Job ID: 114671

Fully funded PhD position

Position: Ph.D. Student

Deadline: 1 October 2023

Contract Length: 3 years

City: Bron

Country: France

Institution: Stem Cell and Brain Research Institute, INSERM U1208

Department: Building the Cerebral Cortex: Connectomics

Description:

Fully funded PhD position in neurophysiological and computational neuroscience between the Stem Cell and Brain Research Institute (SBRI), Inserm U1208, Bron, France and the Ernst Strüngmann Institute (ESI) for Neuroscience in cooperation with Max Planck Society, Frankfurt am Main, Germany.

Funds are already available and the doctoral project will start as soon as possible. The candidate will work under the co-supervision of Dr. Julien Vezoli and Prof. Martin Vinck for approximately 24 months in Lyon (FR) and 12 months in Frankfurt (DE).

The project aims at investigating how the spatial embedding of the claustrum allows it to play a privileged role in facilitating the orchestration of state-dependent cortical network dynamics in non-human primate (NHP). Anatomical findings of the team show that the NHP claustrum exhibits unexpected primate-specific features in the integration of the claustrum into the interareal cortical network suggesting it plays a special role in control of changing brain states. The proposed PhD project will undertake electrophysiological investigations to explore the role of the claustrum in the orchestration of large-scale functional connectivity interactions. Experiments will use multi-site simultaneous recordings of a large number of cortical areas together with the claustrum during different behavioral tasks in awake behaving NHPs. The PhD candidate will develop new types of signal processing tools with the aim to integrate anatomical (acquired in parallel at SBRI) and functional datasets into large-scale brain computational models.

Requirements and eligibility criteria

The ideal candidate has a background in neuropsychology, cognitive science or neuroscience but the position is also open to students with computational neuroscience background willing to develop an empirical approach. Proficiency in modern high-level programming languages (Python, R, Matlab) for data analysis and statistical evaluation is a plus (otherwise, a training will take place at the beginning of the doctoral program). Proficiency in oral and written English is required. Applicants must have completed a MSc’s degree (or an equivalent qualification in terms of credits). Animal Experimentation Diploma is a plus, but could also be obtained at the beginning of the PhD programme with Ecole Normale Supérieure de Lyon and University Claude Bernard Lyon 1.

The successful candidate is expected to be willing to work collaboratively in an interdisciplinary team of neuroscientists and engineers, and be ready to move to Frankfurt (DE) for the completion of the PhD programme. The PhD candidate is also expected to be independent, assiduous, highly motivated, and able to communicate in scientific terms.

Benefits & Working Conditions

The position corresponds to a 3-year 100% PhD appointment (with a possible 4th-year extension), with competitive salary and working conditions. It is funded by an international ANR-DFG grant in the framework of the ANR ClaustrumHub. Application will be made to the German Academic Exchange Service.

The PhD candidate will be physically based at SBRI (Lyon, FR, https://sbri.fr/teams/building-the-cerebral-cortex-connectomics/, Team leader: Henry Kennedy) during the first two years followed by residency at ESI (Frankfurt, DE, https://www.esi-frankfurt.de/research/vinck-lab/).

The successful candidate will be admitted to the BMIC doctoral programme of the Université de Lyon (https://edbmic.universite-lyon.fr/ed-340-bmic/site-anglais/navigation/being-a-phd-student-at-bmic/annual-enrolment/), which offers first class opportunities to learn cross-disciplinary skills and attend international workshops and conferences. The successful candidate will also benefit from training opportunities in interpersonal skills relevant to her or his next career stages (e.g., communication, research, public speaking, etc.).

How to apply

Applications should be sent to Julien Vezoli (julien.vezoli@inserm.fr) and Martin Vinck (martin.vinck@esi-frankfurt.de). Both institutes are equal opportunity employers and women are encouraged to apply.

Please, submit the following documents in a single pdf file:

Your up-to-date resume, including under-review and under-preparation publications

Your motivation letter

The name of two referees

The application documents must be in English