Research Scientist (sleep physiology) (m/f/d) | Center for Affective and Autonomic Neuroscience Part-time

Research Scientist (M/F/D) | Center for Affective and Autonomic Neuroscience

At the Max Planck Institute for Human Development, we study how and why people develop differently over the course of their lives, and how physical, societal, and technological aspects of the environment shape this process. Working across disciplines such as psychology, neuroscience, computer science, economics, and sociology, we do research within a context that fosters academic freedom, curiosity, and collaborative work to generate insights that help shape living conditions for individuals and societies to thrive. We combine pioneering interdisciplinary research infrastructures with local and international collaboration to generate knowledge that strengthens individuals and society. Our vision is that of a healthy environment and an open society that allows individuals to realize their potential.

The to-be-established Center for Affective and Autonomic Neuroscience (CAAN) at the Max Planck Institute for Human Development in Berlin invites applications for a Research Scientist (up to EG 14 TVöD; 39 hours/week) with expertise in sleep physiology to lead the integration of polysomnography into our human research program and to analyze the resulting multimodal sleep data. The position is a four-year fixed-term contract. The start date could be anytime from September 1, 2026, through the first half of 2027.

CAAN's research program investigates the role of midlife autonomic changes in setting the stage for neurodegenerative disease, with an emphasis on the noradrenergic locus coeruleus (LC), Alzheimer's disease biomarkers, and emotion–cognition interactions across the adult lifespan. Sleep is a critical node in this work: sleep architecture, autonomic tone during sleep, and slow-wave activity are tightly linked to LC function, glymphatic clearance of amyloid-β and tau, and downstream cognitive and affective outcomes. The successful candidate will play a central role in establishing CAAN's capacity to characterize sleep with polysomnography and in connecting these data to our imaging, biomarker, and intervention work.

CAAN's current scientific priorities include: (1) tracking autonomic trajectories from age 20–60 and identifying their causes and consequences, including a first-of-its-kind longitudinal study with CSF biomarker collection and longitudinal LC imaging; (2) randomized clinical trials of breathing-based interventions (e.g., slow breathing, 4-7-8 breathing) to test causal roles of autonomic activity on emotion, brain, and cognition; (3) advancing brainstem imaging methods; and (4) understanding brain mechanisms of emotion–cognition interactions in aging. The Research Scientist's sleep program will interface directly with each of these priorities.

Job Description

• Integrating polysomnography into CAAN studies: Design and implement standard operating procedures for overnight ambulatory and/or in-lab polysomnography across CAAN's longitudinal study and clinical trials, including montage selection (EEG, EOG, EMG, ECG, respiratory effort, airflow, oximetry, body position); lead vendor and device selection, validation against gold-standard systems, and integration of polysomnography data streams with CAAN's existing physiological pipelines (HRV, baroreflex, pupillometry, respiratory measures); establish quality assurance procedures for signal integrity, electrode application, and participant compliance in home-based recordings.
• Sleep data analysis: Score sleep stages and arousals (manual and automated approaches) and supervise quality control of scoring across the team; develop and apply quantitative EEG analyses relevant to CAAN's aims, including slow-wave activity, spindle detection, slow-oscillation-spindle coupling, and spectral measures across NREM and REM; analyze autonomic activity during sleep, including heart rate variability, breathing and sleep-stage-specific changes in sympathetic/parasympathetic balance; link sleep metrics to CAAN's primary outcomes: LC structure and function (MRI), CSF and plasma biomarkers, proteomic markers of mitochondrial stress, daytime autonomic measures, and cognitive and affective outcomes; work with the CAAN statistician/data manager to incorporate sleep variables into reproducible, BIDS-compliant analysis pipelines and longitudinal models.
• Scientific leadership and dissemination: Mentor and supervise postdocs, graduate students, and junior staff; shape the long-term scientific agenda for sleep research within CAAN and represent this work at international conferences and in the broader research community; lead first-author and collaborative manuscripts on sleep findings from CAAN datasets; develop and lead independent grant applications as principal or co-investigator, building an externally funded sleep research program; cultivate international collaborations and partnerships in sleep, autonomic neuroscience, and neurodegeneration research; contribute to CAAN's open-science efforts, including data sharing in standardized formats and code release for analysis pipelines.

Requirements

• PhD (or equivalent doctoral degree) in neuroscience, sleep science, biomedical engineering, psychology, physiology, or a related field, completed within the last five years or expected before the start date.
• Post-doctoral experience and demonstrated expertise in human sleep research, including hands-on experience with overnight polysomnography (data collection, scoring, and analysis).
• Strong programming skills in Python and/or MATLAB, including experience with sleep and EEG-relevant toolboxes (e.g., MNE-Python, YASA, EEGLAB, FieldTrip, or comparable).
• Experience with quantitative EEG analysis (e.g., spectral methods, event detection for spindles and slow oscillations).
• Substantial track record of peer-reviewed publications, including first-author papers in high-quality journals; experience with or demonstrated potential for independent grant writing.
• Excellent written and spoken English; ability to work effectively in a multidisciplinary, collaborative environment.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with sleep-dependent emotional and memory processing, including how sleep architecture (e.g., REM, slow-wave sleep) modulates affective memory consolidation and cognition more generally.
• AASM-style sleep scoring credentialing or equivalent supervised scoring experience.
• Experience with ambulatory/home polysomnography systems and with troubleshooting field-based physiological recordings.
• Familiarity with autonomic measures during sleep (HRV, respiratory effort, pulse-derived measures) and with cardiorespiratory coupling analyses.
• Experience analyzing sleep in the context of aging, Alzheimer's disease, or related neurodegenerative conditions.
• Familiarity with BIDS and reproducible-analysis workflows (Git, containerization, workflow managers).
• Experience integrating sleep data with structural and/or functional MRI, particularly brainstem or medial temporal lobe imaging.

Our Offer

• Access to rich multimodal datasets, including longitudinal LC and brainstem MRI, CSF and plasma biomarkers, proteomics, autonomic physiology, and clinical trial outcomes.
• Close collaboration with statisticians, data managers, brainstem imaging experts, and autonomic physiology experts within CAAN.
• Support from a data collection staff team.
• Institutional resources and infrastructure to develop and pursue your own research agenda, including support for grant development and international research partnerships.

The Institute provides a stimulating, international work environment with an engaged, collegial team in Berlin, Dahlem. In addition, the following benefits are available:

• Access to the training programs offered by the Planck Academy of the MPG
• Flexible working hours
• Possibility to work remotely (up to 40%, depending on work processes)
• Annual bonus payment in accordance with the TVöD (German public sector pay scale); 30 days of vacation, plus December 24 and 31 off
• Daycare partnerships with dedicated places; a parent-child room at the institute
• Excellent public transport connections (U3 Breitenbachplatz, barrier-free)
• Jobticket
• Institute canteen and biodiverse institute garden
• Various offers related to “health in the workplace” (e.g., fitness room, massage services, yoga classes)
• Extensive support services, e.g., International Office, Disability Office, Gender Equality Office, and mental health support
• Diversity-sensitive working environment (e.g., meetups, networking, accessible and gender-neutral toilets)

Diversity and Inclusion

The Max Planck Society strives for gender equality and diversity. Diversity, equity, and inclusion enrich our society and foster scientific excellence. We are committed to increasing the number of women in areas in which they are underrepresented and employing more people with disabilities. We welcome applications from people who belong to groups that are often underrepresented in the workplace due to, among other factors, age, disability/chronic illness, ethnicity, gender identity, and religion. You can find out more about our commitment to diversity and the accommodations available to