Postdoc 'Neuroimaging of the Substantia Nigra in Parkinson's disease'

• Application Deadline: Feb. 27 2026
• Nijmegen
• On-site

Job Description

Job description

We are looking for an ambitious and creative postdoc to join an international project titled Evaluation of neuromelanin-sensitive imaging quantitative susceptibility mapping and free-water imaging as biomarkers of nigral dopaminergic dysfunction. The goal of this project is to develop and validate new MRI-based biomarkers for (prodromal) Parkinsons disease and compare QSM with other MRI-based outcomes (i.e. neuromelanin-sensitive MRI that is analysed in Paris and free-water MRI that is analysed in Montreal).

This consortium brings together leading institutions across Europe Canada and Israel including Radboud University and Radboudumc (The Netherlands) Sorbonne University (France) McGill University and the University of Montreal (Canada) Macquarie University (Australia) Tel-Aviv Sourasky Medical Center (Israel) and the University of Lübeck (Germany).

You will be embedded at Radboud University/Radboudumc in Nijmegen working at the intersection of three research groups:

• Systems Neurology (Dr. Rick Helmich) internationally recognized for innovative neuroimaging and neuromodulation studies in Parkinsons disease.
• Prevention of Parkinsons Disease (Dr. Sirwan Darweesh) with unique expertise on prodromal stages of Parkinsons disease e.g. individuals with isolated REM-sleep Behavioural Disorder.
• MR Structural Quantitative Imaging (Dr. José Marques) a leading team in developing advanced quantitative MRI methods for clinical and population-based applications.

This unique environment offers access to cutting-edge technology large multi-site MRI datasets (multiple sites >1000 patients with early Parkinson 100 people with iRBD with data acquired longitudinally) deep interdisciplinary expertise (data with rich clinical phenotyping) and a collaborative international network with large opportunities for networking. Within this consortium the Nijmegen team will focus on the analysis of quantitative susceptibility mapping (QSM) MRI data to measure iron-sensitive (longitudinal) structural changes in the substantia nigra of people with prodromal (iRBD) and symptomatic Parkinsons disease. To this end data from all international partners will be used.

Tasks and responsibilities
In this role you will take a leading part in developing and deploying quantitative MRI biomarkers of nigral degeneration. Your responsibilities include:

• Develop and implement longitudinal QSM analysis methods that fully exploit multi-time-point data.
• Build fast visual quality-control tools using BIDScoin for efficient curation of multi-site datasets.
• Create alternative R2* and QSM-based biomarkers of nigral dysfunction using robust substantia nigra segmentation.
• Develop advanced normative modelling approaches to account for population and inter-site variability.
• Coordinate with other work-package leaders to align biomarker extraction across diffusion neuromelanin and QSM imaging and coordinate data transfer between sites.
• Maintain reproducible open and FAIR-compliant analysis workflows throughout the project.

Place of work

The Donders Centre for Cognitive Neuroimaging (DCCN) is a top scientific institute that forms an integral part of the broader Donders Institute for Brain Cognition and Behaviour at Radboud University. The mission of the DCCN is to conduct cutting-edge fundamental research in cognitive neuroscience. Much of the rapid progress in this field is being driven by the development of complex neuroimaging techniques for measuring activity in the human brain an area in which the DCCN plays a leading role.

In addition to its strong methodological focus the DCCN fosters close collaboration between researchers from diverse disciplines including neuroscience psychology physics and computer science. This interdisciplinary environment enables innovative approaches to understanding brain function and supports the development of new analytical tools and experimental paradigms.

The DCCN also aims to establish how the different brain areas coordinate their activity with very high temporal precision to enable human and animal cognition. The DCCN is equipped with 4 MRI scanners (1 7T 2 3T) a 275-channel MEG system an EEG-TMS laboratory several MR-compatible EEG systems equipment for transcranial direct/alternating/magnetic stimulation and high-performance computational facilities. An MRI-compatible system for neuromodulation using transcranial ultrasound stimulation is currently being installed and piloted in collaboration with teams at the Donders Centre for Cognition.

Our internationally renowned centre currently hosts more than 100 PhD candidates and postdoctoral researchers from more than 25 countries offering a stimulating and multidisciplinary research environment.

You will be working in the department of IQ Health. A department that is very active in teaching research and consultation/service delivery.

IQ Health originated from the former departments of Health Evidence and IQ healthcare. IQ Health is a state-of-the-art research and teaching centre where methods of research are themselves the subject of study and development. Through education and consultation (services) we help Radboudumc as well as external organisations in applying the right methods of research.

Preventing illness improving care! In this way we contribute to the mission of the Radboudumc; To have a significant impact on health and healthcare. The IQ Health department employs about 200 colleagues. The heart of the IQ Health department consists of six Research & Education (R&E) groups. These groups work together internally and externally (nationally and internationally) on topical themes and are connected to the two core tasks of education and addition the groups provide external consultation. See also our Flyer Supervision of doctoral students and 10 Prerequisite for the supervision of a PhD program within IQ Health to find out how our PhD program is outlined. The aim is to deploy PhD candidates in education for 10%.