Connectionists: PhD Student Positions in Machine Learning at Radboud University Nijmegen

[Tom Heskes]

The Machine Learning group at Radboud University Nijmegen is looking for 
two PhD students. Both PhD students will be working on the development 
and application of machine learning algorithms for improved analysis of 
data related to neurological disorders.

First, a PhD position is available within the NWO project MacBrain. The 
goal of MacBrain is to mine data from the Netherlands Brain Bank (NBB) 
describing clinical and pathological information collected from 
thousands of donors who are either healthy or affected by 
neuro-degenerative diseases (including Alzheimer's). Your task will be 
to develop machine learning methods for discovering computational 
disease profiles characterized by few features, which may be used by 
domain experts to perform targeted studies aimed at improving the 
prognosis, diagnosis and treatment of neuro-degenerative diseases.

Second, a PhD position is available within the EU FP7 project TACTICS. 
The goal of TACTICS is to better understand the neural, genetic and 
molecular bases of compulsivity disorders such as autism spectrum 
disorder (ASD) and obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD). Your task will 
be to design machine learning methods that can integrate the different 
sources of data gathered by the various partners within the consortium.
Requirements

As a PhD student you should meet the following requirements:
- a Master's degree (or equivalent) in Computer Science, Mathematics or 
a related field, with a strong interest in machine learning;
- commitment and a cooperative attitude;
- excellent proficiency in written and spoken English.

You will be appointed for an initial period of 18 months, after which 
your performance will be evaluated. If the evaluation is positive, the 
contract will be extended by 2.5 years. The gross starting salary 
amounts to €2,042 per month based on full-time employment, and will 
increase to €2,612 per month in the fourth year.

About Radboud University Nijmegen

Radboud University Nijmegen is one of the leading academic communities 
in the Netherlands and is renowned for its leafy campus, modern 
buildings and state-of-the-art equipment. It has seven faculties and 
enrols over 17,500 students in approximately 90 study programmes. The 
university is situated in Nijmegen, the oldest city in the Netherlands, 
which has a rich history and one of the liveliest city centres in the 
Netherlands. The Intelligent Systems section of the Institute for 
Computing and Information Sciences (iCIS) at Radboud University Nijmegen 
conducts research on machine learning for applications in, for example, 
neuroscience and bioinformatics. iCIS in general and the Intelligent 
Systems section in particular received excellent scores in a recent 
national research assessment.

Additional information

Dr. Elena Marchiori (main contact for MacBrain)
+31 24 3652467
elenam at cs.ru.nl

Prof.dr. Tom Heskes (main contact for TACTICS)
+31 24 3652696
tomh at cs.ru.nl

http://www.ru.nl/vacatures/details/details_vacature_0?recid=507799