Jobs

IONS

March 2024

PhD position in neuroscience and psychology

Project Title

Fibro-cognition: Assessment of cognitive functions in people with fibromyalgia (FNRS WelChange project)

Overview

Fibromyalgia is a chronic pain syndrome characterized by diffuse pain and often associated with sleep, mood and cognitive disorders. Its disabling nature, its impact on mental health and the social and professional integration of the patients, as well as its direct and indirect financial costs on society, make fibromyalgia a major public health issue.

Patients’ difficulties in managing cognitive effort and distractibility during daily cognitive activities are recognized as cognitive markers of fibromyalgia. These difficulties could be explained either by the fact that their physical symptoms capture their cognitive resources, or by cognitive biases that motivate them to give priority attention to their bodily sensations to the detriment of other information from their environment. However, no study has yet managed to clearly define the cognitive dysfunctions underlying their difficulties. One of the raised issues is that these previous studies have used tools that are poorly suited to assess cognitive function of chronic pain people and with stimuli that are not very relevant to them, such as neutral visual stimuli.

The objective of the project is to test in patients with fibromyalgia their abilities to perceive their body and its peripersonnal space, as well as their abilities to pay attention and to memorize somatosensory stimuli directly applied to their body (particularly during conflict with non-somatic stimuli). The results of the project will make it possible to define tools to better understand the cognitive functioning of patients suffering from fibromyalgia in order to refine the diagnosis and improve the treatment, in accordance with the biopsychosocial model of chronic pain management.

Principal investigator and host laboratory

Valéry Legrain, Institute of Neuroscience (IoNS), UCLouvain (Brussels campus), Belgium.

Requirements

The candidate must, at the latest at the start of the mandate, hold a master's degree (or recognized equivalent) in a field close to health sciences (for example, neuropsychology, clinical psychology, motricity and rehabilitation sciences, biomedical sciences, medicine, etc.). He/she should have experience in experiment design, data collection, analysis and communication. He/she must have good English skills for communication in the lab and fluency in French is necessary to interact with patients. Clinical experience is an added value, even if only through master's internships. Basic programming experience (e.g. Matlab) is also an asset.

The candidate must submit in a single document in pdf format (1) a motivation letter, (2) their CV detailing their academic and professional background and their research experiences, (3) two letters of recommendation (for students, from the master thesis promoter and/or internship supervisors),

The project will start immediately after the selection of the candidate - The successful candidate will receive funding for 4 years.

For more details about the position, please contact Valéry Legrain: valery.legrain@uclouvain.be

 

December 2023

PhD position in Cell physiology / Neuroscience
University of Louvain - Brussels - Belgium

Project Title
Modulation of mechanosensitive ion channels by lipidic environment. Role in cancer biology.

Overview
Cellular mechanosensitivity plays a key role in the life of the cell, regulating its migration, its proliferation and its death during physiological phenomena such as development. Alteration of cellular mechanosensitivity is implicated in the development of a number of pathologies, including cancer, notably in glioblastoma on which this project is focused. The general goal of this proposal is to better understand how lipid environment of cell membranes affect mechanosensitive ion channels. To achieve this goal, we will combine expertises in cell morphology and mechanics, lipid membrane biophysics and ion channels activity measurements to understand how the composition of the lipid bilayer, its asymmetry and its lateral domains affect mechanosensitive channel gating and clustering.

Principal investigator and host laboratory:
Philippe Gailly, Laboratory of cell physiology - Institute of Neuroscience (IoNS), University of Louvain (Brussels campus), Belgium.

Requirements
The candidate should hold a master's degree in Physiology, Biology, Biophysics, Medicine, Chemistry, Biomedical and Health Sciences or related fields. In addition, the candidate should have a keen interest in ion channel biophysics.
The candidate should be fluent in English and/or French.

The application should include a complete CV, a motivation letter explaining why the applicant is best suited for this project, and 2 letters of recommendation.

The project will start in mid-2024 and run for 4 years. The successful candidate will receive funding for 2 years (renewable) and will apply to competitive PhD fellowships (FRS-FNRS, FRIA).

For more details about the position, please contact Philippe Gailly: philippe.gailly@uclouvain.be