Mechanisms of brain plasticity and cognitive resilience in Alzheimer’s disease

Offer Description

PhD in cognitive neurosciences

Title of the project: Mechanisms of brain plasticity and cognitive resilience in Alzheimer’s disease

Keywords

Alzheimer’s disease; Resilience; Brain Plasticity; Memory; Rats

How to apply:

To apply, please provide a detailed resume (university, formations, skills, internships, the name of two references), a motivation letter (one page) and a summary of your last or relevant internship project (one page) and grades of the Master to Dr. Marianne Leger ( ) and Pr. Thomas Freret ( ) with “PhD Application” in the subject line.

Description

Applications are invited for a 3‑year PhD position in the field of cognitive neurosciences in the laboratory COMETEU1075INSERM/University of Caen, France.

Across complementary approaches, the COMETE Unit 1075 aims to investigate the fundamental mechanisms involved in mobilities and cognition, with a particular focus on attentional and memory processes, physical activity adaptation, spatial orientation, and how these mechanisms evolve throughout lifespan. Results obtained have impacts on fundamental research as well as in clinics, applied research, economic and technological valorization and public health.

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disease. It is the leading cause of dementia and its therapeutic management represents a real collective challenge. It is interesting to note that with the same level of brain damage (amyloid lesions, tau pathology), some patients suffer from cognitive impairment while others have preserved memory capacity. The concept of cognitive resilience (CR) has therefore been proposed to explain the fact that some subjects retain cognitive performance above what would be expected given the severity of the brain lesions observed. However, the underlying neuroprotective mechanisms remain largely unknown. The aim of our project is to use animal models to identify the brain signature of CR, based on the heterogeneity of CR levels observed in clinical trials. To this end, our research unit has an innovative animal model of CR based on the combination of an animal model of successful ageing with a model of sporadic forms of Alzheimer's disease. The aim is to use a descriptive approach to identify the neuronal and synaptic plasticity mechanisms involved in CR and to investigate its substrates in more detail using proteomic analyses. Using an environmental intervention approach, our project also aims to promote CR in non-resilient rats. The characterisation of a common brain signature of CR, whether spontaneous or environmentally induced, will allow us to identify molecular targets whose stimulation, in particular by innovative and targeted pharmacological agents, could reduce the development of AD in its early stages. These results could serve as conceptual support for the validation of a personalised medical strategy that could be adapted to the cognitive status of the AD patient, i.e. resilient or non-resilient.

Required qualifications:

Candidates must hold a Master’s degree in neuroscience or a related field.

Required Experience and Skills:

• Experience with animal experimentation and/or holding a French ‘Concepteur’ level licence would be a strong plus.
• Experience with behavioral assessment in mouse or rat models (animal care, anxiety, locomotor activity, memory assessment, pharmacological injections).
• Knowledge and/or expertise in neuroscience-related experiments (stereotaxic surgery and intracerebral infusions), basic cellular and/or molecular biology techniques (Western‑blot, ELISA, Immunohistochemistry, Immunofluorescence, qPCR).
• Knowledge of neural mechanisms of learning, memory, and/or other aspects of cognition.
• Good written and oral communication skills in French and English.
• Excellent ability to work both independently and collaboratively.

Only those individuals selected for an interview will be contacted. A presentation by the selected candidate(s) will then be organized by the doctoral school EDnBISE, n°497.

Where to apply

E‑mail: