PhD student in Neuroscience (Effects of Virtual Reality on Neural Activity and Behavior)

PhD student in Neuroscience (Effects of Virtual Reality on Neural Activity and Behavior)

NEU

Teilzeit

Forschung und Lehre

The Optophysiology Group at the Institute for Machine-Brain Interfacing Technology (IMBIT), University of Freiburg, is seeking a highly motivated PhD student in Neuroscience (Effects of Virtual Reality on Neural Activity and Behavior)

Bewerbungsfrist: 31. Oktober 2026

Veröffentlichungsdatum: 21. September 2026

Eintrittstermin: Zum nächstmöglichen Zeitpunkt.

Arbeitsumfang: Part-time position (65 %)

Kennziffer: 00005198

Beschreibung

to join our interdisciplinary research team.

Funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG) and central funds of the University of

Freiburg, the project will investigate how the brain represents and processes information in

virtual versus real-world environments. Using mice performing behavioral tasks in both

settings, we will examine whether animals can transfer learned information between virtual

and real environments and whether the two contexts lead to differences in neuronal activity

and population dynamics.

The scientific question

Do the neural representations formed in virtual environments resemble those formed during

real-world experience—and can knowledge acquired in one environment be used in the

other?

Your Research

You will work on an interdisciplinary project combining rodent behavior, virtual reality, two-

photon calcium imaging, optogenetics, and computational data analysis.

Your tasks will include:

• Designing and conducting behavioral experiments with mice in virtual and real

environments

• Performing two-photon calcium imaging of neuronal activity

• Applying holographic optogenetics to selectively manipulate neuronal populations

(see Ammer et al., 2024)

• Contributing to the design and development of a novel two-photon miniscope

• Characterizing and validating the newly developed miniscope in vivo

• Analyzing and modelling the resulting behavioural and neural data

• Contributing to the interpretation and publication of the findings

The position is 65% TV-L, funded for three years, with the possibility of extension.

Your Profile

We are looking for a candidate with a background in neuroscience, neurobiology,

computational neuroscience, or a related field who is excited about combining

experimental and quantitative approaches.

Essential qualifications:

• A university degree (Masters or equivalent) in neuroscience, neurobiology, biology,

biomedical sciences, or a related discipline

• Experience with or a strong interest in neuroscience and animal behavior

• Good programming skills, preferably Python

• Basic knowledge of statistics and quantitative data analysis

• Ability to work independently while contributing actively to a collaborative research

team

• Motivation to learn and apply advanced experimental and computational methods

Experience with FELASA-certified laboratory animal training is an advantage but not

essential and can be acquired during the project, where applicable.

Additional skills that would be advantageous:

• Experience with rodent behavioural training and/or in vivo experiments

• Calcium imaging and/or optogenetics

• Arduino or other microcontroller-based systems

• Basic electronics and circuit design

• Machine learning or computational neuroscience

You do not need to have experience in all of these areas. Curiosity, scientific

independence, and the motivation to learn