MRC-Funded Ph.D. Studentship in Neuroscience (Sharott Group): Developing a closed-loop deep brain stimulation platform for manipulating corticostriatal plasticity

Applications are invited from UK or EU residents to join a multidisciplinary team of scientists developing a closed-loop deep brain stimulation platform for manipulating corticostriatal plasticity during goal-directed behaviour. The project will combine techniques in neurophysiology and electronic engineering. The studentship is available from the start of academic year 2018/19 for 3 years and will be supervised by Dr Andrew Sharott and Dr David Dupret at the MRC Brain Network Dynamics Unit at the University of Oxford (MRC BNDU) and Dr Timothy Constandinou, Faculty of Engineering, Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Imperial College London. You will be jointly hosted by the MRC BNDU and the EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in Neurotechnology (CDT) for Life and Health at Imperial College London and registered for a PhD at the University of Oxford. For further details about the project, please contact Dr Andrew Sharott ([Email Address Removed]) or visit (www.imperial.ac.uk/neurotechnology/cdt).

Interested candidates should possess, or expect to receive, a 1st class or upper 2nd class degree (or equivalent) in a related scientific discipline, e.g. biological or physical sciences, computer science, mathematics. To apply, please send a full curriculum vitae, names and full contact details of two referees, and a covering letter indicating why you are interested in and suited to this project to Mrs Savita Anderson ([Email Address Removed]) by 12.00 noon on Friday 31st March 2017.

The MRC BNDU operates over two sites at the University of Oxford (Department of Pharmacology and Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences). It is uniquely multidisciplinary, integrating exceptional research programmes that span clinical, experimental and computational neuroscience. The collective aim of the MRC BNDU is to understand the moment-to-moment interactions between nerve cells that are critical for brain functions, and to exploit these to develop novel therapies for disorders such as Parkinson’s disease. For more information, see http://www.mrcbndu.ox.ac.uk/

The EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in Neurotechnology (CDT) for Life and Health at Imperial College London spans the Faculties of Engineering, Natural Sciences and Medicine at Imperial College, with investigators from thirteen departments including Bioengineering, Brain Sciences, Chemistry, Computing and Electrical and Electronic Engineering. Directed by Dr Simon Schultz, Prof Bill Wisden and Prof Paul Matthews. All research projects involve a team of supervisors, each of whom bring complementary expertise to the project. In addition to researchers from across Imperial College, the CDT involves twenty industry and charity partners, as well as satellite research groups at the Crick Institute, UCL and the University of Oxford.

This Ph.D. (D.Phil.) studentship is funded by the Medical Research Council. To be eligible for a full award (stipend in addition to university/college fees) a student must have settled status in the UK, and must have been ‘ordinarily resident’ in the UK for three years prior to the start of the studentship. For further details about student eligibility requirements for full and fees-only awards, please see: http://www.mrc.ac.uk/skills-careers/studentships/studentship-guidance/student-eligibility-requirements/

Successful candidates also require acceptance by the University of Oxford (Department of Pharmacology, Course Code RD_PH1), so please refer to the University of Oxford Graduate Students pages for guidance on the subsequent online University application process and the minimum English language requirements: (http://www.ox.ac.uk/admissions/postgraduate_courses/apply/application_guide/).