Job ID: 122829

A PhD position in Neuroscience is available in Lyon (FRANCE)

Position: Ph.D. Student

Deadline: 30 September 2025

Employment Start Date: 1 October 2025

Contract Length: 3 years

City: LYON

Country: France

Institution: University Claude Bernard - Lyon 1

Department:

Description:

A PhD position is available to investigate how the zona incerta integrates both sensory and motor inputs to ensure sleep stability and control sleep-wake transitions. Sleep is regulated by a complex interplay of subcortical and brainstem structures, among which the zona incerta recently emerged as a sleep promoting area. The zona incerta is a small nucleus extensively connected with other structures in the brain, acting as a key integrative hub for sensory, motor and visceral functions. The zona plays a key role in motor control; and deep brain stimulation of the zona incerta has recently emerged as a treatment for motor symptoms of Parkinson’s disease. Difficulty in falling asleep and frequent awakening are frequent complaints of patients, who often experience fragmented sleep alongside motor dysfunctions.

Our previous work showed that motor cortical inputs may activate an inhibitory circuit internal to the zona incerta which suppresses sensory responses in the zona incerta cells. This project will explore how incertal neurons suppress unwanted or meaningless sensory- and movement-related activity, promoting sleep maintenance in control mice and in an animal model of Parkinson’s disease. The candidate will combine electrophysiology with cutting-edge techniques, such as viral transfections, and optogenetics in mice placed in an immersive environment for precise temporal monitoring of locomotion speed and whisker movements.

The successful candidate will join the Lyon Neuroscience Research Center (CRNL) in France, created in 2011 and which integrates the multidisciplinary expertise of 21 teams and 300 researchers, working on a synergistic approach for integrative and cognitive neurophysiology, from gene to behavior and from bench to patient.

For further details on the project, please contact Dr Nadia Urbain (nadia.urbain@inserm.fr; https://nadiaurbainlab.wordpress.com/). The candidate should hold a Masters degree, with a background in either biological sciences or physics/engineering. The ideal candidate has previous experience in experimental work or signal analysis. Programming skills are required. We are searching for an applicant with a high commitment and curiosity about neuroscientific questions. Interested candidates are invited to send their application (including a letter of intent, CV, list of completed university courses and the name of a scientific referee) to nadia.urbain@inserm.fr. Applications will be evaluated until position is filled.