Postdoc Position "MindChat A Culturally-sensitive Chatbot for Depression in Migrants"

Are you passionate about reducing health inequalities and innovating in digital mental health Do you want to know more about the complex dynamics of mechanisms underlying engagement in secondary prevention of depression in Dutch-Turkish and Dutch-Moroccan communities Would you like to develop a personalized culturally-sensitive user-centered-designdriven chatbot to enhance secondary prevention in migrants with depression Then apply for this postdoc project!

Postdoc Opportunity: Developing a Culturally-sensitive Chatbot

We are looking for a motivated junior Postdoc Researcher to join the project MIND-CHAT: May I help you An Intervention for Depression through a culturally-sensitive Chatbot.. This project is focused on developing a personalized culturally-sensitive user-centered-designdriven chatbot that supports secondary prevention of depression among Dutch-Turkish and Dutch-Moroccan communities. The project is funded by the Centre for Urban Mental Health. The Postdoc Researcher will be embedded in the Amsterdam School of Communication Research (ASCoR) and will be part of the Persuasive Communication Programme Group.

Depression disproportionately affects aforementioned communities with higher prevalence and relapse rates than in the native Dutch population. Yet factors such as stigma mistrust and low mental-health literacy often hinder help-seeking. This project seeks to address these challenges by co-creating an accessible intervention tailored to the needs and preferences across different generations.

Methods used in the project include qualitative focus groups and/or interviews as part of the complexity science approach in order to develop causal loop diagrams (including feedback loops); think-aloud interviews as part of the user-centered design approach; and Ecological Momentary Assessment-like two-arm experiment. The Postdoc Researcher will strive to publish the results of individual sub-studies in important journals in the field of Communication Science.

The project will be supervised by Dr. Nida Gizem Yilmaz Dr. Annemiek Linn and Prof. Dr. Ellen Smets. Others involved are Dr. Tinne Buelens and Dr. Henk Cremers.

What are you going to do

This Postdoc project takes a mixed-methods approach combining both quantitative and qualitative research. Over the course of the project you will conduct three interconnected studies. As a Postdoc Researcher you manage the project including scheduling meetings with the research team preparing agendas and documenting meetings and research activities. You contribute to the ASCoR research community by participating in workshops meetings and lectures. Importantly you are responsible for setting up the individual studies recruiting participants collecting and analyzing data and writing scientific articles. Hence more specifically your tasks will be to:

• Write and publish research articles within the appointment period;
• Conduct both qualitative and quantitative studies with Dutch-Turkish and Dutch-Moroccan migrants;
• Organize expert meetings with mental health care professionals;
• Adapt evaluate and optimize a mental health chatbot through user-centered design (involves both qualitative and quantitative research);
• Test the effectiveness of the chatbot in a two-arm experimental study.

What do you have to offer

You have:

• Recently obtained a PhD degree in Communication Science Psychology or another discipline relevant to the project;
• Interest in topics associated with mental health migrants and digital user-centered-designdriven interventions;
• Proven experience with quantitative and qualitative research methods (interviews and/or focus groups survey experiment co-creation/user-centered design) and analyses (e.g. in SPSS and/or R);
• Excellent proficiency in Dutch and English both verbally and in writing;
• The motivation to work in an interdisciplinary team.
• Interest in open science principles and a commitment to methodological rigor and scientific integrity.

As this project will comprise conducting qualitative research with Dutch-Turkish and Dutch-Moroccan people a background or language proficiency that fits this target group is a plus.

You are able to:

• Be creative in problem-solving within the field of persuasive communication with a focus on mental health communication and migrant clients adapting to challenges with resilience and creativity;
• Maintain a proactive attitude be open to feedback and pay attention to detail;
• Show curiosity to master new skills (e.g. novel research methods);
• Keep calm and stay organized in a rapidly changing environment when juggling multiple tasks (;
• Manage your own time effectively and work independently while collaborating well within a team;
• Communicate research findings clearly to both academic and non-academic audiences;
• Successfully reach and involve participants from hard-to-recruit populations.

What else do we offer you

The UFO profile Onderzoeker 4 or Onderzoeker 3 salary will range from 4412 to 4728 (10.5 - 11.0) based on your experience full-time employment and in keeping with the Collective Labour Agreement of Dutch Universities. We additionally offer an extensive package of secondary benefits including 8% holiday allowance and a year-end bonus of 8.3%.

The UvA offers excellent possibilities for further professional development and education.

What else do we offer

• A position in which initiative and input are highly valued;
• An enthusiastic and warm team that is open to new colleagues;
• A strongly interdisciplinary research project based on an innovative methodological approach;
• Great opportunity to expand your network;
• An inspiring academic and international working environment in the heart of Amsterdam.
• While frequent presence at the office is valued in terms of cohesion and team building we offer the opportunity to work hybrid (i.e. to work from home from time to time).

The planned starting date for this project is March 2nd 2026 but there is some flexibility with regard to the starting date. The position concerns an employment contract of 38 hours per week for a maximum of 2 years dedicated to this research project. The initial employment is for one year. Following a positive assessment and barring altered circumstances this term will be extended by a maximum of 12 months.

Depending on the specific needs from the Department of Communication Science the contract may in some instances be extended to include teaching at the Graduate School of Communication or the College of Communication. This is determined after the interview process.

We will put together a curriculum that will also include the opportunity to attend training courses and both national and international events.

You will work here

As the Health Communication program group we aim at studying factors that explain the development reach processing and effects of professional and consumer-generated messages in health communication. These factors include individual difference situational medium and message factors. We study how people use communication to fulfil their needs in health patients and providers communicate and how this influences their attitudes cognitions and behavior.

Want to know more about our work Read more about the Amsterdam Center for Health Communication.

If you recognize yourself in this profile and are interested in the role we look forward to receiving your motivation letter and CV. You can apply via the red button until January 9th 2026. Interviews will take place on February 4th-6th. If deemed necessary a second round of interviews will be scheduled between February 11th-13th. In case of equal qualifications internal candidates will be given preference over external candidates.

Please submit your application as a single .pdf file including:

• Curriculum vitae;
• Letter of motivation (max. 2 pages);
• List of publications;
• Two academic referees.

For questions about the vacancy you can contact: Nida Gizem Yilmaz Assistant Professor .