Postdoctoral Researcher in Neuromonitoring - Intensive Care Unit

The Mental Health and Neuroscience Research Institute (MHeNs) at the Faculty of Health, Medicine and Life Sciences (FHML), Maastricht University, is seeking a highly motivated postdoctoral researcher for a two-year position to contribute to our neuromonitoring project in the Intensive Care Unit of Maastricht University Medical Center+ (MUMC+). This research aims to advance real-time brain monitoring and cerebral perfusion management in critically ill patients, improving neurological outcomes in intensive care settings. The position is funded by the Dutch Brain Battle charity foundation (www.hersenstrijd.org). We invite applications from candidates with a background in neuroscience, biomedical engineering, or related fields who are passionate about translational research in critical care neurology.

Job Description
Brain injury is a common and significant challenge in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU). Some patients are admitted with severe primary brain injuries, such as traumatic brain injury (TBI), while others develop secondary brain injury due to systemic complications, including hypotension, hypoxia, and inflammation. At Maastricht University Medical Center+ (MUMC+), we have extensively studied brain physiology and dysfunction in critically ill patients and developed strategies to support cerebral  physiology. For example, we recently completed a feasibility and safety study on individualized cerebral perfusion targets in severe TBI patients, demonstrating the potential for personalized neuromonitoring approaches. Building on these findings, we are expanding our research to offer advanced neuromonitoring to all critically ill patients, exploring non-invasive monitoring techniques and closedloop vasopressor systems.

The overarching aim of this project is to further investigate and refine (non-invasive) brain monitoring applications, assess serum biomarkers of neuronal injury, and develop individualized therapeutic strategies to minimize brain injury and improve patient outcomes.

Research Environment
The research team is a multidisciplinary collaboration of:

• Neuro-intensivists;
• Neurosurgeons;
• Neurologists;
• PhD students;
• Internship students (Biomedical Sciences, Technical Medicine, General Medicine);
• The ICU student monitoring team.

Your Role
As a postdoctoral researcher, you will play a key role in this project. You will be expected to:

• Work as part of a collaborative and interdisciplinary team.
• Supervise and mentor students and junior researchers.
• Contribute to technical and clinical research focused on brain function, human physiology, and neuromonitoring signals.

We are seeking a highly motivated researcher with a strong interest in brain physiology, neurocritical care, and translational research. The post-holder will have the opportunity to develop their own research program while also contributing to the broader strategic objectives of our neuromonitoring projects. This includes activities such as preparing joint funding applications and actively participating in the supervision of PhD candidates.

Key Responsibilities

• Conduct internationally leading research using our extensive high-frequency neuromonitoring database, which includes traumatic brain injury (TBI), subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH), and out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) patients, linked to clinical outcome data.
• Contribute to the expansion and development of jointly curated data repositories and analytical pipelines in collaboration with international partners (e.g., UK, USA, Poland, Canada) specializing in cerebral autoregulation estimation.
• Design and implement a (non-invasive) neuromonitoring setup tailored to disease- or patientspecific needs, incorporating validation methods and integration with therapeutic interventions.
• Provide leadership and mentorship to our ICU student monitoring team, including the active involvement of nursing staff in research initiatives.
• Prepare applications for personal grants and fellowships, such as the Marie Curie and NWO Talent programs.

Requirements
The ideal candidate is an excellent communicator and team player who meets the following criteria:

• A PhD in biomedical sciences, technical medicine, biomedical or electrical engineering, data science, or a related field.
• Proficiency in the Dutch languag.
• Able to work with critically ill patients in the dynamic environment of an intensive care unit.
• Strong expertise in high-frequency physiological signal analysis and statistical evaluation.
• Proficiency in computational techniques or programming (e.g., MATLAB, R, or Python).
• Willingness to conduct measurements outside regular office hours or on weekends.
• Experience in an acute care setting and familiarity with neuromonitoring signals are advantageous.

What we offer
As a postdoctoral researcher at the Faculty of Health, Medicine and Life Sciences, 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 11 according to UFO profile Researcher, function level 3 with corresponding salary based on experience ranging from €4537,00 and €6209,00 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, with the option of a one-year extension.
• 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 Health, Medicine and Life Sciences
At the Faculty of Health, Medicine and Life Sciences (FHML), everything revolves around healthy living. Our research and education are not solely focused on recovery, but place a strong emphasis on prevention, health preservation, and health promotion. Our aim is to use our knowledge and expertise to genuinely contribute to the well-being of individual people as well as society in total. 

In, research, and healthcare, FHML is closely collaborating with the academic hospital in Maastricht, together forming the Maastricht University Medical Center (MUMC+).  FHML is strongly connected in education, research, and care with the Maastricht academic hospital, together with which it forms the Maastricht University Medical Centre (MUMC+). 

FHML, which is the largest faculty of Maastricht University, is formed by an (inter)national community of employees and students. The faculty offers a wide range of Dutch and English-taught bachelor's and master's programs in innovative educational concepts in which the emphasis is always on building bridges to practice.
 

The multidisciplinary research of the FHML focuses on a number of carefully chosen topical current themes. In addition to research aimed at gaining new insights, it also concerns research whose results can be directly translated into concrete applications and innovations. The implementation of the various research programs is organized in our six graduate schools and two institutes.

Intensive Care Maastricht in MUMC+
Dr. Marcel Aries is a neurologist-intensivist, whose main scientific and clinical interests have been cerebral autoregulation, perfusion and blood pressure management in stroke, traumatic brain injury (TBI) and subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) patients. Monitoring of the vulnerable brain during intensive care admission is a key theme and performed together with the Department of Clinical Neurophysiology, Neurology and Neurosurgery of the MUMC+. Dr. Aries is involved in national and international projects involving optimizing cerebral perfusion pressure in critically ill patients using continuous (invasive and non-invasive) neuromonitoring signals and autoregulation information. He is the founder of the BrainBattle foundation (HersenStrijd fonds) of University Maastricht that raises awareness and financial support for severe brain injury research.

Monitoring Equipment
A vast array of neuromonitoring modalities and equipment is available for critically ill patients on the intensive care including intracranial pressure (ICP), cerebral perfusion pressure (CPP), near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS), electro-encephalography (EEG), ultrasound optic nerve sheath diameter (ONSD) and transcranial Doppler (TCD) ultrasound monitoring. Research-based software options are bedside ‘intense care monitoring’ (ICM+, Cambridge Enterprise, Cambridge, UK), LabVIEW (National Instruments, USA) customized cerebral perfusion and autoregulation software.

Curious?
Are you interested in this exciting position but still have questions? Feel free to contact Dr. Marcel Aries, neuro-intensivist and principal investigator at MHeNs at marcel.aries@mumc.nl for more information. 

Applying?
Or are you already convinced and ready to become our new Postdoctoral Researcher on the intensive care? Apply now, no later than 21st of April 2025, for this position.

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.