About the role

We are looking for a curious and highly motivated postdoctoral Research Associate to join a collaborative team to take a central role in a project investigating how TSPO - a mitochondrial protein - protects against vascular dysfunction in early-stage Alzheimer's disease. This British Heart Foundation-funded project sits at the intersection of cardiovascular and dementia research. You will be jointly mentored by Professor David Owen and Dr Samuel Barnes (Group Leader, UK Dementia Research Institute), with both supervisors actively committed to your scientific development and career progression. With membership of the UK DRI, you will also benefit from connection to a national network of multi-disciplinary researchers.

Our groups are committed to flexible working, open science, and creating an environment where everyone can thrive. We are happy to discuss the role informally before you apply.

What you would be doing

Based on promising findings in rodent models, we are running a clinical study to test whether a TSPO ligand improves cerebrovascular function in patients with early Alzheimer's disease, and whether this in turn reduces network hyperexcitability. The role will involve collection of data in study participants using MRI and EEG approaches. A background in cellular biology and data analysis is essential, and a background in neuroscience or vascular are desirable.

What we are looking for

You will hold, or be near completion of, a PhD in neuroscience, psychology, biomedical engineering, physics, cellular biology or a related field, and demonstrate:

Experience acquiring human neurophysiological or neuroimaging data — EEG, MRI, or both.
Experience working directly with research participants
Proficiency in coding, for example in MATLAB, and in handling large-scale neural datasets.
A developing publication record, with at least one first-author manuscript published or in late-stage revision.
Knowledge of vascular biology
Ability to work collaboratively within a multi-disciplinary team.

Key details

Location: UK DRI at Imperial
£50,733 - £59,484 per annum