PhD Position in Neuroscience

 

Apply before: 1 February, 2021
Institute: Catholic University of Leuven Center for Contextual Psychiatry, Belgium
  • Up to 10% of adolescents and adults engage in non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI; e.g., cutting, hitting) every year and are at increased risk for suicide and various other adverse outcomes (e.g., stigma, depression, interpersonal stress). Suicide is the second leading cause of death for 15 – 29 year-olds worldwide.
  • Despite this, we still lack the ability to effectively predict NSSI and suicidal behaviours where they occur: in individuals’ everyday lives. Against this background, this innovative PhD project will harness the power of cutting-edge experience sampling methods and wearable technology to lay the foundation for novel interventions and collect data in two daily life studies: a clinical study with individuals who have engaged in NSSI and another with young adults from the general population who are at risk of developing suicidal thoughts and behaviours.
  • The project will involve developing individual risk prediction models that can accurately detect the risk of NSSI in daily life and investigating dynamic phenotypes of people who self-injure, as well as those at high-risk. The successful candidate will take a leading role in the two studies and will be responsible for conducting interviews with the participants and cooperating with clinicians.
  • A contract for one year will be offered, which is renewable for another three years after positive evaluation. Salaries for Ph.D. students are competitive by international standards. The starting date is flexible but no later than March 2021.
  • Succesful applicants must be fluent in Dutch.
External references: More informationÂ