PhD student (75%, E13)

The IRTG 2773, the International Research Training Group “Risks and Pathomechanisms of Affective Disorders” between the TU Dresden and King’s College London, offers a position as

PhD student (f/m/d)

The position (75%, E13 according to the Collective Agreement for the Public Service of the States (TV-L)) is available from 1 January 2027 and initially limited to three years.

The IRTG 2773 is funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG) and is a structured International Graduate Programme established between the Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Technische Universität Dresden and the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology (IoPPN) King’s College London. It investigates risk factors and pathomechanisms of affective disorders to improve prevention, early detection and treatment.

The successful candidate will receive comprehensive supervision by an experienced scientific team, including participation in a structured curriculum. This curriculum covers topics from developmental neuroscience, child and adolescent as well as adult psychiatry, clinical and cognitive psychology, and in particular computational science. The program is complemented by training in key transferable skills, such as data management and the presentation of scientific results. A six-month research stay at King’s College London under the supervision of Dr. Delia Fuhrmann is planned as part of the curriculum.

Subproject P3 focuses on identifying multimodal markers of psychopathology and analysing their topological and network-based longitudinal structure. Using repeated clinical, neuroimaging, genetic, immunological, and behavioural data, we will model latent dimensions of risk and resilience and examine their developmental trajectories in relation to the clinical manifestation of affective disorders. The project will employ advanced machine learning and multivariate data analysis methods, including canonical correlation analysis (CCA), topological data analysis, longitudinal network analysis, and other data-driven approaches. The long-term goal is to advance targeted prevention strategies and personalized interventions.

The successful candidate will work in an interdisciplinary team of researchers and clinicians. Responsibilities also include supervising and mentoring research interns, student assistants, and medical students within the project. The results generated in the project are expected to be presented at international conferences and published in peer-reviewed scientific journals.

Essential Criteria:

• an excellent Master’s or Diploma degree in cognitive, computational, and/or affective neuroscience, psychology, psychiatry, or a related field; applicants from quantitatively oriented disciplines such as computer science, physics, statistics, data science, biometrics, or machine learning are explicitly encouraged to apply
• prior scientific experience, e.g., in statistical methods; ideally, initial efforts toward scientific publications as first or co-author
• basic programming skills (e.g., Linux/Unix shell scripting, Python, or MATLAB) and/or experience in the analysis of imaging data (FSL, SPM, FreeSurfer, or comparable tools) are advantageous but not mandatory
• strong interest in mental disorders
• excellent organizational skills
• good command of German (B1), both written and spoken
• very good command of English (C1), both written and spoken

What we offer:

• work in a leading medical environment in research, teaching, and clinical care, combined with a highly specialized workplace
• the opportunity to implement your own ideas and work in an innovative, interdisciplinary team
• flexible working hours to support work–life balance
• childcare support through partnerships with facilities near the university hospital
• access to workplace health promotion programs, courses, and fitness at our Carus Vital health center
• occupational pension scheme for retirement provision
• career-oriented training and continuing education with individualized career planning

We explicitly encourage applications from applicants with severe disabilities.

We kindly ask you to apply online, preferably, to make the selection process faster and more efficient. Please include the following documents (as a single PDF) with your application: cover letter, CV including publication list, a copy of your degree certificate, and a transcript of records (i.e., the official list of completed courses including grades), as well as your secondary school leaving certificate (e.g., Abitur). If available, please also include letters of recommendation and proof of English and German language proficiency.

We look forward to receiving your complete application documents. Please submit them online by December 31, 2026. For further information, please contact PD Dr. habil. Fabio Bernardoni by phone at +49 351 458-15245 or via email at .