Germany : 2 PhD Student Positions Available

1) Proteotoxicity and Aging of the Nervous System

The Junior Research Group Neuroplasticity, at the Hertie-Institute for Clinical Brain Research, University of Tuebingen, Germany is looking for a highly motivated student with top grades, talent and creativity who likes to work on the Ph.D. project "Proteotoxicity and Aging of the Nervous System".

To function, proteins must undergo a folding process that gives them the proper three dimensional structure. Proteins that have failed to fold correctly impair cell function, a process called proteotoxicity. Many diseases of aging, including Alzheimer's disease, various forms of Parkinsonism, and even some forms of diabetes mellitus, are associated with proteotoxicity caused by improper folding or processing of proteins. Our laboratory uses Drosophila as model system to study APP-processing induced neurodegeneration. If you are in particular interested to address the link between aging related changes in the brain and proteotoxicity, please contact me for more details.

Applicants are expected to show a sincere and specific interest in the project.  Experience in electrophysiology, fly genetics, behavioral analyses/learning assays and imaging/histology are an asset. You should furthermore be willing to visit collaborating laboratories (costs will be covered) in the course of your PhD.  Applications should include a CV, the academic achievements, a brief statement of research interests including your past experience and names of at least 2 referees. Incomplete applications will not be considered.

2) Cellular basis of motor neuron diseases

A Ph.D. student position is available in the Junior Research Group Neuroplasticity, at the Hertie-Institute for Clinical Brain Research, University of Tuebingen, Germany. Our group addresses the molecular and cellular basis of synaptic plasticity. In particular, we focus on pathways that are normally involved in refining synaptic circuits via the "physiological" elimination of specific synapses. The misregulation of such pathways might set off the trigger for a massive, pathological loss of synapses. Thus, our work will hopefully lead to a better mechanistic understanding of altered synaptic plasticity in the diseased brain. In particular we are interested to characterize, which alterations are causative, and which are merely adaptations to neurodegenerative diseases.

The lab covers a variety of methods including in vivo microscopy, molecular biology, biochemistry, bioinformatics, behavioral assays, electron microscopy, Drosophila genetics and electrophysiology.

We are looking for a highly motivated student with top grades, talent and creativity who likes to work on a disease-relevant study. You should furthermore be willing to and interested in visiting collaborating laboratories in the US/UK (costs will be covered) in the course of you PhD (to learn techniques / do experiments).

Special focus of the advertised project will the (1) the "molecular mechanics" of kinesin function as well as (2) the question: "How is synaptic function affected by impairments in anterograde axonal transport?".

Applications should include a CV, the academic achievements, a brief statement of research interests including your past experience and names of at least 2 referees. Applicants are expected to show a sincere and specific interest in the project. Incomplete applications will not be considered.

http://www.hih-tuebingen.de/synaptic-plasticity/job-openings/phd-student/

Further Information

Application Deadline : 6 February 2010

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Posted on 2010-01-06 08:39:18

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