Apply here for a doctoral position
See the below list of our 17 available Doctoral Candidate positions. Application deadline is April 7, 2025. Please read the Guide for applicants before applying.
Titel: Identifying imaging signature and neurotransmitter dynamics of neuromodulatory interventions.
Objective: Compare effects of brain stimulation 1) on fMRI neurologic signature and 2) on calcium or neurotransmitter dynamics in naive and neuropathic animals.
Scientific field: Preclinical
Recruiting institution: Institute of Cellular and Integrative Neuroscience, the National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS)
Location: France
Secondment: The Technical University of Munich , Germany (TUM) and National Centre for the Replacement, Refinement and Reduction of Animals in Research, United Kingdom (NC3Rs)
Main supervisor: Dr. Ipek Yalcin (CNRS)
Co-supervisor: Prof. Markus Ploner (TUM)
Mentor: Dr. Katie Bates (NC3Rs)
Apply here: Pending
Titel: Closed-loop stimulation using a multiregional brain-machine interface for pain treatment.
Objective: 1) Develop a close-loop approach specific for anterior cingulate cortex neuromodulation in rodents. 2) Compare the closed-loop approach to conventional stimulation approaches to induce analgesic effect and/or alleviate chronic pain induced depression in neuropathic pain condition.
Scientific field: Preclinical
Recruiting institution: Institute of Cellular and Integrative Neuroscience, the National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS)
Location: France
Secondment: Center for Neuroplasticity and Pain, Aalborg University, Denmark (AAU) and NexStim, Finland (NexStim)
Main supervisor: Dr. Ipek Yalcin (CNRS)
Co-supervisor: Associate Professor Dr. Daniel Ciampi de Andrade (AAU)
Mentor: Vice President Dr. Jarome Laine (NexStim)
Apply here: Pending
Titel: Exploiting insular cortical circuitry for pain relief using neurostimulation and elucidating underlying mechanisms.
Objective: 1) Develop non-invasive neuromodulation techniques targeting specific circuits in mouse models of chronic pain. 2) Uncover mechanistic underpinnings. 3) Test parameters for safe and effective transfer to the clinical context.
Scientific field: Preclinical
Recruiting institution: Department of Molecular Pharmacology, Heidelberg University Hospital (UKHD)
Location: Germany
Secondment: Institute of Neuroscience, UCLouvain - University of Louvain, Belgium (UCL) and European Pain Federation, Belgium (EFIC)
Main supervisor: Prof. Rohini Kuner (UKHD)
Co-supervisor: Prof. André Mouraux (UCL)
Mentor: CEO Sam Kynman (EFIC)
Titel: Reverse translating rTMS in mice with neuropathic pain to unravel mechanisms leading to pain relief.
Objective: 1) Study impact of rTMS over cortical domains in neuropathic mice on pain and activity of specific subcortical centres. 2) Reverse translate these findings to optimize rTMS protocols and regimens for maximum pain relief.
Scientific field: Preclinical
Recruiting institution: Department of Molecular Pharmacology, Heidelberg University Hospital (UKHD)
Location: Germany
Secondment: Imperial College London, United Kingdom (IMPERIAL) and sync2brain, Germany (sync2brain)
Main supervisor: Prof. Rohini Kuner (UKHD)
Co-supervisor: Ass. Prof. Dr Kirsty Bannister (IMPERIAL)
Mentor: CTO & Co-Founder Dr. Christoph Zrenner (sync2brain)
Titel: Bridging the gap between preclinical studies and non-invasive neuromodulation in humans using intracerebral EEG and intracerebral periodic stimulation.
Objective: 1) Understand the potential anti-nociceptive effects of neuromodulatory-induced entrainment of ongoing brainoscillations using intracerebral periodic stimulation (iPS) and intracerebral EEG (iEEG) in humans, which will allow designing strategies to deliver personalised neuromodulation based on each patient’s brain signals to optimise pain relief. 2) Exploit preclinical findings to guide neuromodulation in humans. 3) Assess the connectivity between brain regions involved in nociception and pain perception.
Scientific field: Human Experimental
Recruiting institution: Institute of Neuroscience, UCLouvain - University of Louvain (UCL)
Location: Belgium
Secondment: Institute of Cellular and Integrative Neuroscience, the National Centre for Scientific Research, France (CNRS) and Signifix, the Netherlands (Signifix)
Main supervisor: Dr. Giulia Liberati (UCL)
Co-supervisor: Dr. Ipek Yalcin (CNRS)
Mentor: Principal Regulatory Affairs Consultant & Director Operations Jeroen Piper (Signifix)
Titel: Assessing effect of alternating current stimulation of the brain and spinal cord on the function of dorsal horn nociceptive circuits and its susceptibility to sensitise.
Objective: Evaluate the effects of combined non-invasive periodic brain stimulation and periodic transcutaneous electrical stimulation of the spinal cord on 1) nociceptive processing and pain perception and 2) the susceptibility to develop central sensitisation when exposed to sustained nociceptive input.
Scientific field: Human Experimental
Recruiting institution: Institute of Neuroscience, UCLouvain - University of Louvain (UCL)
Location: Belgium
Secondment: Ambroise Pare Hospital, National Institute of Health and Medical Research, France (INSERM) and neuroConn, Germany (neuroConn)
Main supervisor: Prof. André Mouraux (UCL)
Co-supervisor: Dr. Didier Bouhassira (INSERM)
Mentor: R&D Specialist Dr. Alexander Hunold (neuroConn)
Titel: Personalise by synchronisation: Analgesic effects of neuromodulation-driven entrainment of pain-related cortical oscillatory activity.
Objective: 1) Describe the changes in brain oscillatory activity triggered by human experimental pain models, 2) Characterise the anti-nociceptive effects of neuromodulation-driven entrainment of oscillatory activity in humans. 3) Describe how neuromodulation guided by EEG oscillatory pattern affects experimental pain models compared to classic neuromodulatory approaches.
Scientific field: Human Experimental
Recruiting institution: Center for Neuroplasticity and Pain, Aalborg University (AAU)
Location: Denmark
Secondment: Department of Molecular Pharmacology, Heidelberg University Hospital, Germany (UKHD) and g.tec Medical Engineering, Austria (g.tec)
Main supervisor: Prof. Thomas Graven-Nielsen (AAU)
Co-supervisor: Prof. Rohini Kuner (UKHD)
Mentor: Dr and CEO Christoph C. Guger (g.tec)
Titel: Close-loop, EEG-triggered, non-invasive spinal cord neuromodulation and its efficacy to modulate pain mechanisms and experimental pain models.
Objective: 1) Characterise the brain oscillatory changes caused by non-invasive magnetic stimulation of the spinal cord. 2) Determine if the analgesic effect of magnetic trans-spinal stimulation on experimental pain models are related to brain oscillatory activities. 3) Test a close-loop EEG-triggered approach controlling spinal cord magnetic stimulation to increase its anti-nociceptive effects in experimental acute and long-term (days) human pain models.
Scientific field: Human Experimental
Recruiting institution: Center for Neuroplasticity and Pain, Aalborg University (AAU)
Location: Denmark
Secondment: School of Physiology, Pharmacology and Neuroscience, University of Bristol, United Kingdom (UoB) and at the company sync2brain, Germany (sync2brain)
Main supervisor: Associate Professor Dr. Daniel Ciampi de Andrade (AAU)
Co-supervisor: Prof. Anthony Pickering (UoB)
Mentor: CTO & Co-Founder Dr. Christoph Zrenner (sync2brain)
Titel: Using somatosensory entrainment to modulate neuronal oscillations and the experience of pain.
Objective: 1) Characterise the anti-nociceptive effects of somatosensory entrainment in healthy individuals and help design strategies to be tested in chronic pain patients. 2) Characterise somatosensory entrainment effects on oscillatory brain activity and brain connectivity.
Scientific field: Human Experimental
Recruiting institution: PainLabMunich, The Technical University of Munich (TUM)
Location: Germany
Secondment: School of Physiology, Pharmacology and Neuroscience, University of Bristol, United Kingdom (UoB) and MagVenture A/S, Denmark (MagVenture)
Main supervisor: Prof. Markus Ploner (TUM)
Co-supervisor: Prof. Anthony Pickering (UoB)
Mentor: Medical Application Scientist Dr. Claus Mathiesen (MagVenture)
Titel: Using tRNS to modulate cortical excitability and the experience of pain.
Objective: 1) Characterise the anti-nociceptive effects of tRNS in healthy individuals and help design strategies to be tested in chronic pain patients. 2) Characterise tRNS effects on cortical excitability assessed by oscillatory brain activity, aperiodic 1/f signal and TMS.
Scientific field: Human Experimental
Recruiting institution: PainLabMunich, The Technical University of Munich (TUM)
Location: Germany
Secondment: Ambroise Pare Hospital, National Institute of Health and Medical Research, France (INSERM) and Starlab Barcelona SL, Spain (StarLab)
Main supervisor: Prof. Markus Ploner (TUM)
Co-supervisor: Prof. Nadine Attal (INSERM)
Mentor: Dr. Aureli Soria-Frisch (StarLab)
Titel: Assessing clinical and electrophysiological predictive factors of long-term analgesic effects of rTMS in patients with chronic neuropathic pain.
Objective: 1) Improve identification of neuropathic pain patients who are likely to respond to primary motor cortex rTMS based on recordings of baseline individual cortical oscillatory patterns.
Scientific field: Clinical
Recruiting institution: Ambroise Pare Hospital, National Institute of Health and Medical Research (INSERM)
Location: France
Secondment: Institute of Cellular and Integrative Neuroscience, the National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS) and Pain Alliance Europe, Belgium (PAE)
Main supervisor: Dr. Didier Bouhassira (INSERM)
Co-supervisor: Dr. Ipek Yalcin (CNRS)
Mentor: President Deirdre Ryan (PAE)
Apply here: Pending
Titel: Prediction of response to analgesic rTMS by pre-treatment clinical and cortical oscillatory patterns in people with fibromyalgia pain.
Objective: 1) To refine the phenotyping of patients who are prone to respond to primary motor cortex rTMS based on preintervention individual cortical oscillatory patterns.
Scientific field: Clinical
Recruiting institution: Ambroise Pare Hospital, National Institute of Health and Medical Research (INSERM)
Location: France
Secondment: Department of Molecular Pharmacology, Heidelberg University Hospital (UKHD) and Pain Alliance Europe, Belgium (PAE)
Main supervisor: Prof. Nadine Attal (INSERM)
Co-supervisor: Prof. Rohini Kuner (UKHD) and
Mentor: President Deirdre Ryan (PAE)
Apply here: Pending
Titel: Close-loop, non-invasive motor cortex neuromodulation and its analgesic efficacy in people with chronic pain
Objective: 1) Develop a close-loop approach to specific for motor cortex neuromodulation to increase analgesic efficacy. 2) Compare the closed loop approach to traditional rTMS treatment in a clinical trial in patients with chronic pain.
Scientific field: Clinical
Recruiting institution: Center for Neuroplasticity and Pain, Aalborg University (AAU)
Location: Denmark
Secondment: Institute of Neuroscience, UCLouvain - University of Louvain (UCL) and SporeData, Estonia (SporeData)
Main supervisor: Associate Professor Dr. Daniel Ciampi de Andrade (AAU)
Co-supervisor: Dr. Giulia Liberati (UCL)
Mentor: CEO DR. Ricardo Pietrobon (SporeData)
Titel: Temporal interference stimulation to modulate ongoing oscillatory activity in deep brain structures in humans.
Objective: 1) Characterize the effects of temporal interference stimulation (TIS) on oscillatory activity in deep brain structures in humans based on preclinical findings 2) Investigate how TIS can be used to modulate nociceptive and pain.
Scientific field: Human Experimental
Recruiting institution: Institute of Neuroscience, UCLouvain - University of Louvain (UCL)
Location: Belgium
Secondment: Center for Neuroplasticity and Pain, Aalborg University, Denmark (AAU) and neuroConn, Germany (neuroConn)
Main supervisor: Dr. Giulia Liberati (UCL)
Co-supervisor: Associate Professor Dr. Daniel Ciampi de Andrade (AAU)
Mentor: R&D Specialist Dr. Alexander Hunold (neuroConn)
Titel: Neuromodulation-driven entrainment of pain and mood-related cortical oscillatory activity.
Objective: 1) Describe the changes in brain oscillatory activity triggered by mood manipulation with and without experimental pain. 2) Characterise the anti-nociceptive effects of neuromodulation-driven entrainment of oscillatory activity with moodmanipulation in humans. 3) Describe how neuromodulation guided by EEG oscillatory pattern affects experimental pain and mood models.
Scientific field: Human Experimental
Recruiting institution: Center for Neuroplasticity and Pain, Aalborg University (AAU)
Location: Denmark
Secondment: Institute of Cellular and Integrative Neuroscience, the National Centre for Scientific Research, France (CNRS) and Starlab Barcelona SL, Spain (StarLab)
Main supervisor: Prof. Thomas Graven Nielsen (AAU)
Co-supervisor: Dr. Ipek Yalcin (CNRS)
Mentor: Dr. Aureli Soria-Frisch (StarLab)
Titel: Changing the way we think about pain: Strategies for selective cortical engagement of noradrenergic descending pain control.
Objective: 1) Develop a brain-wide map of monosynaptic inputs to the spinal and prefrontal modules of the noradrenergic locus coeruleus. 2) Manipulate cortical projection to assess the impact of modulation on acute and chronic pain models. 3) Develop a closed loop cortical stimulation strategy to engage descending noradrenergic pain modulation and/or inhibit ascending neuromodulator system.
Scientific field: Preclinical
Recruiting institution: School of Physiology, Pharmacology and Neuroscience University of Bristol (UoB)
Location: United Kingdom
Secondment: Center for Neuroplasticity and Pain, Aalborg University, Denmark (AAU) and European Pain Federation, Belgium (EFIC)
Main supervisor: Prof. Anthony Pickering (UoB)
Co-supervisor: Prof. Thomas Graven Nielsen (AAU)
Mentor: CEO Sam Kynman (EFIC)
Apply here: Pending
Titel: Identifying neuromodulator mechanisms for analgesic effects of transcutaneous spinal stimulation.
Objective: 1) Characterise effects of transcutaneous spinal Direct Current Stimulation (tsDCS) on spinal nociceptive neurons, supraspinal modulatory regions and their descending fibres. 2) Determine mechanisms for lasting effects of tsDCS on spinal network mechanisms of inhibition and integration. 3) Define contributions to clinically relevant measures of facilitated central mechanisms in persistent pain models.
Scientific field: Preclinical
Recruiting institution: School of Physiology, Pharmacology and Neuroscience University of Bristol (UoB)
Location: United Kingdom
Secondment: Institute of Neuroscience, UCLouvain - University of Louvain, Belgium (UCL) and and neuroConn, Germany (neuroConn)
Main supervisor: Prof. Anthony Pickering (UoB)
Co-supervisor: Dr. Giulia Liberati (UCL)
Mentor: CEO Klaus Schellhorn (neuroConn)
Apply here: Pending