Professor (W3) for Predictive Brain

The Ruhr area, one of Europe’s largest metropolitan regions, offers attractive career opportunities for excellent scientists and scholars from around the world. In 2021, Ruhr-Universität Bochum, TU Dortmund University and the University of Duisburg-Essen established the Research Alliance Ruhr to bundle their cutting-edge international research on the most urgent challenges facing humankind. There will be four research centers and a college. This is just the latest chapter in our long-standing collaboration as the University Alliance Ruhr (UA Ruhr), a community of 14,000 researchers and 120,000 students in the heart of Germany.

As part of the Research Alliance Ruhr, the Research Center “One Health – from Molecules to Systems” is offering the following position to be filled as early as possible at the Faculty of Psychology of the Ruhr-Universität Bochum.

Professorship for research on Predictive Brain (W3) (m/f/d)

The Ruhr-Universität Bochum is one of Germany’s leading research universities, addressing the whole range of academic disciplines. A highly dynamic setting enables researchers and students to work across the traditional boundaries of academic subjects and faculties. To create knowledge networks within and beyond the university is Ruhr-Universität Bochum’s declared aim.

The Faculty of Psychology at Ruhr-Universität Bochum is among the three most successful research institutes of psychology in Germany. Our flagships include the THINK research building, the collaborative research center “Extinction Learning” and the German Center for Mental Health. For more information on current projects and research priorities, please visit the faculty website: www.psy.ruhr-uni-bochum.de

Brains predict the future in order to survive future challenges. The research goal of this professorship is to understand how predictions for upcoming decisions and cognitive challenges are generated, how they interact with the constant perceptual inflow to then alter (sub)cortical dynamics and perceptual / cognitive priors.

The successful applicant should have a strong background in neuroimaging, neurophysiology and/or computational approaches in human subjects to pursue these questions. The applicant will be embedded into a research landscape that spans the Ruhr-Universität Bochum and the neighboring University of Duisburg-Essen with a strong track record of acquiring major extramural support for collaborative research funds in the area of cognitive and clinical neuroscience (e. g. SFB 874 (RUB), SFB 1280 (RUB), TRR 289 (UDE), RU 2182 (RUB), RU 2974 (UDE), research building THINK (RUB)). An additional affiliation with the Erwin L. Hahn Institute of 7T Magnetic Resonance Imaging in Essen is part of the package. We would welcome a research focus that contributes to these scientific fields.

YOUR QUALIFICATION

Among the prerequisites for the post are a doctoral degree, positive evaluation as a junior professor, habilitation or equivalent scientific achievements, a special aptitude for interdisciplinary scientific work, as evidenced by a strong track record in excellent publications, peer-reviewed extramural funding as principal applicant, and an interdisciplinary as well as collaborative spirit. The professorship is also part of an initiative for an interdisciplinary integration of research in Cognitive Neuroscience at Ruhr-Universität Bochum and University of Duisburg-Essen. The position is associated with 4h teaching per term. Beyond this, the hiring requirements of Sections 36 and 37 of the North Rhine-Westphalia Higher Education Act (Gesetz über die Hochschulen des Landes Nordrhein-Westfalen, HG) apply.

ATTRACTIVE ENVIRONMENT

The professorship will be part of the newly established Research Center One Health – from Molecules to Systems. The Center will enable the investigations of the fundamental mechanisms of health and disease, starting from the molecular level right through to higher-level systems. The ecosystem serves as a context for also considering the complex interrelationships between environmental health, animal health and human health, in keeping with the “One Health” concept. After all, humans can only stay healthy in an intact environment. The Research Center is linked to all three members of the University Alliance Ruhr. We offer you an excellent scientific environment and attractive cooperation opportunities with renowned international, national and regional partners.

YOUR APPLICATION

Applications should be sent as a single pdf and should include your CV, list of publications and grants, your research concept incl. planned collaborations and a teaching statement by 02.10.2022 to thinkatruhr@rub.de.

OUR WELCOME SERVICES

Our Welcome Services are happy to assist especially international applicants and their families with relocating to the Ruhr area, an up- and-coming metropolitan region. We can advise you on housing in urban or more rural areas and help you find childcare if needed. Our Dual Career Service can help your partner with their own professional development in the region if requested.

DIVERSITY APPRECIATED

The UA Ruhr promotes diversity and equal opportunities. For this reason, we favor a working environment composed of heterogeneous teams, and seek to promote the careers of individuals who are underrepresented in our respective professional areas. We strive to significantly increase the proportion of women in research and teaching and therefore welcome applications from female scientists. We give preference to severely disabled applicants if their qualifications meet the requirements.

RESEARCH ALLIANCE RUHR

The Research Alliance Ruhr is a joint undertaking of the three major universities in the Ruhr area and was initiated by the Ruhr Conference. The four research centers will focus on „One Health,“ „Chemical Sciences and Sustainability,“ „Trustworthy Data Science and Security,“ and „Future Energy Materials and Systems.” In addition, the Research Alliance Ruhr is establishing a „College for Social Sciences and Humanities“. The Research Alliance Ruhr will appoint up to 50 research professors in the next few years and also offer numerous positions for research assistants. Join us now to create innovations for the world of tomorrow in Europe‘s densest university landscape, where you can find a wide range of scientific and industrial partners right on the doorstep.