Research Fellow UCL

Vacancy Reference Number

B02-06116

Closing Date

1 Dec 2023

Salary

£40,524 - £48,763

Address

UK DRI at UCL, Queen Square

Duration

The post is available from the 01 January 2024 and funded by Wellcome and the UK DRI for two years in the first instance.

About the Job

Dementia is the greatest 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 supporting research to fill the major knowledge gap in our basic understanding of the diseases that cause dementia.

Research from UK DRI at UCL covers the journey from the patient to the laboratory and back to the patient with improved diagnosis, biomarkers and candidate therapies put to the test. Led by Professor Karen Duff, UK DRI Centre Director, the team addresses the key unanswered mechanistic questions that link genetic and lifecourse factors to dysfunction in molecular pathways, in cells and in neural systems during the progression of the dementias. This work will be enhanced by clinical resource to link lab work to the clinic.

The Department of Neuromuscular Diseases is a hub for clinical and research excellence across the spectrum of spinal cord and neuromuscular diseases. Our group of world-leading clinical, genetic and basic science researchers focus their work on understanding the causes and biological mechanisms leading to Neuromuscular Disease and translating this knowledge into developing novel therapeutic solutions that is of direct benefit to neurological disorders such as motor neurone disease, Alzheimer’s disease and neuromuscular disease.

You will work on projects focussed on the regulation of axonal transport in health and neurodegenerative diseases. Motor neurons are profoundly reliant on fast axonal transport for propagating context-dependent signals from distal compartments to the soma due to their long axons, which in humans can extend to a meter. Despite the importance of axonal transport in neuronal health, we still lack clear mechanistic understanding of how neurons can modulate axonal transport rates to adapt to local homeostatic and bioenergetic demands at synapses. This proposal aims to discover fundamental mechanisms regulating axonal transport in health and neurodegenerative conditions including amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and fronto-temporal dementia by integrating novel molecular, cellular and in vivo experimental paradigms in rodent and human neurons.

You will have the opportunity to use a variety of techniques, including, but not limited to, live imaging, intravital microscopy, human iPSC-derived neurons, and molecular, cellular and functional approaches.

Essential criteria 

You will have a PhD in Neuroscience, Biology, or related discipline, and experience in neurobiology research. Experience of working with primary neuronal cultures, in high resolution miscroscopy (including confocal microscopy and spinning disk) and image analysis, and in live cell imaging is essential. Experience in managing mouse colonies and regulated procedures, including being a Personal Licence holder, is desirable.

This role meets the eligibility requirements for a skilled worker certificate of sponsorship or a global talent visa under UK Visas and Immigration legislation. Therefore, UCL welcomes applications from international applicants who require a visa.

Contact information

To apply visit here.

Informal enquiries regarding the role can be addressed to Professor Schiavo, (giampietro.schiavo@ucl.ac.uk).