Job ID: 103128

Postdoctoral research position at UCL, London UK

Position: Post-doctoral Position

Deadline: 17 February 2023

Employment Start Date: 6 March 2023

Contract Length: One year in the first instance with possible extension for at least two more years

City: London

Country: United Kingdom

Institution: University College London (UCL)

Department: Department of Cell and Developmental Biology

Description:

Promoting synapse protection in Alzheimer’s disease

Applications are invited for a postdoctoral scientist to work on a project aimed at unravelling the function of Wnt signalling in synapse integrity in the context of Alzheimer’s disease (AD). The work will be conducted in the laboratory of Professor Patricia Salinas at UCL. Wnt secreted proteins play a crucial role in the formation, function, and stability of synapse in the vertebrate nervous system. The Salinas lab discovered that Wnt signalling is deficient in AD. New work found that Frizzled receptors, which are crucial for Wnt signalling regulate synaptic plasticity and integrity. In AD, these receptors are compromised. In this project, the postdoctoral researcher will examine how defect in Fz receptors contribute to synapse vulnerability in the context of AD. The researcher will take a multidisciplinary approach using a range of state of the art-imaging techniques including tissue clearing to visualise connections in the mammalian brain, combined with transcriptomic and proteomic analyses, and electrophysiological recording to determine structural and functional vulnerability in AD mouse models. The postdoctoral fellow will have access to state-of-the-art imaging facilities.

Applications are particularly welcome from candidates with research expertise in cellular and molecular neurobiology and neurodegeneration. Experience in cell imagining techniques and/or electrophysiology would be advantageous.

The position is available with an immediate start. The starting salary is on UCL grade 7 in a range of £ 38,308 – £40,928 including London Allowance. Funding from the MRC is available for one year in the first instance with possibility of further funding.

Informal enquiries should be addressed to Professor Patricia Salinas (email: p.salinas@ucl.ac.uk).  For details on our lab’s research interests please visit https://salinaslabucl.co.uk.

For job description and application: https://www.ucl.ac.uk/work-at-ucl/search-ucl-jobs/details?nPostingId=3118&nPostingTargetId=5444&id=Q1KFK026203F3VBQBLO8M8M07&LG=UK&mask=exthttps://salinaslabucl.co.uk/