Parkinson’s disease affects how people move, think, and feel. Yet, despite decades of research, one of its central motor symptoms, bradykinesia, is still not fully understood. Although often described simply as “slowness of movement,” bradykinesia actually covers several different types of motor difficulties. Some improve with dopaminergic treatment, others don’t, and we still lack a clear framework for how these components fit together. That’s the gap this project aims to close.
What is this project about?
If you enjoy tackling big questions with modern tools, join us on the Components of Bradykinesia (CoBra) project, funded by the Lundbeck Foundation. Our goal is to disentangle the different elements of bradykinesia by combining high‑resolution movement tracking (cameras, accelerometers, etc.) with structural and functional MRI. You’ll help identify hidden patterns in movement behavior and link them to underlying neural signatures.
We are seeking a motivated postdoctoral scientist to conduct cutting-edge research at the intersection of clinical neuroscience, advanced analysis methods and magnetic resonance imaging.
Who will you be joining? You will be working in the Movement Disorders group where researchers with different backgrounds and expertise combine theoretical and clinical knowledge with advanced assessment and analysis methods. You will be interacting with many different projects within the field of Movement Disorders and there is ample opportunity for close cooperation with DRCMR-researchers from a great variety of disciplines as well as clinicians. We act in concert, and make sure no-one is left alone with difficult tasks.
The Danish Research Centre for Magnetic Resonance (DRCMR) is one of the leading research centers for biomedical MRI in Europe (www.drcmr.dk). Our mission is to triangulate MR physics, basic physiology, and clinical research. Approximately 75 researchers from a diverse range of disciplines are currently pursuing basic and clinically applied MR, electrophysiology, and brain stimulation research with a focus on structural, functional, and metabolic MRI of the human brain and its disorders. The DRCMR is embedded in the Department for Radiology and Nuclear Medicine at Copenhagen University Hospital Hvidovre. In 2025, Copenhagen has again been rated as the most liveable city in the world (https://www.eiu.com/n/copenhagen-replaces-vienna-as-worlds-most-liveable-city/).
The position:
You will be employed as a postdoc for a two-year period at the Danish Research Centre for Magnetic Resonance with high possibilities of extension. You will join the Movement Disorders group led by senior researcher David Meder.
Your daily tasks will vary according to the flow of the projects, but will mainly be centered around:
- Developing an assessment battery of bradykinetic symptoms based on existing theories and frameworks of bradykinesia.
- Acquiring data in people with Parkinson’s disease and control participants
- Use unsupervised data-driven as well as hypothesis-driven analysis methods to uncover the component structure of bradykinesia
- Acquiring and analyzing structural and functional MRI data in people with Parkinson’s disease in an MRI-compatible sub-set of tasks
- engaging in teaching, knowledge dissemination, and publication of results in international, recognized scientific journals
The ideal candidate
- You hold a PhD degree in Neuroscience, Sports Sciences, Biomedical Engineering, Medicine or a related field.
- You enjoy working in the lab: developing an experimental setup with technical equipment, piloting and assessing data
- You have experience in conducting experiments with human subjects—preferably including patients.
- As you will be interacting with patients, Danish language skills are an advantage, but not a prerequisite.
- You have good programming skills (preferably in Matlab or Python).
- Additional expertise in data-driven analysis methods (principal component analysis, clustering methods etc.) or Bayesian modeling is a major advantage.
- You enjoy being part of a multidisciplinary and international research team and integrating technological innovations into your neuroscience research.
- You have excellent written and interpersonal communication skills.
The project will be supervised by Senior Researcher David Meder in close collaboration with Prof. Hartwig Siebner.
Starting date: is expected to be in April 2026.
Salary and Terms of Employment
You will be employed as a postdoc for a period of 24 months with good possibilities of extension. Salary, pension and terms of employment are in accordance with the agreement between the Danish Regions (Danske Regioner) and the relevant professional organization. The salary depends on background education and seniority. Further, supplements can be negotiated. Note that candidates coming from abroad may be eligible for tax reductions. The position is open for candidates of all nationalities.
We see diversity as strength and encourage all persons regardless of gender, age, ethnicity, disabilities or religion to apply.
Applications should include a cover letter, CV and list of publications. References are also highly welcome. Applications must be submitted on-line through the RegionH job portal - click HERE.
Application deadline: 13th March 2026 at 23:59 (CET)
For further information regarding the position, please contact David Meder.
Direct line: +45 3862 1184; Email:
