PhD position in the neuroscience of social touch

Start: 15 September 2026 or later by agreement | Duration: 4 years | Deadline: 9 July 2026

Applications are invited for a PhD student / University Assistant position in the Brain and Behavior Laboratory in the Department of General Psychology II: Emotion and Motivation, at the University of Innsbruck.

Our lab investigates the neuroscience of social touch: how touch with other humans, non-human animals, and increasingly artificial agents becomes rewarding, regulates emotion, and supports health and well-being. We combine psychological theory with neuroscientific and physiological methods to uncover the biological mechanisms underpinning somatosensory processing and the impact of somatosensory input on affective, social and homeostatic brain networks. Our group is part of an international and interdisciplinary research network, with ongoing collaborations in Europe, Asia and North America spanning psychology, neuroscience, systems engineering, and robotics.

The successful candidate will develop a dissertation project with possible directions including human–human touch, human–animal interaction, and affective touch in technologically mediated contexts. The work would involve electrophysiological and psychophysiological methods and, potentially, fMRI, as our institute has its own MRI facilities.

The position would suit someone with a strong background in psychology, cognitive neuroscience, affective science, biological psychology, or a related field. We are especially interested in candidates who are curious about social touch, emotion, embodiment, and the biological mechanisms of social interaction. Experience with EEG, psychophysiology, fMRI, experimental design, advanced statistics, or programming in R, Matlab, or Python would be highly valuable, but strong motivation, an interest in new methodologies, and the ability to work carefully and collaboratively are just as important.

Further details concerning the position and application procedure can be found here: 

https://lfuonline.uibk.ac.at/public/karriereportal.details?asg_id_in=15793

For questions please contact: Annett.Schirmer@uibk.ac.at