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 Neurolinguistics and Aphasia research group (https://www.bcbl.eu/en/research/research-groups/neurolinguistics-aphasia) 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).
Project summary:
Post‑stroke aphasia arises from brain injury due to either ischemic or hemorrhagic strokes. Although it’s usually linked to language‑specific deficits, many stroke survivors also experience problems with memory, attention, and executive functions. These broader cognitive issues can influence rehabilitation outcomes more strongly than language abilities alone. Yet, how language and cognitive impairments interact—and how that interaction changes during recovery—remains unclear.
We track how language recovers after a stroke and examine how this recovery relates to core domain‑general cognitive functions, using behavioral, neuroimaging techniques, as well as state-of-the-art natural language processing methods. The PhD student will have the opportunity to develop their own project within the broader scope of this research line.
Job description
We seek a highly motivated candidate with a background in psychology, psycho-/neurolinguistics, neuropsychology or neuroscience. They will be involved in (i) developing and conducting research projects on language comprehension and production and their recovery after stroke; (ii) analyzing behavioral and neuroimaging data and (iii) disseminating the results in scientific conferences (oral presentations/posters) and peer-reviewed journals.
PI and research group:
The candidate will form part of the Neurolinguistics and Aphasia group, under the direct supervision of Dr. Simona Mancini. The Neurolinguistics and Aphasia group uses various techniques (e.g., behavioral testing, eyetracking EEG/MEG, fMRI) and designs (cross-linguistic, cross-sectional, longitudinal) to investigate the mechanisms underlying language comprehension and production and their interaction with other cognitive domains, across distinct populations (speakers with and without language impairment) and contexts (e.g., recovery from stroke). The group also actively collaborates with clinicians to transfer the results of fundamental research into clinical settings, with the goal to improve detection, diagnosis and treatment of language impairment.
- 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.
Doctoral 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
- Degree in Psychology, Linguistics, Cognitive Sciences, Speech-Language pathology, Neurosciences and neighboring disciplines.
- A minimum of 300 ECTS, 60 of which corresponding to a Master’s degree level
- (Basic) statistics and programming skills (e.g., R, Python, Matlab)
Desirable skills:
- Native speaker of Spanish and/or Basque
- Previous experimental experience in language comprehension/production
- Neuropsychology or speech-language pathology background
- 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
- 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. Simona Mancini (s.mancini@bcbl.eu) before October 30, 2025
Timeline:
- Deadline for application: 30/10/2025
- Interviews: 10/10/2025 – 06/11/2025
- Final decision: 07/11/2025
- The selected candidate will be invited to apply for a 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: s.mancini@bcbl.eu
