Opportunities

Postdoctoral Research Fellow position available!

Very excited to advertise for a Postdoctoral Research Fellow to come and join us! The job will involve work on an internationally collaborative project in the ALS/MND field.

The closing date is 9th Feb! Informal enquiries welcome!

https://www.abdnjobs.co.uk/vacancy/research-fellow-512213.html

Plus Aberdeen is a fantastic place in which to live, and a perfect jumping off point into the spectacular Scottish Highlands! The Cairngorms National Park is right at our doorstep, as is some beautiful eastern coastline (beaches, coves and cliffs), from Angus to the south, past the stunning Moray coast, up to the Black Isle and Sutherland in the North. Also, Aberdeen is the major taking off point to explore Orkney and the Shetlands! Inverness can be reached within 2 hours, making much of the west coast and islands as accessable (e.g. Skye) if not much more accessible (e.g. Gairloach, Torridon, Assynt & the far north highlands) from Aberdeen than from Glasgow.

And we’re taking no nonsense about the climate here 🙂 – whilst the lowest temperature ever recorded for the UK was for Braemar (just over 50 miles away), that’s right into the Cairngorms (where you might enjoy some winter skiing perhaps). Aberdeen city year-round temperatures and rainfall are similar to those of Edinburgh! It’s a bit darker in the winter, sure, but balance that against gorgeous long evenings in the summertime! The sunsets and sunrises are to die for in Spring and Autumn particularly, with the Northern Lights regularly visible away from the glimmer of urban lights! You’ll like it here 🙂

Please get in touch to chat and find out more about the project and the lab!

See the Gregory lab gallery here for some fun photos! https://gregorylaboratory.com/gallery/

PhD position available!

Are you interested in the gut-brain-axis? Want to contribute to ALS/MND research? Want to come and join our team? Get in touch – informal enquiries welcome – application deadline is 6 February 2023.

About the Project

The Institute of Medical Sciences (IMS), University of Aberdeen, is recruiting a cohort of 7 PhD students across its broad themes in neuroscience, immunology, microbiology, molecular biology and computational biology. The studentships are linked to 7 new academic appointments in the Institute. Applications are invited for 4-year fully funded PhD studentships commencing 1st October 2023. The application deadline is 6 February 2023.

https://www.findaphd.com/phds/project/understanding-the-role-of-the-gut-brain-axis-in-amyotrophic-lateral-sclerosis/?p153201

Project Description

Neurodegenerative disorders, such as Parkinson’s disease (PD), Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) are traditionally considered to be disorders of the central nervous system (CNS). However, clinical presentation is not restricted to neurological dysfunction and non-CNS manifestations, particularly gastrointestinal (GI) symptoms, are common. Alpha-synuclein, the aggregation-prone protein seen to accumulate pathologically in the brains of patients with PD, has been shown to accumulate in pathological aggregates in the GI tract long before CNS manifestations begin. We have shown recently, that GI proteinopathy also exists prior to symptom onset in people with ALS.

The objective of this project is to develop a range of analytical and experimental skills and implement cutting-edge methodologies to probe the pathogenesis and development of gut manifestations of ALS and to understand how this could be harnessed for diagnostic and early therapeutic intervention.

Take a look at our recent publications from 2022:

Gut pathology in ALS: https://doi.org/10.1002/cjp2.297

Digital pathology techniques in our lab: https://doi.org/10.1002/path.6008

Molecular pathology techniques in our lab: https://doi.org/10.1002/path.5846

Anticipated skills resulting from this project:

spatial sequencing; molecular pathology; digital pathology, microscopy and image analysis; histology; bioinformatics and data analysis; scientific writing; critical appraisal of scientific literature; protocol writing; manuscript writing; communication skills – conference attendance, talks and poster presentations.

Further info: It is possible for us to tailor the project to your own research interests too, get in touch if this is something that interests you.

See the Gregory lab gallery here for some fun photos! https://gregorylaboratory.com/gallery/

Postdoc fellowships and collaboration

I would be happy to hear from people interested in applying for postdoctoral fellowships (e.g. Marie Curie, Royal Society Newton) or research grants (e.g. Leverhulme, NERC etc). Please get in touch to discuss ideas.

Email me at jenna.gregory@abdn.ac.uk or follow me on:

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