PhD Position in Human Neuroscience: Neurons and Circuits of Human Cognition

Are you fascinated by what makes the human brain unique? Do you want to work with live human brain tissue to uncover the mechanisms of human cognition? Our team Neurons of Human Cognition is hiring!

PhD Position in Human Neuroscience: Neurons and Circuits of Human Cognition

Your function

While we know that human cognition is unparalleled, we lack a mechanistic understanding of the specific neurons and circuits that support it. This PhD project, funded by a European Research Consolidator grant, focuses on the function of the specialized neuron types in the human cortex that are vulnerable in Alzheimer disease: layer 3 Pyramidal Neurons and Double Bouquet Cells (DBCs). Our previous work shows that human layer 3 Pyramidal Neurons have distinct physiological and morphological properties that distinguish them from other species and link to cognitive scores. These neurons might play a role of a hub in cognitive networks integrating information from thousands of synaptic inputs. To keep this excitation in balance it must be matched by inhibition. Another human specialized interneuron type – Double Bouquet cell – might provide this inhibitory balance. These neuron types are likely to be critical for human cognition as they are selectively lost in cognitive disorders. In this project you will investigate how these neurons function and form circuits in the human brain, and how their activity translates to more efficient computation.

Team

You will be part of our diverse and dynamic team Neurons of Human Cognition at the department of Integrative Neurophysiology at the Center for Neurogenetics and Cognitive Research at the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam. You will gain rare expertise in live human brain tissue research, using samples obtained from neurosurgery and will apply cutting edge molecular and electrophysiological techniques.

As a member of our team, you will:

• use single- and multi-cell patch-clamp recordings to map circuit dynamics
• apply viral tools to label neuron types in organotypic slice cultures
• use bioinformatic tools to explore already existing datasets
• develop computational models to understand how circuit function translates to better neuronal and network computation
• contribute to teaching activities (~10% of your time), including supervision of BSc and/or MSc students during internships
• publish your research and present to the international research community

Your profile

We are seeking a highly motivated student with a background in Neuroscience or Biomedical Sciences. Specifically, we require:

• a master’s degree in life sciences, specialization in biomedical sciences, biophysics or neuroscience
• prior experience in cellular electrophysiology in brain slices (patch clamp)
• programming and data analysis skills
• excellent communication and writing skills in English

In addition, we value prior experience in:

• molecular biology, cell and organotypic culturing techniques
• computational modeling
• statistical analysis of big datasets

We realize that each individual brings a unique set of skills, expertise and mindset. Therefore, we are happy to invite anyone who recognizes themselves in the profile to apply, even if you do not meet all the requirements.

About us

This position will be in the Department of Integrative Neurophysiology at the Center for Neurogenetics and Cognitive Research (CNCR) at the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam.

Faculty of Science

Researchers and students at VU Amsterdam’s Faculty of Science tackle fundamental and complex scientific problems. Our teaching and research have a strong experimentally technical, computational and interdisciplinary nature.