PHD position In vivo recording of neural circuits of instinctive drives

Updated: almost 3 years ago
Job Type: Temporary
Deadline: 06 Aug 2021

The Neural Circuits of Drive team is looking for a capable PhD candidate for a 4-year project that will be carried out at the Integrative Neurophysiology (INF) division at the Center for Neurogenomics and Cognitive Research (CNCR) at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam.
https://inf.cncr.nl/research_teams/neural_circuits_of_drive

Instinctive drives like food seeking and social interactions are in large part generated by the hypothalamus. We study how action potential firing in hypothalamic neurons is orchestrated, and how these processes constrain behaviour. This is a crucial research question as the resulting knowledge would help understand health issues such as the ongoing obesity epidemic, eating disorders, to name a few.

As a PhD candidate, your research will aim to elucidate the neural circuit mechanisms underlying the emergence of behavioural sequences, such as explore to find food, then feed, then find mates and interact socially.

Your duties

  • You will use a repertoire of state-of-the-art approaches in circuit neuroscience such as in vivo calcium imaging in behaving mice, optogenetics, patch clamp electrophysiology and immunohistochemistry
  • You will have the opportunity to supervise Bachelor’s and Master’s students


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