PhD student - Traumatic Brain Injury

A PhD student - Traumatic Brain Injury position is available in the Neurogenesis & Neurodegeneration group at the Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience in Amsterdam.

• Scientific/Non-scientific: Academic staff
• Institute: Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience
• Location: Amsterdam
• Minimum hours per week: 38
• Maximum hours per week: 38

Team

The Neurogenesis & Neurodegeneration laboratory led by Evgenia Salta employs transcriptomics and other molecular and cellular approaches to map the cellular and molecular complexity of the adult human hippocampus and dissect the biological pathways that are deregulated in dementia. The team employs primarily human postmortem brain tissue and iPSC reprogramming.

Project

The project is funded by the Dutch Research Council (NWO) Open Competition and is a collaboration between the Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience (NIN) and the Swammerdam Institute of Life Sciences (SILS) at the University of Amsterdam.

Repeated mild head injuries, the kind sustained by athletes, veterans, and victims of domestic violence, are increasingly linked to long-term memory problems and a higher risk of dementia later in life. Strikingly, these lasting effects can occur even when no visible brain damage is present. Yet, we still don't understand how repeated injury leads to memory decline, and there are currently no treatments that address these long-term cognitive consequences.

Beyond helping high-risk groups, this work may also shed light on Alzheimer's and other dementias that share similar underlying processes.

The research will be performed at the Salta lab at the Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience in Amsterdam. This is a joint project with the group of Carlos Fitzsimons at the SILS, University of Amsterdam.

This study is a follow up of our previously published work:
https://www.cell.com/cell-stem-cell/fulltext/S1934-5909(26)00142-6https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-024-49299-6

What you will do

In this project, you will investigate what happens in the brain after repetitive mild traumatic brain injury, focusing on the hippocampus, the brain region central to memory. We are particularly interested in long-lasting inflammatory and neurogenic alterations and the cells involved in them, including microglia, astrocytes and immature neurons. By uncovering these mechanisms, you will help us to identify cellular or molecular targets that could guide the development of future therapies.

As a PhD candidate in our group, you will use state-of-the art single-nucleus RNA sequencing pipelines to process postmortem human brain from donors with a record of traumatic brain injury. You will be in charge of sample collection and stratification and apply advanced computational pipelines to identify cellular and molecular programs involved in the hippocampal response to injury and the downstream cognitive effects. Ultimately, you will establish in vitro human cell models to probe causal relationships between candidate targets and cellular phenotypes.

What we expect from you

• A Master’s degree in biomedical sciences, neuroscience or similar
• Strong affinity and hands-on experience with coding and omics-related computational analyses are a prerequisite
• Strong affinity and hands-on experience with single-cell transcriptomics are a prerequisite
• Strong experience with (iPSC) cell culture is a plus
• Excellent communication skills, as well as proficiency in spoken and written English, are expected
• Strong organizational skills, methodical and structured approach to your work, rigor, accuracy and attention to detail
• A reliable, collaborative team player who is easy to work with and delivers on commitments
• Genuine passion for scientific research
• Drive, persistence and positive attitude to tackle difficult problems that require iterative approaches, while systematically checking results against expectations to catch issues early

What we offer

• A stimulating, innovative and dynamic international research environment
• Opportunity to work with novel, exciting datasets and develop creative concepts and pipelines
• A strong community of care, support and scientific challenge
• Access to state-of-the art infrastructure and work conditions
• Active mentoring, supervision and training
• Opportunities for personal growth
• A particularly collaborative setting between the NIN and the SILS
• Possibility to develop your own projects and apply for third-party funding

The position is for a period of 4 years in total. The first appointment is for one year with the option for an extension for the remaining period pending on evaluation.

About the Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience

The Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience is a leading fundamental neuroscience research institute, in the international and progressive city of Amsterdam. It provides a critical mass of scientists (spanning more than 27 nationalities) and neuroscience facilities, in a highly interactive, dynamic, multi-cultural environment, with English as the working language.

Terms of employment

Depending on education and experience the minimum salary is € 3.204 and the maximum salary is € 4.051 gross per month for a full-time appointment (scale P, Collective Labour Agreement Dutch Universities/ KNAW). This is exclusive of 8% vacation allowance, 8.3% year-end bonus, travel allowance, internet allowance, home working allowance and pension accrual with ABP.

The KNAW offers its staff an excellent package of secondary benefits. A package that meets the different needs of employees depending on their stage of life, lifestyle or career ambitions. For example, by working an extra two hours a week, it is possible to increase the number of days off from 29 to 41 days a year (with full-time employment).

Applying for a Certificate of Good Conduct can be part of the employment procedure.