PostDoc Position; m​/f​/d

Fully Funded Post Doc Position (m/f/d)

Scientist Leipzig Neurosciences Cognitive Research Linguistics

Job Code:
Post Doc 04/26

Job Offer from July 03, 2026

Fully funded 4-year Post Doc Position in Cognitive and Computational Neuroscience (Area: Functions of the Perirhinal Cortex) - Doeller Lab

Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences (MPI-CBS), Leipzig, Germany 4-year position / International environment/ Cutting-edge research facilities

We invite applications for a fully funded 4-year postdoctoral position funded by the Max Planck Society to join the team of Christian Doeller at the Department of Psychology, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences (MPI-CBS), Leipzig, Germany.

You will work at the forefront of cognitive neuroscience in a highly interdisciplinary and international environment, with access to world-class facilities and a vibrant scientific community. You will investigate the cross-domain functions of the perirhinal cortex in a project in close collaboration with Prof. Patric Meyer (SRH University Heidelberg/Heidelberg University) and Dr. Andrej Bicanski (MPI-CBS, Leipzig).

Start date:

Flexible

Our research investigates how the brain builds, organizes, and uses structured representations to support cognition across domains. Under this umbrella, we explore:

• Spatial navigation, temporal, episodic, and working memory
• Learning, decision making, and knowledge acquisition
• Translational research on population coding and Alzheimer's disease

Key research methods: fMRI (including 7T), MEG, virtual reality (VR), a wide variety of cognitive tasks, psychophysics, machine learning, deep neural networks, and computational modelling.

Within the Department, we maintain strong synergies with the Neural Computation Group (PI: Andrej Bicanski), which develops mechanistic computational models of brain function and behavior. We also have long-term collaborations with the Kavli Institute for Systems Neuroscience in Trondheim, Norway.

The position is embedded in a research program investigating the cross-domain functions of the perirhinal cortex, in close collaboration with Prof. Patric Meyer (SRH University Heidelberg/Heidelberg University) whose work focuses on perirhinal contributions to familiarity, semantic integration, and rapid concept learning and Dr. Andrej Bicanski (MPI-CBS, Leipzig). The project combines computational modelling, high-resolution 7 Tesla fMRI, multivariate neuroimaging analyses, and experimental paradigms from cognitive neuroscience.

The overarching aim is to understand how the perirhinal cortex supports complex object, concept, and associative representations across different cognitive domains, including memory, perception, semantic cognition, concept learning, and familiarity-based recognition memory. A major goal is to develop and test computational models of perirhinal cortex function that can reconcile its diverse roles across memory, perception, and semantic cognition within a unified mechanistic framework.

Core questions include:

• How does the perirhinal cortex represent complex conjunctions of object features?
• How does it support familiarity-based recognition and semantic integration?
• Are perirhinal representations domain-specific, or do they support cross-domain computations across memory, perception, semantics, and decision-making?
• Can the diverse functions of PC, implied by experiments, be reconciled with a single computational account? How can high-resolution 7T fMRI and MVPA be used to characterize fine-grained representational formats in the anterior medial temporal lobe?

This is a fully funded, 4-year postdoctoral position (with the possibility of a 1-year extension) in the research group of Christian Doeller.

The position offers an exceptional opportunity to conduct cutting-edge research in an international, cross-disciplinary, and intellectually stimulating environment. As a member of the Doeller Lab, you will collaborate with outstanding scientists in an open, supportive, intellectually stimulating, and high-performance environment.

Research Infrastructure:

You will have access to state-of-the-art facilities, including:

• Four 3T MR scanners and one 7T MR scanner
• MEG, EEG, VR labs, psychophysics & eye-tracking facilities
• Access to neurological patients via the Day Clinic for Cognitive Neurology at Leipzig University Hospital as part of collaborative projects

Academic & Leadership Development – Doeller Lab:

• Personalized mentoring, including tailored support for scientific and career development
• Opportunity to work towards developing independent research directions and engage in interdisciplinary collaboration
• Opportunity to co-supervise undergraduate and PhD students and contribute to training the next generation of scientists
• Support for presenting research at leading international conferences, including opportunities for visibility and networking (independent travel budget)
• Targeted career development…