2024 BNA Scholars announced
15th March 2024
Dementia is the biggest 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 the diseases that cause it.
The UK Dementia Research Institute (UK DRI) is the biggest UK initiative driving forward research to fill this gap.
The UK DRI at Cardiff is one of 7 UK centres bringing together world-leading scientists to deliver a step-change in the scientific understanding of dementia, generating new targets for drug development, reinvigorating the therapeutic pipeline and helping to transform care. Our strategy is to build upon research strengths in dementia genetics, immunology, computational analytics, cellular and whole system modelling and neuroimaging to identify disease mechanisms and therapies for Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and Huntingdon’s disease and other dementias.
Rapid advances in DNA technologies and computational biology are enabling scientists to identify more and more of the subtle DNA variations that can influence a person’s risk of developing different neurodegenerative diseases. Researchers at the UK DRI at Cardiff interrogate the host of genetic variations linked with neurodegenerative diseases to make new discoveries about disease processes. They use experimental model systems along with a variety of cutting-edge experimental methods and equipment to dissect the biology of many of these genes. Building on the team’s international reputation for complex data analyses, they develop and apply advanced computational approaches that enable them to make sense of huge datasets generated by complex experiments.
As part of our continued growth, a new and exciting opportunity has arisen for Postdoctoral Research Associate to join the UK DRI at Cardiff. We are seeking a highly motivated individual with aspirations of a career in academia to join the lab of Dr Dayne Beccano-Kelly.
The Beccano-Kelly lab aims to assess the earliest changes in Parkinson’s disease, focusing on synaptic activity, in the context of the temporal nature of the disease. Using cutting edge techniques, tools and models (including PatchSeq, Optogenetics iPSC and knock-in models) and innovative design, the lab aims to generate a pathophysiological timeline identifying the most important phenotypes and howe they can be modulated to prevent late-stage degeneration.
We aim to recruit forward and outward-facing, motivated, passionate individuals who will stimulate new thinking with progressive and inclusive approaches. We are committed to employing people who will bring difference in background, approach, identity and experiences.
The successful candidate will have, or nearing completion of a PhD in a relevant area, or relevant experience and will conduct research within the specialist areas of electrophysiology, tissue culture and molecular assays.