PhD Fellowship – University College Dublin

Vacancy Reference Number
PhD UCD
Closing Date
31 Mar 2025
Salary
22.000 Euro per annum + registration fees
Duration
4 years
“Chronic closed-loop cortical stimulation for Parkinson’s disease in a rodent model.” Project Description: Applications are invited for a fully funded 4-year PhD Fellowship in the School of Veterinary Medicine at University College Dublin, Ireland. This project represents an exciting opportunity to develop chronic closed-loop cortical stimulation for the treatment of Parkinson’s disease in a rodent model. While deep brain stimulation is an established treatment for the symptoms of Parkinson’s disease it has several limitations, including a small eligible patient population, side effects, lengthy device programming and regular battery replacement surgeries, which this project addresses by combining a novel stimulation target with closed-loop stimulation. During this project you will study an alternative location for brain stimulation in the treatment of Parkinson’s disease. Your work will focus on developing long-term stimulation in vivo in rats that express symptoms of Parkinson’s disease after neurotoxin injection into the dopaminergic basal ganglia circuit. Ultimately, closed-loop cortical stimulation where the stimulation delivered is adapted to a disease relevant biomarker is implemented. You will be working under the supervision of Dr. Judith Evers (https://people.ucd.ie/judith.evers) in the UCD School of Veterinary Medicine in collaboration with the Neuromuscular Systems Lab in the UCD School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering (https://www.ucd.ie/neuro/) and ELAINE research group, University Rostock, Germany (https://www.elaine.uni-rostock.de/en/).

Further Information

Qualifications/Skills required: Candidates for this position should have a 2.1 or higher Bachelor’s degree from a relevant biological discipline such as neuroscience, physiology, medicine, veterinary medicine or closely related area. A Master (or equivalent) in neuroscience, physiology or a closely related area is of advantage. The ideal candidate has experience in a selection from the following techniques: electrophysiology, animal models of Parkinson’s disease, behavioural laboratory animal tests, brain stimulation, surgical skills. While training of all techniques will be supplied a willingness and enthusiasm to perform complex in vivo research is required. Candidates should have excellent communication and organisational skills; be highly motivated and passionate about neuroscience and developing treatments for neurodegenerative diseases; and have strong written, oral and interpersonal skills. The candidate should be able to work independently and as a part of team.
Funding details: €22,000 stipend per annum for 4 years with PhD fees included.
Start date: The position is available from September 1st, 2025.

Contact Details

Application process: Applicants should submit a cover letter outlining their motivation and suitability to the post, a detailed CV, and the contact details of a minimum of two academic referees. The application pack should be emailed to Dr. Judith Evers (judith.evers@ucd.ie). Closing date for receipt of applications is 17.00 on March 31st, 2025. Shortlisted candidates will be contacted for an interview in April.