News of Interest (13 Jan 20)
Dear colleagues,
Welcome to this week's News of Interest e-mail. As usual, please click on the hyperlinked titles for more information.
Kind regards,
Theresa
Additional Seminars
Self-assembling brain organoids to model human brain development and disorders
Location: G.27 Lecture Theatre, Daniel Rutherford Building, King's Building
Monday 20th January, 12:15pm
Professor Jay Gopalskrishnan, Laboratory for Centrosome and Cytoskeleton Biology, Institute of Human Genetics, Heinrich-Heine-Universität Düsseldorf.
Symptomics: Studying Individual Symptoms and their Dynamic Relations in Network Models.
Monday 20 January 2020, 4:30pm
Dr Eiko Fried, Assistant Professor (Lecturer) at the Department of Clinical Psychology, Leiden University.
The venue was not mentioned in our previous seminar email but this is to confirm that the lecture will be taking place at Kennedy Tower lecture theatre, Royal Edinburgh Hospital, Morningside.
FUSION: Art and Science of the Mind
Location: Institute for Advanced Studies in the Humanities, University of Edinburgh
Wednesday 22 January, 4.30 - 6.30pm
FUSION is a partnership between Edinburgh Neuroscience and the Edinburgh College of Art to foster links between art and neuroscience.
In the News
Congratulations to Professor Dies Meijer and Dr Carole Torsney who have been awarded BBSRC Project Grant!
Many congratulations on their successful three-year funded Project Award. Their collaborative project aims to unravel the molecular mechanisms through which Shaker-type voltage-gated potassium channels are recruited to the juxtaparanodal domain of myelinated axons and how they affect the electrophysiological properties of the axon.
Important Dates for your Diary
Neuroscience Day 2020
Wednesday 11 March 2020
The Annual Distinguished Lecture will be given by Professor Robin Ali, Professor of Human Molecular Genetics, Institute of Ophthalmology, University College London.
The University of Edinburgh Neurological Society’s 8th Annual Undergraduate Conference
Location: Chancellor's Building, Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh
Saturday 28 March 2020
The conference has been hugely successful in the past, appealing to students from a range of disciplines including medicine, neuroscience, biomedical sciences and psychology (as well as anyone interested in the brain).
Wellcome Trust Neuroscience and Mental Health - Site visit/Presentations
Wednesday 10 June 2020
DIARY DATE -Wellcome Trust site visit and 45 minute presentation. Details to follow in the coming weeks.
European Network to Cure ALS (ENCALS) Meeting 2020
Location: McEwan Hall, Teviot Place, Edinburgh
17 -19 June 2020
Local organizers are Prof. Sharon Abrahams and Prof. Siddharthan Chandran on behalf of the Euan MacDonald Centre for Motor Neurone Disease Research.
12th FENS Forum of Neuroscience
Location: SEC Centre, Exhibition Way, Glasgow
11 - 15 July 2020
FENS promotes neuroscience research to policy-makers, funding bodies and the general public, both regionally and internationally. Hence, FENS promotes excellence in neuroscience research and facilitates exchanges and networking between neuroscientists within the European Research Area and beyond.
Scottish Neuroscience Group Meeting
Location: Glasgow
Friday 04 September 2020 - Save the Date
This year’s Scottish Neuroscience Group meeting 2020 will be hosted by the University of Glasgow. The guest speaker will be Professor Rob Gereau IV from Washington University of St Louis, USA. He is a world-leader in pain research, and uses an array of novel experimental approaches to study the circuit, cellular, and molecular mechanisms involved in the development of chronic pain conditions.
Other News
Ethics of long term growing of human organoids - Podcast now available!
Many people believe that there is a close connection between consciousness and the brain. Yet the human brain is still somewhat of a mystery to us. For example, we still know very little about the early stages of human brain development. Recently, scientists have started growing these little things called brain organoids to help them understand how human brains grow and develop. In today’s episode, I sit down with the neurobiologist, John Mason, to discuss his work on brain organoids, and some of the potential philosophical implications.
SULSA ECR Prize Launch - applications now OPEN
SULSA ECR Prize aims to award outstanding early career scientists whose work shows excellent potential to make an impact in the field of Life Sciences! This prize allows exceptional postdocs to raise their profile in Scotland and have a prestigious award on their CV. It includes a fully-funded tour of three Scottish Universities where the awardee will deliver a seminar and meet with staff in order to raise their profile around Scotland, and develop their independent networks. In addition, the awardee will receive £2,000 of flexible funding to be used at their discretion for attending conferences, buying consumables, attending training courses or visiting collaborators etc. More information and application details click on the hyperlinked title.
Deadline: 14 Feb 20
FENS Forum 2020: last month for early registration and abstract submission
11 - 15 July 2020, Glasgow
FENS and the British Neuroscience Association (BNA) would like to remind you that the deadline for early registration* and abstract submission is getting closer: you have until 18 February 2020 to benefit from the early registration rate and to apply for a FENS-IBRO/PERC Travel Grant!
*FENS members are entitled to a reduced registration rate for the Forum: make sure you have renewed your membership with your society before registering!
Deadline: 18 Feb 20
Call for Nominations OPEN - FKNE Mentoring & PhD Thesis Prizes and FKNE-ALBA Diversity Prize
The calls for nominations for the FKNE Mentoring and PhD Prizes as well as for the FKNE-ALBA Diversity Prize are now open. All prizes will be awarded at the FENS Forum 2020.
FKNE Mentoring Prize - Application deadline: 28 February 2020
FKNE PhD Thesis Prize - Application deadline: 28 February 2020
FKNE-ALBA Diversity Prize- Application deadline: 01 March 2020
Local Events of Interest
Introduction to image processing and analysis with Fiji/ImageJ
Location: SCRM building, Little France Crescent, Edinburgh BioQuarter
Wednesday 15/01, 22/01, 29/01 and 05/02 (13:30-17:00)
Email matthieu.vermeren@ed.ac.uk for more details.
Galvanised: connecting science, engineering and the arts in the Edinburgh Futures Institute
Location: Edinburgh Centre for Carbon Innovation (ECCI) - High School Yards
This semester, a series of seminars have been organised by Professor Richard Morris in conjunction with the Edinburgh Futures Institute (EFI) involving fellow science and engineering colleagues in the University.
EFI hopes to spark new insights by galvanising radically different perspectives on a theme. Each fortnight, we will have one scientist, and one researcher in humanities, arts or social sciences sharing work and leading discussion. The themes this year range from climate issues and their likely impact on sustainable design, the origin of HIV and issues surrounding public health in fragile nations, astonishing new materials that are on the horizon, the science of memory and developments in neuroscience that may affect our politics. The series will end with a return to a core theme of our age – policies for sustainability. To find out more, click on the hyperlinked title.
Deadline: 17 Jan 20
5th Annual CCBS Away Day
From: 30 January 2020 - 11:00am | To: 30 January 2020 - 04:30pm
The CCBS Away Day is an opportunity for all Centre staff members, students, visitors and guests to get together, meet colleagues and hear about the wide range of research and other activities we have going on across our Centre and beyond. We encourage everyone to attend – professional services, students and academics alike – this is not a day of hard-core data and scientific discussion. Please register before 23 January 2020 for catering purposes and to indicate your dietary requirements.
Do Your Looks Betray You? – Getting under the skin of health and beauty
From: 30 January 2020 - 06:00pm | To: 30 January 2020 - 08:00pm
Location: Anatomy Lecture Theatre, Doorway 3, Old Medical School, Teviot Place, The University of Edinburgh
Join our panel of speakers from the worlds of anthropology, art and psychology for an evening of talks and discussion on perspectives of health and beauty. Refreshments will be served after the talks. Find out more and register here.
The Art of the Extended Mind: Interdisciplinary Symposium
Location: Playfair Library, University of Edinburgh
Friday 31 January 2020
To mark the end of The Extended Mind, this symposium will bring leading philosophers together with artists from the exhibition. Across a series of short talks and discussions it will explore the idea that our thinking routinely takes place in systems that not only include the brain, but also the non-neural body and elements from the wider physical, technological and social environment. Promoting an interdisciplinary exchange, thinkers who have contributed to the intellectual debate over the extended mind will revisit the idea in light of the artworks; whilst artists Marcus Coates and Myriam Lefkowitz will reflect on the extended mind in relation to their own practices. Click here for more information.
UK-Japan Neuroscience Symposium 2020
From: 03 February 2020 - 12:00pm | To: 05 February 2020 - 11:00am
Location: John McIntyre Conference Centre, Pollock Halls, The University of Edinburgh
The 2-day symposium (run over 3 days, PM 3rd - AM 5th February) will bring together leading neuroscientists from the UK and Japan to explore exciting new techniques in neuroscience and ways in which new technologies can be applied to solving some of the most pressing health issues of our time such as dementia and mental health conditions. It is an exciting programme of speakers including our own Adrian Bird and Richard Morris.
The registration fee is £10 (plus booking fee) and includes lunch and refreshments but does not cover accommodation. Register here.
Events of Interest Elsewhere
Spring Data Science Fellowship Opportunity
Program: The Data Incubator is an intensive 8 week fellowship that prepares masters students, PhDs, and postdocs in STEM and social science fields seeking industry careers as data scientists. The program is free for Fellows and supported by sponsorships from hundreds of employers across multiple industries. In response to the overwhelming interest in our earlier sessions, we will be holding another fellowship.
Who Should Apply: Anyone who has already obtained a masters or PhD degree or who is within one year of graduating with a masters or PhD is welcome to apply. Applications from international students are welcome.
Deadline: 30 Jan 20
Local and External Funding Opportunities
Edinburgh Futures Institute Research Awards 2019/2020
Funding of up to £5,000 per project will be made to staff from across the University to support research which identifies new interdisciplinary questions that can be taken forward as part of the Institute’s vision. All related activities must be completed by end of July 2020.
Deadline: 27 Jan 20
Summer research studentships – University of Alberta
Alberta Innovates invites applications for its summer research studentships. These enable students to participate in health sciences research in Alberta during the summer months. The aim is to encourage students to consider a career in health or medical research. Digital health projects focusing on digital health technology or data-enabled health transformation are particularly encouraged.
Deadline: 6 Feb 20
Open Innovation 2020 - Call for Applications
Asahi Kasei Pharma is a mid-sized Japanese pharmaceutical company dedicated to developing and marketing innovative therapies for unmet medical needs. Proposals are solicited in relation to new drug candidates and technologies in the therapeutic fields of Chronic pain/neurodegenerative disease, autoimmune disease, critical care medicine, and bone/cartilage conditions, muscle-related disease, and platform technologies for drug discovery such as pharmacokinetics and pharmaceutical formulation. Submissions will be assessed with respect to their potential as concepts for collaborative research and fostering of research.
Deadline: 26 Feb 20
Medical research grants for members
The British Medical Association invites applications for its medical research grants. These encourage and further medical research in a variety of subject areas. Registered medical practitioners in the UK may apply. Applicants must be members of the BMA.
Deadline: 6 Mar 20
MND Scotland Research Grant Awards 2020
Motor Neurone Disease Scotland wish to invite applications for our 2020 Research Grant Awards. This scheme aims to stimulate and increase high quality research projects into MND. Grants will be awarded for a limited duration up to a maximum of three years. Two separate research schemes are now open: applications for MND Scotland Research Project Awards and PhD studentships. Apply now!
Deadline: 27 Mar 20
Health technology assessment programme
The National Institute for Health Research, under its health technology assessment programme, invites stage 1 applications for its researcher-led workstream. This supports research to assess the effectiveness of technologies within the NHS. Research must address a topic where technologies are currently used in the NHS, or likely to be used if supported by the results of the research. There are no fixed limits on the duration of projects or funding, and proposals should be tailored to fully address the problem.
Deadline: 6 May 20
Opportunities - PhD Studentships
Carnegie PhD Scholarships
The Carnegie Trust offers a number of scholarships each year to academically excellent candidates who are intending to study on a PhD programme at any University in Scotland. The scholarships cover tuition fees, a maintenance allowance and a research expenses allowance. The awards are tenable for three years for full-time study and up to six years for part-time study. The tenure period may be extended to a maximum of 42 months (or 84 months for part-time students), but only when a case for such an extension has been made at the time of nomination and approved by the Trust as part of the award.
Deadline: 28 Jan 20
PhD in Philosophy and/or Computer Science (interdisciplinary project bitshare)
Bitstring semantics, which was recently developed in logic, is a formalism for exploring the meaning relations between different expressions. Because it operates in a thoroughly local fashion, this formalism is able to achieve a good balance between high expressivity and low mathematical/computational complexity. The overarching goal of the BITSHARE project is to explore new applications of bitstring semantics in other disciplines that are concerned with meaning and reasoning, viz., philosophy, linguistics, psychology and computer science. Our target applications include some of the most important research topics in these disciplines today, such as scalar implicatures, the semantics/pragmatics interface, collaborative knowledge extraction, and probabilistic causal models. Through these well-chosen target applications, the project will demonstrate that bitstring semantics offers a shared representation formalism for a broad, interdisciplinary community of reasoning researchers, in which the insights from different disciplines can be expressed and combined with each other.
Deadline: 31 Jan 20
Opportunities - Jobs
Post-Doctoral Genomic Neuroscience – Center for Neurodegenerative Science at the Van Andel Institute in Michigan
The position is available for an ambitious scientist to use or establish biochemical, cellular and structural models to investigate the pathogenic mechanisms underlying ATP13A2 mutations in neurodegenerative diseases with a special focus on Spastic Paraplegia 78.
The laboratories employ a multidisciplinary approach involving human genomics and numerous experimental model systems, including primary neurons, C.elegans, Drosophila and rodents, to elucidate the biological function and pathophysiological mechanisms of proteins linked to inherited forms of neurodegenerative diseases. For this project we are particularly interested in the development of induced pluripotent stem cell (IPSC) models and the use of CRISPR/Cas9 to characterize cellular phenotypes associated with patient-derived mutations.
Qualified applicants should provide a cover letter outlining research experience and interests, a curriculum vitae, and the names and contact details of three references, to Profs. Darren Moore (Darren.Moore@vai.org); Rita Guerreiro (Rita.Guerreiro@vai.org) and José Brás (Jose.Bras@vai.org).
Postgraduate Administrator – Centre for Clinical Brain Sciences
The post-holder will administer the CCBS Postgraduate Research (PGR) programme (approx. 60 students, mostly PhDs). This involves recruitment, monitoring students’ progression, dealing with issues and contributing to enhancing the student experience. The successful applicant will have a good level of education and work experience in a relevant role. Postgraduate administration experience is particularly welcomed. As the first point of contact, the ideal candidate will enjoy meeting the students, listening to, encouraging and helping them, ensuring that University milestones are met and regulations adhered to. The post-holder will have a friendly professional attitude when communicating with current and prospective students and supervisors (who are senior academics) by email, phone and in person, dealing with issues sensitively and tactfully. They will be organised, with attention to detail, good IT skills, and able to plan and prioritise tasks of some complexity. The post is 0.5x FTE (working pattern to be agreed mutually) and is available for one year. Find out more here.
Deadline: 27 Jan 20
Fellowships for emerging leaders in agriculture, nutrition, and health research - NOW OPEN
Career development Fellowships on Innovative Methods and Metrics for Agriculture and Nutrition Actions (IMMANA Fellowships) aim to create a cadre of emerging leaders in agriculture, nutrition, and health research. IMMANA will award six 12-month post-doctoral Fellowships to emerging leaders who are applying and/or validating new methodological approaches with mentors in ongoing research programmes in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). The Fellowship includes a research stipend, a travel allowance, and an honorarium for each of the mentors.
Deadline: 1 Feb 20
Rowling Tenure Track Regenerative Neurology Fellowships - Centre for Clinical Brain Sciences
Applications are invited from scientifically qualified candidates for up to 3 non-clinical 5 year tenure-track Fellowships to be hosted by the Anne Rowling Regenerative Neurology Clinic and the UK Dementia Research Institute at The University of Edinburgh. These are new tenure-track positions that will focus on establishing an independent research programme and will be supported by a very competitive start up package with funds for capital equipment, consumables and laboratory personnel to drive forward the candidate’s research. The successful candidates will be outstanding scientists with a proven record of research excellence to complement and enhance existing research programmes into MS, MND/ALS, Parkinson’s, dementias and other neurodegenerative disorders. Applications are particularly welcome from researchers with a track-record of human based experimental study eg. including (but not restricted to) stem cell systems, molecular pathology, medical imaging and experimental medicine. This post represents an opportunity to establish an independent career in an outstanding translational neuroscience environment. For more details, click here.
Deadline: 7 Feb 20
ECAT Clinical Lectureships and PhD Fellowships
Edinburgh Clinical Academic Training (ECAT) programme – all clinical disciplines ECAT/Wellcome Trust PhD Training Fellowship for Clinicians (up to 5 posts).
The University of Edinburgh is now seeking to appoint a further cohort of highly ambitious individuals who aspire to become the next generation of clinical academic leaders. Vacancies are available within the ECAT (Edinburgh Clinical Academic Track) programme for trainees seeking doctoral (PhD) training and mentorship. All vacancies are open to medically qualified trainees in any clinical discipline from anywhere in the UK. All candidates must demonstrate a commitment to a research career and should have a track record appropriate to their career stage in basic, translational or clinical research.
Deadline: 10 Feb 20
Tenure-track University Lectureship in Neuroscience - University of Cambridge
Applications are invited for a research-oriented, tenure-track University Lectureship in Neuroscience, available from 1 July 2020 and based in central Cambridge.
The successful applicant will have a PhD in a relevant subject area and will have demonstrated the potential to achieve international recognition for their research. Applicants will also have an aptitude and enthusiasm for teaching, and be willing to contribute effectively to our undergraduate programmes in preclinical medicine, preclinical veterinary science, and natural sciences . He/she will be expected to contribute to the design and delivery of undergraduate and graduate lecture courses and to perform other academic duties including administration, examining and assessment. Follow this link to find out more and apply.
Deadline: 16 Feb 20
Post-doctoral position in Genova/Italy
Two postdoc positions will be available at the Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, in Genoa, Italy. The selected candidates will join Dr. Laura Cancedda’s research line ‘Brain Development and Disease” in the framework of a commercial agreement with a foreign company specialized in the development of gene therapies. These specific projects will focus on the development of a gene therapy for Down syndrome.
Applications, including detailed Curriculum Vitae, a cover letter and name and contacts of 3 referees has to be send by email to laura.cancedda@iit.it.
Associated links: Post Doc in neurophysiology of Down syndrome (gene therapy and behaviour)
Associated links: Post Doc in neurophysiology of DS (gene therapy & bioinformatics)
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