PhD positions in synaptic neurophysiology in the Institute of Neuroscience, Alicante
Position: Ph.D. Student
Deadline: 21 December 2025
Employment Start Date: 1 January 2025
Contract Length: 3 years
Country: Spain
Department:
Description:
We are searching for a predoctoral student interested in researching the first principles by which biological systems process information. The focus will be on the physiology and molecular biology of synaptic vesicle trafficking and exocytosis within presynaptic terminals.
Background: Present day theory in Neuroscience treats synapses as straightforward conduits for information flow with an only poorly defined capacity for modulation. However, it is now becoming clear that the strength of individual synaptic connections is modulated dynamically at essentially all synapses during bursts of high frequency use that are typical in vivo. Multiple synaptic vesicle trafficking mechanisms are involved, and we have identified a new modular sub-synaptic architecture that extends from multiple types of release sites to associated reserve pools and seems to operate as a multiplexed array of independently tun-able bandpass frequency filters (see Figure). Understanding this phenomenon will be fundamental for understanding how information is processed within neural circuits.
More information can be found at http://www.wesseling-lab.com/. The Instituto de Neurociencias (IN) in Alicante (Spain) provides an excellent scientific environment (https://in.umh-csic.es/). Applicants should send their CV, a brief statement of interest and the name/contact of 2-3 references to john.wesseling@csic.es. Experience in cellular electrophysiology, optical imaging, molecular biology and/or biochemistry will bevalued, but ultimately we are looking for individuals that are strongly motivated to discover the design principles underlying brain function.
PhD positions in synaptic neurophysiology in the Institute of Neuroscience, Alicante
Av. Don Santiago Ramón y Cajal, 1, 03550 Sant Joan d'Alacant, Alicante, Spain
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