Connectionists: Fully Funded PhD Position in Theoretical Neuroscience at Donders Institute in the group of Federico Stella

[Stella, F. (Federico)]

A fully-funded 4-year PhD position in the group of Federico Stella at Donders Institute in Nijmegen, NL is now available.


I have recently started my own group at Radboud University and in the context of my research in theoretical neuroscience I am currently looking for a PhD student starting as early as possible in 2024.

The project will focus on the computational investigation of the role of neural reactivations in memory. Since their discovery neural reactivations happening during sleep have emerged as an exceptional tool to investigate the process of memory formation in the brain. This phenomenon has been mostly associated with the hippocampus, an area known for its role in the processing of new memories and their initial storage. Continuous advancements in data acquisition techniques are giving us an unprecedented access to the activity of large-scale networks during sleep, in the hippocampus and in other cortical regions. At the same time, our theoretical understanding of the computations underlying neural reactivations and more in general memory representations, has only began to take shape.

Combining mathematical modeling of neural networks and analysis of existing dataset, we will address some key aspects of this phenomenon such as:


1) The role of different sleep phases in regulating the reactivation process and in modulating the evolution of a memory trace.

2) The relationship of hippocampal reactivations to the process of (semantic) learning and knowledge generalization.

3) The relevance of reactivation statistical properties for learning in cortico-hippocampal networks.


The successful candidate will carry out their studies at the Donders Institute of Radboud University in Nijmegen. The project will expose the student to a highly interdisciplinary context, rich in experimental and theoretical expertise. Moreover the project will take place in the context of a wider range of scientific collaborations already established in the lab.


The ideal candidate has a strong interest in neuroscience; a background in theoretical physics, math or similar quantitative disciplines (familiarity with statistical mechanics and/or dynamical systems is very welcomed); and some degree of computational and programming skills (ideally, knowledge of Matlab and/or Python) The ideal candidate must also be able to carry out their work in an independent, and highly collaborative manner.


The starting date is flexible but should be in the first part of 2024.

Interested candidates should submit their application to Federico Stella (federico.stella at donders.ru.nl), before 14th of January including a CV and a research interest statement. Interviews with short-listed candidates will be held online later in January 2024.
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