Our group is looking for a curious and motivated PhD student for a project aiming to understand the mechanisms regulating the function of neuronal circuits controlling stress.
Neuronal circuits eliciting stress responses evolved to help animals to cope with adverse environmental conditions. Responses to mild short-term stress are beneficial, since adverse physical and psychological events activate adaptive reactions essential for survival, such as avoidance of potential threats. The same circuits, when not functioning properly, can also induce emergence of maladaptive behaviors. In humans, dysregulation of stress circuits leads to several debilitating psychiatric conditions, including post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, anxiety, and occupational burnout. Therefore, investigating the neuronal substrate of stress is not only a fascinating endeavor to understand the basic functioning of neuromodulatory circuits, but it is also important for developing better treatments for psychiatric diseases.

We are exploiting the small size and translucency of the zebrafish central nervous system to study in vivo dynamic interactions between neurons involved in regulating stress. The work in our group aims to link basic circuit neuroscience to pathology by focusing on the following questions:
• How do discrete neuronal circuits modulate stress-related behavior?
• How does stress lead to adaptive changes modulating brain activity and behavior?
• What are the cellular, synaptic, and circuit alterations leading to maladaptive responses to stress?

We use a range of techniques in zebrafish genetics, molecular biology, advanced microscopy, and behavioral analysis.

For more information and for applying follow this link:https://www.mdc-berlin.de/career/jobs/phd-student-0