PhD Position: Molecular Mechanisms of Neurodegeneration

We are recruiting a PhD candidate to work on various mouse genetics projects. Your first project will involve investigating the molecular mechanisms underlying the cell type specificity of Charcot-Marie-Tooth (CMT) disease caused by mutations in tRNA synthetases. This peripheral neuropathy is characterized by selective degeneration of peripheral motor and sensory neurons.

You will have the opportunity to integrate different techniques and analyze data sets to understand which unique properties of motor and sensory neurons make them more vulnerable to neurodegeneration. You will use viral gene transfer, fluorescence-activated cell sorting, next-generation sequencing, proteomics approaches, as well as immunohistochemistry, fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH), and confocal imaging. Furthermore, you will use state-of-the-art in vivo noncanonical amino acid tagging (NCAT) to evaluate protein synthesis.

In addition, you will be involved in other ongoing projects in the la...