at the BCBL- Basque Center on Cognition Brain and Language (San Sebastián, Basque Country, Spain) www.bcbl.eu
- INFORMATION ABOUT THE POSITION
- Position: PhD student
- Researcher Profile: First Stage Researcher (R1- up to the point of PhD)
- Number of vacancies: 1
- Location: Spain > Donostia-San Sebastián
- Founding source: La Caixa Inphinit
- Research Field: Psychology > Cognition and Language
- Type of contract/Duration of Contract: Temporary, maximum duration 4 years
- Job Status: Full-time
- Hours per week: 35
- Starting date: Fall 2026 (specific dates to be confirmed by the official La Caixa announcement)
- Application deadline: 30/10/2025
The Neurobiology of Language research group (https://www.bcbl.eu/es/investigacion/grupos-de-investigacion/neurobiologa-lenguaje) at the Basque Center on Cognition, Brain and Language (San-Sebastián-Donostia, Spain) aims to sponsor a candidate for an Inphinit Predoctoral Fellowship, a competitive call for predoctoral fellowships awarded by the La Caixa – see last year’s call here).
Our group investigates how the brain represents and processes language in both typical and atypical populations, and how neural plasticity enables adaptation to new or altered conditions—such as learning a new language or recovering from a brain lesion. We combine behavioral measures with neuroimaging (fMRI) and neurophysiological (MEG and EEG) methods to capture language processing and reorganization across contexts.
Project summary:
Multilingualism has been associated with protective effects on health, including delaying dementia onset by several years, enhancing cognition in aging, and improving prognosis after brain injury. Yet its potential role in patients with brain tumors remains unexplored. This project investigates whether bilingualism can improve post-surgical outcomes in glioma patients. We will apply Artificial Intelligence—Natural Language Processing (NLP) and machine learning (ML)—to analyze patients’ natural speech, extracting acoustic and linguistic features and evaluating their prognostic value in predicting post-surgical outcomes. Using multimodal neuroimaging (MEG, fMRI), we will identify the neural correlates underlying the most predictive speech features. Speech samples will be collected from monolingual and bilingual glioma patients before surgery and 3, 6 and 12 months afterward to test whether bilingual experience enhances recovery and mitigates cognitive decline. The ultimate goal is to establish speech-derived features as low-cost, scalable prognostic indicators of cognitive trajectories, clarifying how bilingualism may buffer against post-surgical decline.
Job description
The successful candidate will receive interdisciplinary training in theoretical language models, clinical approaches, AI methods (e.g., NLP), and neuroimaging, with opportunities to participate in network-wide events and international training activities. The position includes implementing a longitudinal study in glioma patients to identify natural speech markers predictive of postoperative prognosis in patients with different linguistic backgrounds, analyzing functional and structural brain data, and preparing research papers under the supervision of the PI, with the aim of publishing in top-tier journals. The candidate will also present results at international scientific conferences. The BCBL provides a vibrant research environment with access to a wide range of neuroimaging techniques (MEG, fMRI). More information about the BCBL can be found at: https://www.bcbl.eu/en.
PI and research group:
The candidate will form part of the Neurobiology of Language research group under the direct supervision of Dr. Lucia Amoruso.
- CANDIDATE PROFILE AND SELECTION CRITERIA
Elegibility:
- Young researchers of any nationality are eligible to apply for the Doctoral INPhINIT Incoming and Retaining Fellowships Programmes
- Candidates must not have carried our more than four years of research activity before the closing date of the call (to be announced, but approximately second fortnight of January 2026 for the Incoming and second fortnight of February 2026 for the Retaining).
- At the time of recruitment, candidates must have completed the studies that allow them to enroll in an official PhD programme in Spain/Portugal. The verification of the required level of studies will be carried out by the host university when the admission procedure begins.
- Candidates cannot have started doctoral studies prior to the start of the fellowship.
INPhINIT Incoming Fellowships Programme:
- Candidates must not have resided or carried out their main activity (work, studies, etc) in Spain/Portugal for more than 12 months in the 3 years immediately preceding the closing date of the call.
INPhINIT Retaining Fellowships Programme:
- Candidates must have resided or carried out their main activity (work, studies, etc.) in Spain/Portugal for more than twelve months in the 3 years immediately preceding the closing date of the call.
Required skills:
- Excellent written and oral communication skills in English
- Master’s degree (or equivalent) in Psychology, Cognitive Neuroscience, Biology, Computer Science, or a related discipline.
- At least 300 ECTS (including 60 at Master’s level)
- Programming skills (e.g., Python, Matlab)
Desirable skills:
- Experience with brain signal analysis.
- Background in machine learning and data analysis (e.g., scikit-learn).
- Statistics skills (e.g., SPSS, R, or Python-based statistics libraries)
- WORKING CONDITIONS
Salary:
- 25.000€ gross annual salary
- Additional 3.500€ are provided to cover other research costs such as conferences, courses, research stays and tuition fees to the doctoral program.
Entitlements and other benefits: https://www.bcbl.eu/en/join-us/what-is-like-to-work-bcbl
Training opportunities and Career development plan:
Researchers at any stage of their career, regardless of their contractual situation, are given an opportunity for professional development and for improving their employability through access to a Personal Career Development Plan which includes
(1) Training through individually personalized research projects under senior supervision
(2) Exchanging knowledge with the scientific community and the general public
(3) Network-wide training in theory and methods
(4) Complementary training courses
(5) Involvement in proposal writing, task coordination
(6) Development of skills for the organization of training and scientific events
BCBL seeks to foster an environment where all talents can flourish, regardless of gender, sex, sexual orientation, age, sociocultural background, nationality or impairments. We are proud to have in place both an LGTBIQ+ Plan and a Gender Equality Plan to actively promote inclusion and equal opportunities. If you have any questions relating to accessibility or support, please contact us.
- OTHER RELEVANT INFORMATION
Language policy
- The corporative language at the center is English
- Knowledge of Spanish and/or Basque will be an asset for this particular position, but it is not required
- The center provides initial level Spanish and Basque lessons to all the international staff members
- The interview will be conducted entirely in English
- APPLICATION PROCESS
Submission of the application and documentation:
Interested candidates are invited to send their CV and a brief research statement describing their research interests and previous experience (if any), as well as contact data of 1-2 referees to Dr. Lucia Amoruso (l.amoruso@bcbl.eu) by 30/10/2025.
Timeline:
- Deadline for application: 30/10/2025
- Interviews: 20/10/2025-06/11/2025
- Final decision: 07/11/2025
- The selected candidate will be invited to apply for an Inhipinit Predoctoral Fellowship. The BCBL admin team will support the selected candidate within the application process.
Contact details for enquiries:
For technical problems please contact: hr@bcbl.eu
For inquiries or questions related to the content of the position and/or information about the project and the research group please contact: l.amoruso@bcbl.eu
