POSTDOCTORAL RESEARCH – SLEEP ENHANCEMENT VIA CLOSE-LOOP AUDITORY STIMULATION IN FOCAL EPILEPSY

Position.
Post-doctoral Position Deadline.
10 January Employment Start Date.
1 February Contract Length.
12 months, renewable City.
Camerino Country.
Italy Institution.
University of Camerino Department.
School of Pharmacy and School of Biosciences Description.
The Laboratory of Brain and Sleep Research is seeking 1 full time research fellow (assegno di ricerca) to study the effects of non-pharmacological sleep enhancement at the cellular and synaptic level, in physiological and pathophysiological conditions.
The research is funded by the Italian Ministry of University and Research (MUR), project PRIN PNRR “Applying closed-loop acoustic stimulation during sleep to reduce cortical excitability and epileptic activity in focal epilepsy”, area CUN 05, SSD Bios-06.
​ What will you be doing? You will study brain circuit function, using in vivo electrophysiological recordings (EEG/EMG, local field potentials and multi units), and synaptic composition in rats whose sleep has been manipulated.
You will take a lead role in organizing day to day activities, performing experiments and analysis independently.
You will also have the possibility to contribute intellectually to the ongoing research, produce reports of experiments and communicate findings at scientific meetings.
Qualifications and requirements • PhD in Neuroscience (or alike) is desirable • Strong interest in neuroscience and sleep is necessary • Experience in electrophysiology, and techniques of molecular biology is desirable • Experience in using Matlab, Python or R is an advantage • First-authored publications in peer-reviewed journals are preferred • Good communication skills and self-motivation • Fluent in spoken and written English Offered contract.
12-month contract, renewable.
Annual salary EUR.
Preferable starting date.
February .
For application details please enquire () ​ To apply.
https://www.
nicam.
t/bandi//bando-protn--del- The scientific environment The lab aims at understanding the role of sleep and the mechanisms that regulate it.
One main line of research wants to address the role of sleep in promoting mental health.
Sleep disturbances are comorbid with most neuropsychiatric disorders, often preceding disease onset by many years.
However, it is not clear whether, and to which extent, sleep impairment is a causal factor of the disease.
Our research aims to map the molecular, cellular, circuit and behavioural consequences of sleep impairment across the lifecycle and to characterize the interaction between sleep disruption and other environmental and genetic factors.
The research goal is to use this knowledge to develop novel and personalized strategies of prevention and treatment of mental conditions.
To this goal, we combine a variety of approaches, including in vivo recording of neuronal activity, neuromorphological studies of brain cells, molecular biology, and behavioral testing.
The lab explores also scientific questions linking sleep to glial cells, gut microbiome, cellular metabolism, adipose tissue, torpor, etc, thanks to the collaboration with other research groups within Unicam and outside.
Some of the collaborators in Unicam include Prof.
Roberto Ciccocioppo (pharmacology and addiciton), Prof.
Valerio Napolioni (epigenetics), Prof.
Anna Maria Eleuteri (gut microbiome), Prof.
Emanuela Merelli (computation).
For further information check.
https://www.
sr-laboratory.
rg/ https://armeniseharvard.
rg/scientists/luisa-de-vivo/ The University of Camerino (UNICAM) UNICAM is a ‘city campus university’ chartered in , with about undergraduate students, and 180 PhD candidates, of which ~40% are foreigners.
For a substantial number of programs in foreign languages and a high percentage of international students, UNICAM has been top rated for international orientation ( U-Multirank report).
Moreover, UNICAM hosts the International School of Advanced Studies, responsible for coordinating interdisciplinary PhD programs that span upon the major key research areas of the University, including Life and Health Sciences, and Science and Technology.
UNICAM has excellent research facilities including m2 vivarium fully equipped for mouse and rat breeding, maintenance and behavioural testing, sleep monitoring and electrophysiology recordings, equipped histology labs, wet labs with all basic molecular biology and biochemistry equipment, light, confocal and electron microscopes.
UNICAM campus offers an interdisciplinary environment with experts in diverse fields of science, national and international collaborations with other universities and industry.
The campus offers also housing for students and excellent facilities for indoor and outdoor sports.
https://www.
uscamerino.
t/