities) and neuroscience facilities, in a highly interactive, dynamic, multi-cultural environment, with English as the working language.

Terms of employment

Depending on education and experience the minimum salary is  € 2715,00 and the maximum salary is € 3266,00 gross per month for a full-time appointment (scale 5, cao Nederlandse Universiteiten/KNAW). This is exclusive of 8% vacation allowance, 8.3% year-end bonus, travel allowance, internet allowance, home working allowance and pension accrual with ABP.

The KNAW offers its staff an excellent package of secondary benefits. A package that meets the different needs of employees depending on their stage of life, lifestyle or career ambitions. For example, by working an extra two hours a week, it is possible to increase the number of days off from 29 to 41 days a year (with full-time employment).

For a complete overview of the terms of employment, please refer to the web page: werken bij de KNAW.

Applying for a Certificate of Good Conduct can be part of the employment procedure.

Diversity & Inclusion

The KNAW considers a working environment in which everyone feels welcome and appreciated of great importance. A working environment in which attention is paid to individual quality and where development opportunities are paramount. Together we strive for an inclusive culture in which we embrace differences. We would therefore like to invite candidates who want to contribute to this through their background and experience. In the event of equal suitability, preference will be given to the candidate who thus enhances diversity within the Academy.

We will not respond to any supplier enquiries based on this job advertisement.