项目介绍

2026年4月30日

Insufficient and poor-quality sleep are major and growing societal concerns, strongly linked to adverse mental health outcomes such as anxiety, depression, and neurodegenerative disease. Beyond general health effects, sleep plays a critical role in memory processing by consolidating experiences while reducing their emotional intensity. When sleep is disrupted especially after fearful events, this process fails and leads to heightened distress during memory recall and potentially contributing to the development of maladaptive or traumatic memories. In this project, we aim to elucidate the neurobiological processes to contribute to the development of maladaptive/traumatic memories. 

What are you going to do?

We are seeking a highly motivated PhD candidate that enjoys working in a highly collaborative environment for the duration of 4 years during which a thesis needs to be completed.  The candidate is expected to work at the interface of behaviour, neural circuits, and molecular mechanisms to investigate how sleep disruption and sleep loss influences fear memory formation, adaptation). The project combines cutting-edge techniques such as chemogenetics (DREADDs), optogenetics, and activity-dependent engram tagging in mice. These approaches are complemented with molecular and structural readouts such as cFos expression and dendritic spine density, and will link circuit-level activity to behavioural outcomes. 

Who are you?

You have:

• A Master’s degree in biology or biomedical sciences with relevant experience in the field of behavioral neurosciences, and strong interest in learning & memory research.
• Experience with animal (preferably rodent) research is essential.
• Preference will be given to candidates with experience in (surgical techniques, optogenetics, memory engram technologies, etc).
• A good command of English (oral and written).
• Excellent communication skills (indicated by the ability to write scientific papers and deliver presentations).

What can you expect from us?

• In accordance with the collective labor agreement for Dutch universities, we offer a salary of at least € 3.059 up to a maximum of € 3.881 (promovendus) gross per month for a full-time employment contract.
• 232 vacation hours per year, based on a 38-hour workweek (1.0 FTE). You can also work more or fewer hours in exchange for more or fewer free hours. For example, with a 40-hour workweek, you save 96 extra free hours, and with a 36-hour workweek, you lose 96 hours.
• End-of-year bonus of 8.3% and 8% holiday allowance.
• Extensive opportunities for personal and professional development.
• A temporary appointment of 1.0 FTE for a period of four years. You will initially receive a temporary contract for one year. After a positive performance and development review, the contract will be extended for the remaining three years.

Where will you be working?

At the University of Groningen (UG), researchers from all fields of academia and technology are working on academic challenges and societal questions. Lecturers prepare their students for meaningful careers within or outside the academic world. Interdisciplinary research and teaching, sharing of knowledge, collaboration with businesses, government institutions, and societal organizations are aspects that are of the utmost importance to this European top university. The UG aims to be an open academic community with an inclusive and safe working climate that invites you to add your value.

The Faculty of Science and Engineering (FSE) provides teaching and research across a wide range of disciplines, from physics and biology to artificial intelligence, mechanical engineering, and pharmacy. In close collaboration with partners from industry, healthcare, and society, we contribute to the urgent challenges of our time, such as energy, sustainability, digitization, and medical technology. Our community is open and informal, with more than 7,000 students, 1,000 PhD students, and 1,400 staff members from all over the world. If you would like to learn more about the Faculty of Science and Engineering, visit rug.nl/fse. 

Research will be mainly performed in the Neurobiology group at the Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences (GELIFES), University of Groningen, The Netherlands in the group of Prof. Robbert Havekes. The GELIFES institute which comprises several other strong, internationally recognized research groups in the field of behavioral neuroscience and evolutionary biology. This project is part of a larger multi-PI programme funded by ZONMW and unites expertise in clinical insomnia, sleep and memory, synaptic plasticity, and stress-memory interactions. For this reason, some aspects of this project will be conducted in close collaboration with project partners at the University of Amsterdam and Netherlands institute for Neuroscience.