Vacancy PhD candidate 'Just and Trustworthy AI for freezing of gait in Parkinson's disease'

Job description

This PhD project is part of the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Doctoral Network Just Health. JustHealth is an international, intersectoral and highly interdisciplinary project providing Marie Skłodowska-Curie PhD Fellowships to 8 doctoral candidates, with the potential to become the leaders of tomorrow in the booming domain of Artificial Intelligence (AI) applied to the health sector.

JustHealth aims to develop, test, validate, and valorise a robust ethics and governance framework for AI in healthcare, grounded in decolonised values and principles and on a co-creation approach, with the ultimate goal of ensuring that AI systems (especially those based on Foundation Models (FMs)) are not only trustworthy but also just (i.e. guaranteeing social justice for Global Health).

You will be embedded within the research groups of the Department of Rehabilitation at Radboudumc and the Center of Expertise for Parkinson's Disease. Radboudumc is a global leader in the field of Parkinson's disease and neurological gait disorders. Your project will focus on gait impairments in Parkinson's disease and specifically on freezing of gait.

The effectiveness of interventions—such as medication adjustments or deep brain stimulation—for gait impairments in Parkinson's disease is currently assessed through snapshot evaluations in clinical settings. However, a more accurate assessment would ideally be based on data collected during daily life. To achieve this, an interactive dashboard should be developed in co-creation with all relevant stakeholders, including people with Parkinson's disease, caregivers, physiotherapists, and clinicians. This interface should then be tested and validated in a pilot study, for example by assessing the impact of on-demand cueing on freezing of gait.

EXPECTED RESULTS:

• A sustainable, scalable and just data collection method that captures real-world freezing of gait severity.
• A sustainable, scalable and just care pathway for better management of freezing of gait in persons with Parkinson's disease.

Place of work

You will be embedded within the research groups of the Department of Rehabilitation at Radboudumc and the Center of Expertise for Parkinson's Disease. Dr. Jorik Nonnekes will be your primary supervisor. Planned secondments involve KU Leuven and Cue2Walk International. 

Radboudumc
Welcome to Radboud university medical center (Radboudumc), where scientific breakthroughs are born through the curiosity and passion of our collaborating researchers in a vibrant environment. We believe trust and excitement are crucial elements to achieving our goals, and we approach our research as teams and with the utmost rigor to make a significant impact on health and healthcare. Our researchers are driven by their fascination with the biological, psychological, and sociological mechanisms underlying health and healthcare. They collaborate with partners from all over the world to improve health outcomes for all. Radboudumc unites patient care, research, education, and corporate learning, which allows us to approach our mission to shape the health and healthcare of the future in an innovative and person-centered way.

Our ambition is to lead the way in the pursuit of prevention, sustainability, meaningful care. We believe that through our research, we can significantly improve the health and well-being of society. Join us on our mission to make a difference in healthcare. Become a part of our community of gifted researchers, professionals or patient partners who are dedicated to making a real impact on population health and healthcare. 

Read what it is like to do a PhD at the Radboud University Medical Center.

Profile

Additional essential requirements: 

• Completed Masters degree (e.g., Cognitive Neuroscience, Biomedical Sciences, Medical Biology, Medicine).
• You are ambitious, a creative thinker, and possess excellent organizational skills.
• You are a team player.
• You have an interest in Parkinson's disease, and gait disorders.
• You have experience with data collection and data analysis (e.g. Matlab).
• You have excellent communication and social skills, enabling pleasant and effective interaction with study participants.

• Good command of Dutch.

• A. quality of academic performance 10.
• B. current knowledge and expertise 10.
• C. relevant research skills 10.
• D. motivation to apply 10.
• E. Good command of Dutch 10.

• F. Ability to design and conduct original research in the subject area of the individual research project 10.
• G. Excellent oral communication in English 10.
• H. Enthusiasm, proactivity, creativity and commitment 10.
• I. Interpersonal skills 10.
• J. Attitude to team working and in working in local and international setting 10.
• K. Expected impact of the doctorate on the DC's future career 10.
• L. Ability to interact with Dutch speaking patients and caregivers 10.

Employment conditions

At Radboud university medical center, you build on your future. We are committed to providing the best care, education, and research. And we are true to our word, because we help you develop and seize opportunities and give you the room to grow. As an employer, we believe that employees should feel vital and happy at work in all stages of life. We are also committed to creating a healthy and safe working environment. Our employment conditions contribute to that. What we offer:

• Upon commencement of employment, you will start at scale 10A, step 0 (€ 3.108 based on a full-time appointment). Over a maximum period of 4 years, you will progress to scale 10A, step 3 (€3.939 based on a full-time appointment). You will also receive an 8% holiday allowance, an 8.3% end-of-year bonus, and a 47% to 72% bonus for working unsocial hours.
• 176 vacation hours per year based on a 36-hour working week. 

And there is more..

• An Employment Conditions Selection Model, allowing you to use part of your employment conditions to your choosing. For example, you can use your gross salary to purchase additional vacation hours or hours for providing informal caregiving. Or, for example, you can use your gross end-of-year bonus to purchase a bicycle, so you pay less tax.
• Plenty of opportunities for personal development. You can take a variety of courses in our online learning environment. 
• Your well-being and vitality are a priority. For example:
  • Save time for work-life balance leave. 
  • You can enjoy unlimited access to a variety of activities five days a month and take advantage of all the facilities at Radboud Sport & Culture for only €27.05 per month (instead of €41)
  • Healthy Professionals program to help you manage your energy. 
  • Company Support Team and a personal coach if you are going through a life-changing event.
  • Financially beneficial working less through a Generation Scheme as you approach state pension age.
• Support in achieving a good work-life balance at every stage of your life. Examples:
  • Advice and courses on, for example, 'Millennial dilemmas' and 'Your Career After 57'.
  • Activities at our own mindfulness center.
  • Informal caregiving consultations if you have questions about juggling work and caregiving responsibilities at home.
• In addition to statutory pregnancy and maternity leave, Radboud university medical center offers 26 weeks of parental leave, nine of which are paid. In addition, as a partner you can take a maximum of five weeks of supplementary partner leave. During supplementary partner leave and parental leave, we supplement the UWV benefit up to 100% of your salary.
• Pension accrual at the ABP Pension Fund. Radboud university medical center pays 70% of the pension premium. 
• Discounts on supplementary packages of two group health insurances and ten other types of insurance, from home insurance to legal assistance.
• An allowance for your commuting costs of € 0.18 per km up to a maximum of 40 km one way. If you use public transport to commute, we will fully reimburse the public transport costs (2nd class). If you regularly work from home, you will receive a working from home allowance of € 2.40 per day.

Application procedure

Are you ready to think further for our patients and our care? We would like to receive your application before 30 January 2026. We will then contact you shortly. The job interviews take place in March 2026. An assessment can be part of this selection procedure.

Good to know

• This position requires a Certificate of Conduct (VOG).
• You can find more information about our application procedure and frequently asked questions on our website.
• Will you be our new colleague? Then you will be given the time and space to get to know your role, your workplace, and your colleagues. An induction day for all new colleagues is an integral part of your onboarding program. 

We are recruiting for this position ourselves. Unsolicited marketing is not appreciated, but do feel free to share the vacancy in your network!

Contact

Any questions? Or wondering what it is like to work at Radboudumc? Then email to Jorik Nonnekes, Associate Professor. Use the Apply button to submit your application.