Multimodal MRI of cerebral palsy, motor outcomes, and social cognition in typically developing and at-risk infants
Are you interested in understanding how developing brain structure and connectivity shape motor and social outcomes in infants and toddlers? Do you thrive in inspiring multidisciplinary teams, bridging brain mapping, computational modeling, and developmental neuroscience? Then you are the person we are looking for!
The Danish Research Centre for Magnetic Resonance (DRCMR) at Copenhagen University Hospital Hvidovre (Denmark) is seeking 1-2 postdoctoral researchers in infant and early childhood multimodal MRI to work on the NIBS-CP and/or SELFiE projects.
The NIBS-CP project is an ongoing longitudinal study following ~200 infants aged 3-24 months, including both infants at risk for cerebral palsy and typically developing infants. Using advanced multimodal MRI and motor assessments at three time points (3-9, 12, and 24 months), the project aims to characterize early brain development, map relationships between brain structure and motor function, and improve the prediction of motor outcomes.
The SELFIE project is part of an ERC Advanced Grant led by Prof. Victoria Southgate, investigating the emergence of self-awareness in infancy. Approximately 100 infants will undergo MRI scanning at 5 months of age to study structural and functional brain connectivity underlying early social cognitive development. The postdoc will contribute to the MRI component of the project, analyzing connectivity patterns in relation to behavioral measures of emerging self-awareness.
You will be a member of the Brain Maturation group and the NIBS-CP project at DRCMR, with ample opportunities to interact with researchers working on related multimodal neuroimaging studies. We have multiple projects across pediatric populations, studying typical and atypical development from birth to early adulthood, in both typically developing and at-risk populations.
The postdoc position involves close collaboration with Associate Prof. Melanie Ganz, Department of Computer Science, University of Copenhagen (https://lnn-ucph.github.io/), on the NIBS-CP project, and with Professor Victoria Southgate, Center for Early Childhood Cognition, Department of Psychology, University of Copenhagen (https://psychology.ku.dk/ecc-en/), contributing to the MRI component of her ERC Advanced Grant project on infant social cognition.
Your profile:
You are a highly dedicated and dynamic postdoctoral researcher with the following qualifications:
- A PhD in Neuroscience, Psychology, Computer Science, Biomedical Engineering, or a related field
- Experience collecting MRI data in infants and/or toddlers
- Experience with MRI data analysis and/or computational modeling of multimodal brain imaging data, with experience in connectivity or predictive analyses considered an advantage
- Interest and/or experience in early brain development, motor function, or social cognition
- Enjoy working in a multidisciplinary and international research team
- Programming skills in e.g., Matlab or Python, or similar languages
- Ability to work independently, think critically, and collaborate in a multidisciplinary research team
- Strong English communication skills
The project will be carried out at the DRCMR, which is a leading research center for biomedical MRI in Europe (www.drcmr.dk). Approx. 75 researchers from more than 20 countries and a diverse range of disciplines are currently pursuing basic and clinically applied MR research and its validation with a focus on structural, functional, and metabolic MRI of the human brain and its disorders. The DRCMR is embedded in the Department of Radiology and Nuclear Medicine, a large diagnostic imaging department that houses all biomedical imaging modalities at the Copenhagen University Hospital - Amager and Hvidovre.
The DRCMR has a state-of-the-art research infrastructure for preclinical and human imaging, including six whole-body MR scanners (one 7T, four 3T, and one 1.5T) and a preclinical 7T scanner. The DRCMR also houses a high-performance computer cluster, state-of-the-art laboratories for electrophysiology and non-invasive brain stimulation, and dedicated MRI equipment and space for infant MRI studies.
The postdoc project will be supervised by Senior Researcher, Associate Professor Kathrine Skak Madsen, and co-supervised by Associate Professor Melanie Ganz (Department of Computer Science, University of Copenhagen) and Professor Victoria Southgate (Department of Psychology, University of Copenhagen).
Starting date: May 1st, 2026, or soon thereafter.
Salary and Terms of Employment
You will be employed as a postdoc for a period of 2 years with the possibility of an 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 to candidates of all nationalities.
We see diversity as a strength and encourage all persons, regardless of gender, age, ethnicity, disabilities, or religion, to apply.
Applications should include a cover letter, CV, list of publications, and references.
Applications must be submitted on-line through the RegionH job portal.
Application deadline: 12 April 2026 at 23:59 (CET)
Applications received after the deadline will not be considered.
Job interviews are expected to be held shortly after the application deadline.
Further information
If you have questions concerning the position, you are more than welcome to contact Senior Researcher, Associate Professor Kathrine Skak Madsen via e-mail at , (phone: +45 3862 3323).
