In order to fill a fixed-term position in full-time (39.83 hours/week = 100%) at the earliest possible date, we are looking for 1

Postdoctoral researcher in statistical learning and predictive processing (intracranial EEG)

The lab seeks to understand the cortical basis and computational principles of perception and experience-dependent plasticity in the brain. To this end, we use a multimodal approach including fMRI-guided electrophysiological recordings in rodents and non-human primates, and fMRI and intracranial EEG (iEEG) in humans. See https://doi.org/10.64898/2025.11.30.691163, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-51543-y, and https://doi.org/10.64898/2025.12.17.694881 for recent examples of our work. The postdoc will play a key role in our research efforts in this area. The lab is located at Ruhr University Bochum (https://www.rub.de) and the German Primate Center in Göttingen (http://www.dpz.eu). At both locations, the lab is embedded in interdisciplinary research centers with international faculty and students pursuing cutting-edge research in cognitive and computational neuroscience. The main site for this part of the project will be Bochum. The project will be conducted in close collaboration with the lab of Lucia Melloni at Ruhr University Bochum. Intracranial EEG data will be acquired in collaboration with clinical partners in Bochum as well as at other collaborating clinical sites. Several relevant datasets already exist and will be available for analysis. Ruhr University Bochum provides a vibrant and stimulating neuroscience community with strong expertise in both computational and experimental neuroscience. Through THINK – Center for Theoretical and Integrative Neuroscience and Cognitive Science (THINK) at Ruhr University Bochum (https://www.ruhr-uni-bochum.de/think/index.html.en), the postdoc will have access to dedicated computing infrastructure, including high-performance computing clusters, as well as to a state-of-the-art imaging center providing facilities for 3T MRI, EEG, virtual reality, and behavioral experimentation.

The Department of Cognitive Neurobiology led by Caspar Schwiedrzik is seeking an outstanding postdoctoral researcher to study statistical learning and predictive processing in the human brain using intracranial EEG recordings from epilepsy patients. The project investigates how the brain learns regularities in the environment and uses them to generate predictions about future events, with a particular focus on hippocampal–cortical predictive processing. It uniquely combines human intracranial recordings with causal perturbation using intracortical microstimulation, allowing direct investigation of these mechanisms in the human brain. The successful candidate will design and implement experiments using intracranial EEG recordings and intracortical microstimulation in collaboration with clinical partners and analyze these data using advanced electrophysiological and statistical approaches.

Scope: full-time
Duration: fixed-term, 2 Jahre
Start: at the earliest possible date
Apply by: 2026-05-05

Your tasks:

- Design and implementation of experiments investigating statistical learning and predictive processing using intracranial EEG and intracortical microstimulation in human epilepsy patients
- Analysis of intracranial electrophysiological recordings using modern computational and statistical approaches
- Development of experimental paradigms for studying predictive processing and experience-dependent learning
- Visualization, interpretation, and presentation of results
- Preparation of manuscripts for peer-reviewed scientific journals
- Collaboration with clinical and basic neuroscience partners
- Development of independent research ideas and contribution to grant proposals
- Opportunities to supervise PhD and master’s students and contribute to mentoring within the research group

Your profile:

- PhD in neuroscience, psychology, cognitive science, biomedical engineering, or a related field
- Experience with electrophysiological data analysis (e.g., EEG, ECoG, or single-unit recordings) and statistics
- Strong programming skills (e.g., Python or MATLAB)
- Interest in statistical learning and/or predictive processing
- Excellent communication and teamwork skills
- Fluency in spoken and written English (a good command of English is a requirement, fluency in German is beneficial for communication with patients. The working language in the group is English)

[https://jobs.ruhr-uni-bochum.de/jobposting/591390b8c5b83d217866229ff2fd94be0304b7f40?ref=AfA](https://jobs.ruhr-uni-bochum.de/jobposting/591390b8c5b83d217866229ff2fd94be0304b7f40?ref=AfA)