PhD Candidate Targeting the interplay between somatic and mental symptoms in patients with migraine

Vacancy number 15206

Job type Hours (in fte) 1,0

External/ internal External

Location Leiden

Placed on 15 October 2024

Closing date 11 November 2024

PhD Candidate
Targeting the interplay between somatic and mental symptoms in patients with migraine

Join our innovative research project exploring how psychological factors like pain-expectancies and behavioural avoidance impact migraine using real-time Ecological Momentary Assessments (EMA).

What you will do
The Health, Medical and Neuropsychology department is looking for a PhD candidate for a research project in which the network approach has a central role in investigating how psychological factors play a role in symptoms of patients with high frequency migraine and how these factors can be targeted in personalized CBT. To this end, you will

• contribute to designing the studies to examine the influence of psychological factors on migraine and mental symptoms, help recruit patients, help with data acquisition, help setting up the intervention with the therapist(s) and carry out data handling and network analyses
• write articles which will culminate in a PhD dissertation.
• spend 10% of the time on teaching, such as supervising BSc and MSc thesis projects.
• Follow several courses on scientific writing, research integrity and topics related to your PhD thesis.

Where you will work

Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences
The Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences consists of five institutes: Centre for Science and Technology Studies, Cultural Anthropology and Development Sociology, Political Science, and Psychology. The faculty has approximately 7000 students and 1000 staff members. Within the institutes, not only education is provided but also groundbreaking research is conducted that pushes the boundaries of our understanding of human behaviour and societal structures. What makes our faculty unique is the diversity of research topics, the various styles of teaching, and the way professional support is organized; this provides you with the opportunity to explore and develop your interests and expertise. Visit our website for an impression: Welcome to the Leiden Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences - Leiden University.

Institute of Psychology
The Institute of Psychology educates new generations to contribute to the challenges of our society, now and in the future, based on leading behavioral scientific research and education. This is achieved through collaboration both within and outside our institute in the field of Psychology and related research areas, both fundamental and applied. The broad bachelor's program and a wide variety of master's specializations also contribute to this goal. Within the institute and the academic community, there is a committed and passionate atmosphere. The themes of Health and Well-being, Social-Cognitive-Affective Decision Making, Development and Learning, and Advanced Behavioral Research Methods guide research and education. The institute values conducting these activities in a safe and inclusive environment and provides space for new developments such as open science, recognition and appreciation, and interdisciplinarity, which are anchored in its strategy. With approximately 5,000 students and 600 staff members, the institute includes the Institute Office, the Department of Bachelor Education, and 6 units for education and research: Health, Medical and Neuropsychology, Clinical Psychology, Cognitive Psychology, Developmental and Educational Psychology, Social, Economic and Organisational Psychology, and Methodology and Statistics.

Team
Within the department, this project will fall within the hub themes ‘Diagnostics and interventions for somatic health conditions’ and “Expectancies and learning in health and disease”. You will work on this project under supervision of Prof. dr. Andrea Evers and Dr. Antoinette van Laarhoven (Leiden University) as well as Prof. dr. Gisela Terwindt (LUMC). In addition, you will be part of the enthusiastic, nationwide NSMD team and participate in the Dutch-Flemish post-graduate research school Experimental Psychopathology (https://epp-research.eu/).

What you bring

• Master's degree (preferably Research Master) in Health and Medical Psychology or Clinical Psychology, or closely related study program;
• Good social and communication skills and enthusiasm about closely collaborating with partners from different fields (e.g., health care professionals);
• Affinity with the network theory and related measures (e.g., ecological momentary assessments, EMA, single case experimental designs, SCEDs) and interest in understanding (chronic medical) conditions;
• Good analytical, methodological, and statistical skills (preferably in R)
• Experience with and/or interest in working with psychophysiological measures, e.g., heart rate variability assessments.
• Fluent in spoken and written English;
• Dutch speaking (minimal B2 level)

If you immediately recognise yourself in this profile, or if do you not quite meet all the requirements, but you believe that this is the right job for you, we look forward to your application!

What we offer
Our goal is to work together to create a transparent and inclusive work environment in which everyone feels welcome and appreciated. Our organisation is always evolving and we need your ideas for improvement and innovation to take us further. We want to devote attention to your personal development.

You can expect an enjoyable job within the socially relevant world of education and research. The University's challenging and international work environment is located just steps away from Leiden’s lively city centre or the bustling city centre of The Hague. We also want to work with you to devote attention to your health and vitality, for example with the fun activities we organise through Healthy University.

We also offer:
An employment contract for (38 hours per week) as a PhD candidate, initially for a period of 1 year, with the possibility of extension for 3 years after a positive evaluation. This contract falls under the CLA of Dutch Universities;

• A salary of a minimum of €2.872,- and a maximum of €3.670,- gross per month, based on a full-time appointment (38 hours) (scale P);
• A holiday allowance (8%), an end-of-year bonus (8,3%), and an attractive pension scheme at ABP;
• Flexible working hours: as a standard, you are entitled to a minimum of 29 leave days on the basis of a full-time working week of 38 hours; you can also save for extra leave, for example by working 40 hours a week, and in this way accrue an extra 96 leave hours, or exchange 96 leave hours for a 36-hour week.
• Lots of options when it comes to secondary employment conditions; we can, for example, discuss options for a sabbatical or paid parental leave. Within our terms of employment individual choices model, you can exchange leave days and/or salary for benefits such as an advantageous sports subscription or bicycle scheme, and we also offer child-care options;
• If your work allows it, hybrid working is possible within the Netherlands;
• A home-working allowance (day and internet allowance) and attention for good workplaces. The University will also provide you with a laptop and a mobile telephone (if applicable for the position).

For more information about employment conditions, see https://www.universiteitleiden.nl/werken-bij/sollicitatieprocedure-en-arbeidsvoorwaarden

What we find important
Promoting an inclusive community is central to Leiden University’s values and vision. Leiden University aims to be an inclusive community in which all students and staff members feel valued and respected, and are able to develop to their full potential. Diversity in experiences and perspectives enriches our teaching and strengthens our research. High-quality education and research means inclusive education and research.

Want to apply or find out more?
If you want to apply straight away, click the application button.
Enquiries can be made to Prof. Andrea Evers (A.Evers@fsw.leidenuniv.nl) and Dr. Antoinette van Laarhoven (a.vanlaarhoven@fsw.leidenuniv.nl). You can apply until November 11; applications will be processed immediately.

• To help us get to know each other better, we follow a number of steps in the application procedure. For more information, see https://www.universiteitleiden.nl/werken-bij/sollicitatieprocedure-en-arbeidsvoorwaarden
• We believe mobility is very important. That is why we are also publishing this vacancy internally. In case of equal suitability, we will give priority to the internal candidate.
• A pre-employment screening (references, diplomas, certificate of good conduct (VOG)) may be part of the selection procedure.

Acquisition in response to this vacancy is not appreciated. If you nevertheless choose to send us CVs, no rights can be derived from this. #LI-Hybrid