As a PhD candidate, you will contribute to a better understanding of sport-related concussions and the possible consequences of heading. In this role, you will combine the coordination of patient care with neuroscientific research. This PhD position is a continuation of an existing collaboration between a national football association and an academic medical center. Within this research, you will also work intensively with an Alzheimer's center and a laboratory department of the academic medical center.
The position consists of a combination of activities within the outpatient clinic for sport-related concussions and research into heading in football.
What you do
Outpatient clinic for sport-related concussions (SGH-poli).
- From the SGH-poli of a medical center, you will guide amateur and elite athletes with persistent symptoms after a concussion, together with sports physicians, physiotherapists, and neuropsychologists.
- The structured collected care data form a growing database for care evaluation and scientific research.
- You will investigate the different manifestations of concussions and differences in recovery.
- The goal is to contribute to more personalized care that matches the athlete's profile.
Heading in football.
- A national football association facilitates research into the possible effects of heading on the brain.
- The HEADLINE study, published in 2026, investigated the relationship between exposure to heading and blood biomarkers for neural damage in 302 male amateur footballers.
- In this role, you will continue this study within women's football.
- You will re-examine blood biomarkers for neural damage and map exposure to heading using accelerometry.
- The results will contribute to the national football association's future policy on heading in football.
Tasks include.
- Coordinating the SGH-poli and performing and supervising neuroscientific measurements.
- Setting up, performing, and coordinating the continuation of the HEADLINE study.
- Supervising master's students during measurements and writing their master's thesis.
- Managing research data and performing data analyses using SPSS and R, among others.
- Writing a dissertation based on the research results.
Profile
- Affinity with sports and healthcare.
- Proactive and persistent work style.
- Good organizational skills.
- Strong social and communication skills.
Education and experience.
- A completed university degree (WO) in Psychology, Health Sciences, Biomedical Sciences, Neurosciences, Movement Sciences, or a comparable or related field.
- Experience with data science and/or programming, for example in R or Python.
- Experience with or interest in analyzing neuroscientific data.
- Full proficiency in the Dutch language.
Practical
- Your supervisory team is connected to both sub-projects.
- The position falls under the PhD Candidate Guideline.
- Salary indication: € 3,217 to € 4,077 gross per month for a full-time position, depending on experience.
- In addition, you will receive an 8.3% year-end bonus.
- Vacation hours: 194.4 hours per year for a full-time position and the possibility to save up hours.
- 100% public transport reimbursement. Reimbursement of €0.21 per km for commuting by car (maximum 40 km one way) or bicycle scheme.
- Pension accrual with a modern pension provider.
How to apply
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