PhD candidate neuroplasticity in depression, physician-researcher (MD) NIN Amsterdam

PhD candidate neuroplasticity in depression, physician-researcher (MD) at the Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience (NIN) and Amsterdam UMC

The Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience (NIN) and Amsterdam UMC, department of Psychiatry have a vacancy for a joint PhD research project to better understand reduced neuroplasticity and synapse density as a mechanism for depression. The project is financed by Vrienden Herseninstituut, iCNS and Amsterdam Neuroscience.

What will you be doing?

Depressive disorders are common, debilitating and often chronic disorders. Major depression affects children and adults, resulting in suffering, social isolation and sometimes suicide. Little is known about the underlying neurobiological mechanism, which is assumed multifactorial. One of the hypotheses is a reduced degree of neuroplasticity and synapse density, which is thought to be restored by various treatments we prescribe (such as esketamine, electroconvulsive therapy or magnetic stimulation). Research at the Department of Psychiatry, Amsterdam Neuroscience and the NIN is aimed at understanding the underlying neurobiological mechanism and how forms of treatment affect it. Increasing insight into the mechanism of action can provide insight into new targets for treatment.

As a PhD candidate/student, you will work at both the Amsterdam UMC and the NIN, and you will act as a bridge between fundamental and clinical science. You work in a multidisciplinary and translational way: you translate findings from the lab to the patient, from molecule to behaviour and vice versa. In practice, this means that you will be involved in clinical trials with Positron Emission Tomography scans of patients with depression undergoing treatment, as well as perform immunohistochemical stains in the lab to count synapses in post-mortem brain tissue.

What you will be contributing?

• You will delve into literature on neuroplasticity in depression.
• You and a team will set up a CSF biobank aimed at collecting CSF from depressed patients.
• At the CSF of the biobank and the Netherlands Brain Bank for Psychiatry (NHB-psy), you perform O-link proteomics.
• You will conduct a study of synapse density in depressed patients undergoing brain stimulation using a newSV2a PET scan.
• You will conduct a study of synapse density in post-mortem tissue of depressed patients, using immuno-histochemistry (IHC)/fluorescence and Western blots with synaptic and microglia markers.
• You will learn to use high and super-resolution microscopy (STED, confocal).
• You will help set up a 'psychiatric autopsy protocol', to improve the donor phenotyping of psychiatric brain donors of NHB-Psy.

What do you bring with you?

• We are looking for a highly motivated PhD candidate who brings the following:
• A medical doctor (MD) degree, with an affinity for neuroscience;
• Demonstrated interest in medical research, in particular neuroscience;
• You have excellent writing and communication skills;
• You are able to work both independently and in a team;
• You are fluent in Dutch and English.

What we are offering:

• A flying start to your career in neuroscientific research, working with top scientists and clinicians from renowned institutes.
• Access to state-of-the-art facilities and equipment.
• Opportunities to attend conferences and training.
• Good terms of employment. You will be employed by NIN, but also appointed at the Amsterdam UMC, Psychiatry department. A contract for the duration of 12 months, with the intention to extend to a total of 4 years.

More information

The Neuroimmunology Research Group (IMM), led by Prof. Inge Huitinga, investigates the cellular and molecular mechanisms driving multiple sclerosis (MS) pathology and mood disorders, using human postmortem tissue and invitro analyses. Dr. Karel Scheepstra is psychiatrist and specialized in difficult-to-treat depression and its neurobiology. You will also become part of the MoodLabMeets research team of the Department of Psychiatry. There are long-term collaborations with the Department of Nuclear Medicine and the NHB-Psy; they are directly involved in the project.

For additional enquiries, please contact Dr. Karel Scheepstra (k.w.scheepstra@amsterdamumc.nl) or Prof. Inge Huitinga (i.huitinga@nin.knaw.nl).

About the Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience
The Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience is the country’s 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 € 3059,- and the maximum salary is € 3881,- gross per month for a full-time appointment (scale P, cao Nederlandse Universiteiten/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.

Diversity & Inclusion
The KNAW considers a working environment in which everyone feels welcome and appreciated of great importance. A working environment in which attention is paid to individual quality and where development opportunities are paramount. Together we strive for an inclusive culture in which we embrace differences. We would therefore like to invite candidates who want to contribute to this through their background and experience. In the event of equal suitability, preference will be given to the candidate who thus enhances diversity within the Academy.