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PhD Position - Microfluidics to Study Huntington's Disease by Visual Proteomics

Employer
Global Academy Jobs
Location
Switzerland
Closing date
Dec 31, 2019

Job Details

PhD Position: Microfluidics to Study Huntington's Disease by Visual Proteomics (P1901)

100% positions for 4 years, earliest starting date: 1. January 2020

The Swiss Nanoscience Institute (SNI) at the University of Basel invites highly motivated scientists to apply for the SNI PhD program in Nanoscience.

Your position

Stereotypic spatiotemporal spreading of pathological lesions through the nervous system is a hallmark of many neurodegenerative diseases. The prion-like spreading model provides an elegant explanation for this observation [1], postulating that misfolded proteins (amyloids) can disease healthy cells by imprinting their misfold onto endogenous proteins. However, the precise spreading mechanism and information carrier is still unknown. Huntington's disease (HD) is an archetypical example of the prion-like spreading phenomena: dominantly inherited mutations lead to the misfolding and aggregation of the huntingtin (HTT) protein and the onset of the lethal disease in a patient's age of around 35 years. HD is manifested by uncontrolled movements, depression, and a loss of cognition. The project is based on our recently developed platform for microfluidics-based sample preparation for electron microscopy (EM) called 'cryoWriter' [2,3] which allows novel strategies for single-cell analysis by 'differential visual proteomics' [4] and 'interaction-labeling' [5]. Furthermore, we developed a microfluidic platform for the co-culture of diseased and healthy cells, assuring exclusive communication via neurites. A primary task will be to further develop the cryoWriter system for the integration of the cell-culturing chip to allow direct investigation of the neurite interaction region between two cells by electron tomography.

The specific aims of the project are

(I) to study the transmission pathway of the misfolded mutant huntingtin protein (mHTT) from diseased to healthy cells,

(ii) to study the fate and effects of these amyloid nanoparticles in the cell using our recently developed 'visual proteomics' approaches, and

(iii) to develop a new microfluidics platform that allows precise studying of the synaptic interaction between neurons by cryogenic electron microscopy (cryo-EM) tomography at nanometer-scale precision.

Your profile

We are looking for a very motivated researcher with a Master's degree in Natural Sciences, with a strong background in engineering and microfabrication, interested in working in a highly interdisciplinary group and with a keen interest in biomedical questions. The project requires the abilities to work independently, interact with other researchers, presentation skills, and a solid basis in scientific research.

We offer you
  • Excellent scientific and social environment
  • Very competitive employment conditions
  • Membership in a very supportive and recognised community


The successful candidate will join an attractive interdisciplinary programme together with the ~30 currently supported scientists. The SNI covers a wide variety of topics, including cutting edge quantum physics and chemistry, material science, nanotechnology, biochemistry, cell biology, or medical research.

Company

Global Academy Jobs works with over 250 universities worldwide to promote academic mobility and international research collaboration. Global problems need international solutions. Our jobs board and emails reach the academics and researchers who can help.

"The globalisation of higher education continues apace, driving in turn the ongoing development of the global knowledge economy, striving for solutions to the world’s problems and educating a next generation of leaders and contributors."

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