We are looking for an excellent PhD Candidate to work in characterization of healthy and diseased mouse models from retinal circuits to visually guided behaviour
Timeline of the call:
The position will be filled as soon as a suitable candidate is found. Thus, submit your application as soon as possible. In any case we will fill the position by spring of the year 2023.
Objectives:
- Characterize the retinal output of different mouse models of retinal diseases
- Correlate the retinal output to the animal behavior in the water maze
Dr Ala-Laurila has two laboratories (http://ala-laurila.biosci.helsinki.fi/): one at Aalto University and one at University of Helsinki. Both labs work in integrated collaboration and have state-of-the art approaches to study retinal circuits and visually-guided behavior. They combine cutting-edge electrophysiological recording techniques with precise manipulations of retinal circuit function, mathematical modelling and quantitative behavioral measurements: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZniIYFSIcT8
Aalto University (Aalto) is the largest technology-oriented university in Finland. The Department of Neuroscience and Biomedical Engineering is located in the Otaniemi campus – one of the most important north-european technology hubs, with a high concentration of companies, and research institutes from the high-technology sector, and with a thriving culture of entrepreneurship.
The University of Helsinki is Finland’s largest and oldest academic institution and an innovative centre of science and thinking. University of Helsinki has contributed since 1640 to the establishment of a fair and equal society that is considered one of the best in the world. The multidisciplinary academic community solves problems that affect us all – with the power of knowledge, for the world.
Benefits
ITNs are financially supported by the European Commission under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) because they provide excellent research, training and career aspects. The benefits of being a PhD student in an ITN network include:
- the chance to participate in specially developed courses (e.g. on specific techniques, academic soft skills)
- building your personal professional network at a very early stage of your career due to the embedding of our PhD projects in an academic/industrial network
- being exposed to industry and the challenges in industry already during the PhD, as all ESR will be either hosted or seconded to a private sector partner
- the opportunity to spend some time in the labs of other partners (and get familiar with other disciplines, techniques, cultures etc.), as the research projects are designed such that they will mostly have interdisciplinary components
- Being advised by excellent group leaders – they are all outstanding in their research and training
The ITN programme offers a highly competitive and attractive salary and working conditions. The successful candidates will receive a salary in accordance with the MSCA regulations for early stage researchers. The salary includes a generous living allowance, a mobility allowance and a family allowance (depending on family situation) comprising:
- Living Allowance of €3270/month (super gross including employee and employer taxes) to be paid in the currency of the country where the Host Organisation is based and with a correction factor to be applied per country. The exact (net) salary will be confirmed upon offer and will be based on local tax regulations and on the country correction factor (to allow for the difference in cost of living in different EU Member States)
- Mobility allowance of €600/month (super gross)
- Family allowance of €500/month, depending on family situation.
Eligibility criteria
Highly motivated, previous experience on behavioral experiments and/or electrophysiology is a plus
Applicants need to fully comply with four eligibility criteria:
- Academic Qualification: The applicant has obtained a Degree that formally entitles them to embark on a doctorate in the host country. The degree should be in the area specified by the ESR project (or related disciplines).
- Early-stage researchers (ESR) are those who are, at the time of recruitment by the host, in the first four years (full-time equivalent) of their research careers. This is measured from the date when they obtained the degree which formally entitles them to embark on a doctorate, either in the country in which the degree was obtained or in the country in which the research training is provided, irrespective of whether or not a doctorate was envisaged. Please note applicants cannot already hold a PhD
- Conditions of international mobility of researchers: Researchers are required to undertake trans-national mobility (i.e. move from one country to another) when taking up the appointment. At the time of appointment by the host organisation, researchers must not have resided or carried out their main activity (work, studies, etc.) in Finland for more than 12 months in the 3 years immediately prior to their recruitment. Short stays, such as holidays, are not taken into account. Researchers from any country (not only from European Union) are welcome to apply.
- English language: ESR candidates must demonstrate that their ability to understand and express themselves in both written and spoken English is sufficiently high for them to derive the full benefit from the network training.
- For all recruitments, the eligibility of the researcher will be determined at the date of their first recruitment in the action
Application that don’t meet the eligibility criteria won’t be considered.
Application documents:
- Motivation letter
- CV
- Recommendation letters (max. 3)
- Scanned copy of the degree which would formally entitle the candidate to embark on doctorate.
- Transcript of records for both Bachelor´s degree and Master´s degree (or equivalents).
Applications will be reviewed as soon as they arrive so please submit your application as soon as you can.
To submit your application or for additional information, please contact Krishna Dovzhik (Ala-Laurila lab), krishna.dovzhik@aalto.fi.
More about your future work environment:
More about Ala-Laurila lab:
https://twitter.com/AlaLaurilaLab
http://ala-laurila.biosci.helsinki.fi/
More about University of Helsinki:
https://twitter.com/helsinkiuni
https://www.helsinki.fi/en/faculty-biological-and-environmental-sciences/research/molecular-and-integrative-biosciences
More about Aalto University:
Aalto.fi
twitter.com/aaltouniversity
facebook.com/aaltouniversity
instagram.com/aaltouniversity