PhD Candidate: Towards Personalized Brain Stimulation for Epilepsy Treatment

Welcome to Maastricht University!
Join us in optimizing transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) for personalized epilepsy treatments!

PhD Candidate: Towards Personalized Brain Stimulation for Epilepsy Treatment

• Our goal: To improve the lives of people with epilepsy by developing personalized brain stimulation treatments.
• Your colleagues: You will be part of a collaborative, multidisciplinary team working at the intersection of brain stimulation, neuroimaging, and epilepsy care and treatment. Therefore, this project will be carried out partly at Maastricht University and partly at Epilepsy Center Kempenhaeghe in Heeze. You will be working closely with Prof. Dr. Teresa Schuhmann, Dr. Debby Klooster and Dr. Ilse van Straaten. We value open-minded collaboration, scientific rigor, and strong mentorship to support you in your PhD journey.
   

Project Background
Epilepsy is one of the most common neurological disorders, affecting more than 50 million people worldwide. It is characterized by an increased excitability of neurons in the brain, which leads to various types of seizures. Approximately one-third of epilepsy patients are therapy-resistant, meaning they do not respond to anti-seizure medication.

Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) is a non-invasive brain stimulation technique that may offer a promising alternative treatment for these patients. However, the precise mechanisms through which TMS works and the optimal stimulation settings for epilepsy treatment remain unclear.

What you do
As a PhD candidate, you will explore how individual differences in brain responses to TMS can inform personalized epilepsy treatments. Specifically, your work will involve:

• Simultaneous TMS and functional MRI experiments using a unique setup in Maastricht to investigate brain response.
• Simultaneous TMS-EEG experiments with epilepsy patients at Kempenhaeghe to monitor brain activity before and after stimulation.
• Analyzing MRI and EEG data to identify patterns that could lead to personalized TMS protocols.
• Writing scientific papers and your PhD thesis, contributing to the advancement of personalized brain stimulation in clinical settings.
• Presenting research findings at national and international conferences.
   

What you bring
You are a motivated and curious researcher with a strong analytical mindset, excellent communication skills, and a passion for scientific discovery. You thrive in a multidisciplinary  environment and are eager to contribute to innovative research that will have real-world impact.

• You hold a completed Master’s degree in Technical Medicine, Biomedical Engineering, (Cognitive) Neurosciences, or a related field.
• You have strong interest in brain stimulation, EEG and fMRI techniques, and data analysis.
• You are fluent in English (both written and spoken). Dutch proficiency is desirable (or willingness to learn) as you will interact with patients.
• You have experience with programming and data analysis (e.g., Matlab, Python, R) is a plus.
• Previous experience with EEG and fMRI data analysis is an advantage.
   

Your Team
You will join the Brain Stimulation & Cognition Lab at the Faculty of Psychology and Neuroscience, Maastricht University. The lab is embedded within the Department of Cognitive Neuroscience, where we work on cutting-edge research combining non-invasive brain stimulation (TMS, tDCS, tACS), EEG, and fMRI techniques.

You will be working closely with Prof. Dr. Teresa Schuhmann, Dr. Debby Klooster and Dr. Ilse van Straaten. We value open-minded collaboration, scientific rigor, and strong mentorship to support you in your PhD journey.

Academisch Centrum voor Epilepsie Kempenhaeghe & MUMC+ (ACE)
As part of the project, you will also work at the Academisch Centrum voor Epilepsie Kempenhaeghe & MUMC+ (ACE), the leading epilepsy expertise centre in South Netherlands. ACE combines top-clinical diagnostics, multidisciplinary treatment, and scientific research. It also plays a central role in training and innovation, with extensive facilities for EEG, MRI, and pre-surgical evaluation, in close collaboration with Maastricht UMC+ and partners such as Eindhoven University of Technology.

What we offer
As a PhD Candidate at Faculty of Psychology and Neuroscience, you will be employed by the most international university in the Netherlands, located in the beautiful city of Maastricht. In addition, we offer you:

• Good employment conditions. The position is graded in scale P according to UFO profile PhD Candidate, with corresponding salary based on experience ranging from €3.059 to €3.881 gross per month (based on a full-time employment of 38 hours per week). In addition to the monthly salary, an 8.0% holiday allowance and an 8.3% year-end bonus apply.
• An employment contract for a period of 12 months with a scope of 1.0 FTE. Upon a positive evaluation, an extension of 3 years will follow. 
• At Maastricht University, the well-being of our employees is of utmost importance, we offer flexible working hours and the possibility to work partly from home if the nature of your position allows it. You will receive a monthly commuting and internet allowance for this. If you work full-time, you will be entitled to 29 vacation days and 4 additional public holidays per year, namely carnival Monday, carnival Tuesday, Good Friday, and Liberation Day. If you choose to accumulate compensation hours, an additional 12 days will be added. Furthermore, you can personalize your employment conditions through a collective labor agreement (CAO) choice model. 
• As Maastricht University, we offer various other excellent secondary employment conditions. These include a good pension scheme with the ABP and the opportunity for UM employees to participate in company fitness and make use of the extensive sports facilities that we also offer to our students. 
• Last but certainly not least, we provide the space and facilities for your personal and professional development. We facilitate this by offering a wide range of training programs and supporting various well-established initiatives such as 'acknowledge and appreciate'. 
   

The terms of employment at Maastricht University are largely set out in the collective labor agreement of Dutch Universities. In addition, local provisions specific to UM apply. For more information, click here.

Maastricht University
Why work at Maastricht University?
At Maastricht University (UM), everything revolves around the future. The future of our students, as we work to equip them with a solid, broad-based foundation for the rest of their lives. And the future of society, as we seek solutions through our research to issues from all around the world. Our six faculties combined provide a comprehensive package of study programmes and research.

In our teaching, we use the Problem-Based Learning (PBL) method. Students work in small groups, looking for solutions to problems themselves. By discussing issues and working together to draw conclusions, formulate answers and present them to their peers, students develop essential skills for their future careers.

With over 22,300 students and more than 5,000 employees from all over the world, UM is home to a vibrant and inspiring international community.

Are you drawn to an international setting focused on education, science and scholarship? Are you keen to contribute however your skills and qualities allow? Our door is open to you! As a young European university, we value your talent and look forward to creating the future together.

Click here for more information about UM. 

Faculty of Psychology and Neuroscience
The Faculty of Psychology and Neuroscience (FPN) is an international faculty with students and staff from various cultural backgrounds, who are connected by their shared curiosity about human behaviour and our brains.   

This curiosity inspires us to explore the wide field of psychology from different perspectives (such as a biological and cognitive viewpoint). By using small-scale and student-centred methods, such as problem-based learning and project-based learning, we encourage a similar kind of curiosity in our students, as we provide them with the tools to discover the world of the human brain. 

Curious?
Are you interested in this exciting position but still have questions? Feel free to contact Prof. Dr. Teresa Schuhmann (t.schuhmann@maastrichtuniversity.nl) for more information.

Applying?
Or are you already convinced and ready to become our new colleague? Apply now, no later than 2 November 2025, for this position.

Please upload your CV and motivation letter. Describe in your motivation letter your exact experience/ expertise with the listed methods and skills.

The vacancy is open for internal and external candidates. In case of equal qualifications, internal candidates will be prioritized.

Maastricht University is committed to promoting and nurturing a diverse and inclusive community. We believe that diversity in our staff and student population contributes to the quality of research and education at UM, and strive to enable this through inclusive policies and innovative projects led by teams of staff and students. We encourage you to apply for this position.