Joint PhD Cerebral Organoid Project at LMU and Cambridge University

The Project. An opportunity exists for a driven and passionate neuroscientist to undertake a PhD under the supervision of Dr. David Keays and Dr. Madeline Lancaster on avian cerebral organoids. This joint project will exploit the Keays lab’s expertise in Avian biology and the Lancaster Lab’s experience in self-organising neural tissue. The project will aim to generate a library of avian iPSC and ES cells for the generation of three-dimensional neuronal cultures. The latter will then be employed to interrogate Avian specific aspects of neurodevelopment, exploiting CRISPR-Cas9
genome editing, single-cell sequencing, and histological methods. Specifically, we are interested in exploring the shape and type of neuronal progenitors, the modular nature of the avian brain, and the evolution of white matter tracts.

The ideal candidate. This ambitious project requires a candidate with an existing interest in stem cell biology and/or developmental neuroscience. He/she should be diligent, persistent, value quantitative approaches and demonstrate a capacity for scientific excellence. The successful applicant should be prepared to spend time in both Munich and Cambridge. It is envisaged that he/she will be enrolled at LMU through the Graduate School for Neuroscience (GSN), and accordingly the position is open to all nationalities.

Application. We encourage applicants to apply through GSN-LMU at https://www.gsn.uni-muenchen.de/apply/index.html 

Contact:keays@bio.lmu.de and mlancast@mrc-lmb.cam.ac.uk