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PhD Studentship in Neuroscience

Imperial College London

Hammersmith Campus, London, UK

Applications are invited for a 3.5-year PhD studentship supported by the Edmond J. Safra Foundation to join the group of Dr Carola Radulescu in the Department of Brain Sciences for a project to study: Age-dependent mechanisms of α-Synuclein dynamics in synaptic function 

The project is based at Imperial’s Hammersmith Campus and White City Campus. The candidate will be under the supervision of Dr Carola Radulescu, Edmond J Safra Research Fellow in the Department of Brain Sciences and will benefit an active and engaged postgraduate community at Imperial.

Age-related neurodegenerative conditions are the greatest health challenge of our century. Today, over 1 million people in the UK are living with age-related neurodegenerative conditions leading to debilitating dementia and movement disorders, including Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, and motor neuron disease. The impact of these incurable and progressive conditions on individuals and their families is devastating. The cost to the economy and public services is large and growing as the UK population ages. However, due to major advances in our understanding of the biology of these diseases, the scientific field is at a tipping point, with the next decade promising to deliver transformative breakthroughs in therapies and a new era of predictive, preventative, and precision medicine for neurodegenerative conditions.

Applications will be considered on a rolling basis with a final closing date of 31 January 2025.

For full details, visit here.

In this project, you will develop new molecular tools modifying circadian pathways to prevent/ delay Alzheimer’s disease.

About the role

The Brancaccio Lab invites applications from talented, highly motivated and creative postdoctoral scientists to take a leading role in one of the following projects investigating molecular cellular and circuit mechanisms driving circadian dysfunction in pre-clinical models of Alzheimer’s disease (AD).

Today, over 1 million people in the UK are living with dementia and related neurodegenerative disorders, such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, and motor neuron disease (MND). The impact of these incurable and progressive conditions on individuals and their families is devastating. The cost to the economy and public services is large and growing as the UK population ages. However, due to major advances in our understanding of the biology of these diseases, the scientific field is at a tipping point, with the next decade promising to deliver transformative breakthroughs in therapies and a new era of predictive, preventative, and precision medicine for neurodegenerative conditions. The UK is well placed to play a leading role in this revolution due to its scientific strengths in the field, led by the UK Dementia Research Institute (UK DRI) working with our world-class, university-based centres. We are a globally leading multidisciplinary research institute of over 900 staff investigating the spectrum of neurodegenerative disorders causing dementia, driving a step change in our understanding of neurodegeneration, and accelerating the discovery, development and delivery of interventions that will help diagnose, treat, and ultimately prevent dementia. Our principal funder is the Medical Research Council (MRC).

What you would be doing

Project: Leveraging circadian clocks to prevent Alzheimer’s disease

In this project, you will develop new molecular tools modifying circadian pathways to prevent/ delay Alzheimer’s disease. This project stems from newly established mouse models and clock molecular targets identified in the Brancaccio Lab. You will perform viral delivery of gene therapy viral vectors, behavioural assessment of sleep-wake cycles and cognition, multiplexed live imaging in brain tissue, combinatorial intersectional genetics, and multivariate statistical analysis of time series to validate new chronotherapeutic interventions in Alzheimer’s disease. Further experience with analyses of large ‘OMICS dataset and advanced molecular biology tools in addition to stereotaxic brain surgery and live imaging will be an element of significant strength for this position. Previous knowledge of circadian biology is desirable but not strictly necessary.

What we are looking for

• You will be a motivated and organised researcher, excited by the science we do.
• You will hold (or be near completion of) a PhD in neuroscience (or related discipline).
• Experience of one or more laboratory techniques including live imaging microscopy and advanced techniques of molecular biology (e.g., cloning, viral vector design, construction and production, CRISPR/Cas9 and/or RNAi functional interference
• Experience of one or more software packages is essential: MATLAB, ImageJ, SigmaPlot,
• Prism, R, as is experience in statistical analysis.
• Practical experience with RNAseq, RNA scope, and spatial transcriptomic techniques is highly desirable.
• Experience with multivariate statistical analysis of (circadian) time series is highly desirable.

For full details and to apply, please visit the Imperial website.