PhD and postdoctoral positions in cognitive neuroscience (Brussels, Belgium) : Neural categorization of rhythm – Starting date Preferably between September 2026 and January 2027

Nous remercions Christian Graff de nous avoir communiqué cette annonce.

I am happy to announce one PhD and one postdoctoral position available at the Rhythm & Brains Lab (PI : P^r. Sylvie Nozaradan), based at the Institute of Neuroscience of UCLouvain, Brussels, Belgium.

The successful candidates will be working on work packages of the ERC Consolidator Grant HUMAN RHYTHM : « From biology to culture : Clarifying how humans categorize rhythm across the lifespan, senses, social learning and brain networks » led by Sylvie Nozaradan, in collaboration with Tomas Lenc (BCBL, Spain), Rainer Polak (RITMO, U. Oslo, Norway) and a network of international researchers.

Mapping the diversity of external rhythms onto perceptual categories is a fundamental brain function, as it makes perception shareable across individuals, enabling collective music practices and cultural transmission. However, the brain bases of rhythm categorization remain unknown. This project seeks to advance understanding of these processes by leveraging a novel approach combining electroencephalography (EEG) with frequency domain and a Representational Similarity Analysis (RSA) framework, to capture neural categories of rhythm in humans. This approach will allow to compare neural categorization of rhythm across different sensory modalities, cultures, developmental stages, and brain areas, to understand the interplay of innate neural constraints and culture-driven plasticity.

The candidate should have a Master’s (for the PhD position) or a PhD (for the postdoc position) degree in neuroscience, cognitive science, biology, engineering, psychology or equivalent. Ideally, they should also have a solid background in cognitive neuroscience, experience in designing experiments, collecting and analyzing human data using Matlab or equivalent software, and a good level of English. Knowledge of electrophysiology, neuropsychology, programming skills (e.g., R, Matlab or Python), and music/dance practice are a plus. High motivation, curiosity, creativity, perseverance, and the ability to work in a team are key personal skills.

Starting date : Preferably between September 2026 and January 2027.

Application : Please submit (i) a letter of interest, (ii) a detailed CV including a summary of research interests and experience, and (iii) names of two references, as a single pdf to P^r. Sylvie Nozaradan (sylvie.nozaradan@uclouvain.be). Applications should be sent preferably before 20 May 2026 (candidates may be selected earlier, don’t wait to apply if you are interested).