PhD position in molecular neurodegeneration/neuropsychiatry

23.07.2021, Wissenschaftliches Personal

A PhD position to investigate molecular and biochemical mechanisms underlying the protein misfolding disease CADASIL (and possibly other protein aggregation diseases) is immediately available at the clinic for psychiatry at the TUM.

Our Profile

The psychiatric clinic is dedicated to research related to the molecular pathomechanisms underlying neurodegenerative/neuropsychiatric syndromes, which have become a major health problem in aging societies. Focusing on Alzheimer’s disease, Huntington’s disease, Schizophrenia and vascular disorders, we apply genetic, biochemical, cell biological and immunological techniques to improve our understanding of disease mechanisms and to deepen our knowledge of neuronal, glial and vascular cell physiology.

Project Description

Disruption of brain homeostasis by protein aggregation and excessive protein deposition is a frequent cause of dementia disorders. CADASIL, a rare hereditary neurovascular condition leading to early-onset stroke and cognitive decline, represents an understudied protein misfolding disease characterized by the mutation-induced aggregation and accumulation of the signaling receptor Notch3 (Chabriat et al., 2020). Our lab currently focuses on the elucidation of the molecular determinants of Notch3 aggregation, its recapitulation in vitro and the search for anti-aggregatory compounds (Zellner et al., 2018; Haffner, 2019). The project will involve the use of molecular, genetic, biochemical and cell biological techniques with the goal to develop in vitro aggregation assays, to quantitatively assess the aggregation potential of various Notch3 mutants and to establish a high-throughput procedure for the identification of small-molecule aggregation inhibitors. Place of work will be a modern and well-equipped laboratory at the Center of Stroke and Dementia Research (CSD), a recently opened research building on the Campus Munich-Großhadern with an international and inspirational environment.

Your Profile

We are looking for a motivated candidate willing to work in a small team and sharing our passion for basic molecular research in the field of neurovascular/neurodegenerative diseases. The applicant should hold an academic degree in life sciences and have experience in mammalian cell culture and biochemistry.

Application details

Please send your application including a CV detailing your education, research and/or professional experience and references to:

PD Dr. rer. nat. Christof Haffner Clinic of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy Technical University of Munich Ismaninger Str.22 81675 München E-mail: [email protected]

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Kontakt: [email protected]