Two internship projects: Mapping processes of early language development and Characterising genomic structures in sub-groups of individuals with Autism disorder

Project 1 Mapping processes of early language development (position filled)

Project 2 Characterising genomic and phenotypic structures in sub-groups of individuals with autism spectrum disorder 

In this biostatistics research internship, you will disentangle differences in clinical phenotype presentations of autism by studying polygenic association profiles in autistic individuals. Autism is a phenotypically and genetically highly heterogeneous neurodevelopmental condition with a substantial genetic component (twin heritability ~80%) (1). Core diagnostic features include difficulties in social communication and interaction and restricted, repetitive behaviour, as well as sensory abnormalities (1). Previous studies in our group have identified evidence of association between polygenic risk for neuropsychiatric and neuropsychological conditions (NNCs) with autism symptoms. This internship aims to further disentangle heterogeneity at the genomic level (2), expanding the range of studied mental health conditions. In this project, you will also apply different polygenic scoring approaches and imputation techniques to validate identified associated profiles. You will study autistic individuals from a large US cohort and apply state-of-the-art statistical genetic analysis methods, such as GREML (3), SBayesRC (4) and PRScs (5), and compare association profiles across different subgroups of individuals with autism. You will also learn how to work within a Linux environment and gain experience with coding in R and bash.

Requirements

• MSc student enrolled on a Master's programme such as Cognitive Neuroscience, Medical Biology, Biomedical Sciences, Computing Science, Statistics or similar
• Bachelor-level knowledge of Statistics and/or Genetics
• Bachelor-level programming expertise (e.g. R or Linux) is an advantage
• Good knowledge of English

What we offer you

• Experience in structural equation modelling techniques
• Experience in modelling phenotypic and genomic data
• A nice team

Application procedure

• The internship will last at least five months; the starting date is negotiable. Note that the MPI cannot remunerate any work during this internship. Applications will be reviewed until the position has been filled.

• To apply, please submit your application including a motivation letter (max. 1 page), indicating which project you wish to apply for, and your CV and contact details, via this link on our recruitment portal.

  For further information, please get in touch with Dr Beate St Pourcain (beate.stpourcain [at] mpi.nl (beate[dot]stpourcain[at]mpi[dot]nl)) or Dr. Ellen Verhoef (ellen.verhoef [at] mpi.nl (ellen[dot]verhoef[at]mpi[dot]nl)). 
  
  Direct link to the application form
   

References Project 1 Mapping processes of early language development:

1.    Law, J., Reilly, S. & McKean, C. Language Development. (Cambridge University Press, 2022).
2.    Verhoef, E. et al. Genome-wide Analyses of Vocabulary Size in Infancy and Toddlerhood: Associations With Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder, Literacy, and Cognition-Related Traits. Biological Psychiatry (2023) doi:10.1016/j.biopsych.2023.11.025.
3.    St Pourcain, B. et al. Common variation near ROBO2 is associated with expressive vocabulary in infancy. Nat Commun 5, 4831 (2014).
4.    International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF). https://www.who.int/standards/classifications/international-classificat….
5.    Yang, J., Lee, S. H., Goddard, M. E. & Visscher, P. M. GCTA: A Tool for Genome-wide Complex Trait Analysis. Am J Hum Genet 88, 76–82 (2011).

References Project 2 Characterising genomic and phenotypic structures in sub-groups of individuals with autism spectrum disorder:

1.    Lord C, Brugha TS, Charman T, Cusack J, Dumas G, Frazier T, et al. Autism spectrum disorder. Nat Rev Dis Primers. 2020 Jan 16;6(1):1–23. 
2.    de Hoyos L, Barendse MT, Schlag F, Donkelaar MM van, Verhoef E, Shapland CY, et al. Structural models of genome-wide covariance identify multiple common dimensions in autism. medRxiv. 2022 Oct; 
3.    Yang J, Lee SH, Goddard ME, Visscher PM. GCTA: A Tool for Genome-wide Complex Trait Analysis. Am J Hum Genet [Internet]. 2011 Jan 7;88(1):76–82. Available from: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21167468/
4.    Zheng Z, Liu S, Sidorenko J, Wang Y, Lin T, Yengo L, et al. Leveraging functional genomic annotations and genome coverage to improve polygenic prediction of complex traits within and between ancestries. Nat Genet [Internet]. 2024 May [cited 2025 Sept 30];56(5):767–77. Available from: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41588-024-01704-y
5.    Ge T, Chen CY, Ni Y, Feng YCA, Smoller JW. Polygenic prediction via Bayesian regression and continuous shrinkage priors. Nature Communications [Internet]. 2019 Apr 16;10(1):1776. Available from: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-019-09718-5
 

About the Language and Genetics department

At the Language and Genetics Department, we aim to uncover the DNA variations which ultimately affect different facets of our communicative abilities, not only in children with language-related disorders but also in the general population. In addition, we hope to trace the evolutionary history and worldwide diversity of key genes, which may shed new light on language origins.

About our institute

The Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics is a world-leading research institute devoted to interdisciplinary studies of the science of language and communication, including departments on genetics, psychology, development, neurobiology and multimodality of these fundamental human abilities. 
We investigate how children and adults acquire their language(s), how speaking and listening happen in real-time, how the brain processes language, how the human genome contributes to building a language-ready brain, how multiple modalities (as in speech, gesture and sign) shape language and its use in diverse languages and how language is related to cognition and culture, and shaped by evolution.
We are part of the Max Planck Society, an independent non-governmental association of German-funded research institutes dedicated to fundamental research in the natural sciences, life sciences, social sciences, and the humanities.

The Max Planck Society is an equal opportunities employer. We recognise the positive value of diversity and inclusion, promote equity and challenge discrimination. We aim to provide a working environment with room for differences, where everyone feels a sense of belonging. Therefore, we welcome applications from all suitably qualified candidates.

Our institute is situated on the campus of the Radboud University and has close collaborative links with the Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour and the Centre for Language Studies at Radboud University. We also work closely with other child development researchers as part of the Baby & Child Research Center. Staff and students at the MPI have access to state-of-the-art research and training facilities.

About the group

The Population Genetics of Human Communication research group is led by Dr Beate St Pourcain and embedded within the Language & Genetics Department at the MPI.