Vacancies
-
Key details
- Location UK DRI at UCL
- Salary: £43,981-£52,586
- Lab: Dr Marc Aurel Busche
About us
Research from UK DRI at UCL covers the journey from the patient to the laboratory and back to the patient with improved diagnosis, biomarkers and candidate therapies put to the test.
The Busche Laboratory, based in the UK DRI at UCL, is a highly interactive environment, with strong collaborations across the UK DRI as well as with researchers at UCL and other renowned institutions.
About the role
We are seeking an exceptional individual to join on a cutting-edge research programme aimed at understanding - and ultimately reversing - neuronal and circuit dysfunction in Alzheimer’s disease.
The focus will be on linking early, cell-type-specific molecular alterations to large-scale neural circuit impairments in mouse models. The project will combine spatial omics methods with advanced techniques to record neuronal activity across large populations of cells, such as in vivo two-photon calcium imaging. A variety of experimental and analytical approaches will be applied to interrogate the mechanisms of dysfunction.
This is an outstanding opportunity to work independently on a high impact, state-of-the-art project in a stimulating, vibrant research environment.
The role is available from 01 February 2026 and funded by the UK Dementia Research Institute until 31 January 2028 in the first instance.
Informal enquiries regarding the role can be addressed to Dr Marc Aurel Busche (m.busche@ucl.ac.uk).
About you
You will hold a PhD in neuroscience, engineering, computer science, mathematics, physics, or a related field, and prior practical experience with spatial transcriptomics and related data processing/analysis. Expertise in modern molecular biology techniques such as AAV design and validation, immunostaining and confocal microscopy, single-cell RNA sequencing, quantitative in situ hybridization, and related bioinformatic skills, experience in rodent stereotactic surgery are essential for the role. Excellent interpersonal, collaboration, and communication skills are also required.
This role meets the eligibility requirements for a skilled worker certificate of sponsorship or a global talent visa under UK Visas and Immigration legislation. Therefore, UCL welcomes applications from international applicants who require a visa.
-
Key details
- Location UK DRI at UCL
- Salary: £45,103 - £48,679 per annum
- Lab: Professor Catherine Hall
About us
Dementia is the greatest health challenge of our century.
To date there is no way to prevent it or even slow its progression, and there is an urgent need to fill the knowledge gap in our basic understanding of these diseases.
The UK Dementia Research Institute (UK DRI) is the biggest UK initiative supporting research to fill this gap.
Research in the Hall Lab, based in the UK DRI at UCL and the BHF-UK DRI Centre for Vascular Dementia Research, aims to untangle if and how the balance between the brain’s energy supply and demand shapes its activity, and especially how changes in this balance promote the emergence of vascular and Alzheimer’s dementia.
About the role
We are now recruiting a postdoctoral researcher to join the Hall Lab at UCL and work on an exciting projects defining how brain function is affected by a dysfunctional vasculature, and how blood vessels become damaged during dementia. You will interrogate the mechanisms underlying changes in neurovascular function change in the brain during dementia risk, early dementia, and during mild disruptions to the brain’s energy supply. Projects will use physiological, molecular and biochemical approaches to dissect mechanisms producing neurovascular changes observed in models of Alzheimer’s disease and vascular dementia.
The role is available from 01 February 2026 and funded by the British Heart Foundation/UK DRI for two years in the first instance.
Informal enquiries regarding the role can be addressed to Professor Catherine Hall (catherine.hall@ucl.ac.uk)
About you
You’ll have a PhD in neuroscience, life sciences, or a related field, and the ability to develop new ideas and methods, generate research hypotheses, and design experiments to test these. A strong background in statistical analysis and specialist technical expertise in one or more of the experimental methods relevant for the project is essential, as is an understanding of and interest in the research work of the UK DRI, and excellent organisational, interpersonal, and communication skills.
-
Key details
- Location UK DRI at UCL
- Salary: The studentship is funded through the Alzheimer’s Research UK (ARUK) for 4 years and will cover UK university tuition fees (home fees only). The studentship will also pay an annual stipend based on the standard ARUK set stipend rate.
- Lab: Dr Soyon Hong
About the Project
Applications are invited for a fully funded PhD studentship in the UK Dementia Research Institute at UCL, UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology, to start on 28th September 2026.
Project: This PhD project will investigate how astrocytes and microglia contribute to synaptic loss and aggregate pathology in Alzheimer’s disease (AD).
It is becoming increasingly clear that non-neuronal cells critically contribute to region-specific synapse loss and dysfunction in AD. While microglia are emerging as the central cellular mediators of synapse elimination (for e.g., Hong et al., Science 2016, Rueda-Carrasco et al., EMBOJ 2023, De Schepper et al., Nature Neuroscience 2023, Crowley et al., bioRxiv 2024), our recent work suggests that astrocytes may act upstream to confer the region-specific synapse vulnerability (Sokolova et al., bioRxiv 2024). Mechanistically, we find that these astrocytes, which have marked dysfunctional perisynaptic processes, secrete MFG-E8, which then promote microglial synapse engulfment and synapse loss in their local milieu.
The PhD project will build on these findings and aim to uncover astrocyte-microglia crosstalk in AD. The student will dissect molecular mechanisms underlying this cell-cell crosstalk including MFG-E8 using various cutting-edge tools in post-mortem human tissues, human cells and various mouse models including spatial transcriptomics, single-cell transcriptomics, subcellular or secretome proteomics, in vivo manipulation tools, and/or super-resolution microscopy.
Eligibility: Applicants who have or expect to obtain a 1st class honours or an upper 2:1 in their undergraduate degree in neuroscience, neuroimmunology, immunology, molecular biology, biomedical sciences or related disciplines, as well as a significant level of wet-lab research experience in biology or related field. An MSc/MRes is favoured but not a pre-requisite.
Funding Notes
The studentship is funded through the Alzheimer’s Research UK (ARUK) for 4 years and will cover UK university tuition fees (home fees only). The studentship will also pay an annual stipend based on the standard ARUK set stipend rate. Overseas students may apply but will receive funding at Home rates. As such they will need to apply for additional funding or show evidence of their ability to pay the fee shortfall for the full duration of the study.
Training and staff networks
Learning and development courses and tools for career development are available to staff through UCL's organisational development platform. These include leadership training, as well as specialised training for doctoral researchers and research staff.
The UCL Doctoral Skills Development Programme (DSDP) is designed to help doctoral researchers develop skills for research, professional development and employment. The UCL Research Staff Development Programme (RSDP) is designed to help staff involved in research to develop skills particularly valuable for the wide range of careers within and beyond academia.
There are a wide range networks available to UCL staff, including the Disability Equality Steering Group, Enable@UCL, the Gender Equality Network, and many more.