The Osterweil lab is recruiting a motivated individual to fill a postdoctoral position in cellular neuroscience and bioinformatics. You will be joining the exceptional group of scientists in the Centre for Discovery Brain Sciences and the Simons Centre for the Developing Brain at the University of Edinburgh, recently ranked as the 16th best university in the world. You will be working in Edinburgh, one of the world’s most liveable cities with access to world-class cultural activities, UNESCO Heritage sites and unparalleled outdoor experiences.

The laboratory’s research sits at the interface of cellular neuroscience and disease, seeking to address the role of mRNA translation in autism-related neurodevelopmental disorders. You will use cutting edge approaches such as TRAP-seq, Ribo-seq and scRNA-seq to discover how alterations in specific neural circuits contribute to disruptions in circuit function and behavior in animal models of autism. This Wellcome Trust funded position will use these approaches to answer critical questions about how ribosome expression changes mRNA translation in hippocampal and cortical circuits, and how this process may be targeted for therapeutic intervention in mouse models of autism.

The post requires relevant experience in bioinformatics analysis of RNA-seq datasets, and experience with scRNA-seq datasets is desired. Candidates must have a PhD in cell biology, neuroscience or a related topic either obtained or expected within 6 months of the start of the contract. This is a full-time post, and start date is flexible. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis with a soft deadline of Aug 21. Interested applicants should send a CV and letters of reference to Emily.osterweil@ed.ac.uk.

Lab website: https://www.osterlab.org/
University of Edinburgh: https://www.ed.ac.uk/
Simons Centre for the Developing Brain: https://www.sidb.org.uk/
Centre for Discovery Brain Sciences: https://www.ed.ac.uk/discovery-brain-sciences

Further Reading
1) Thomson SR*, Seo SS*, Barnes SA✝, Louros SR✝, Muscas M, Dando O, Kirby C, Hardingham GE, Wyllie DJA, Kind PC, and Osterweil EK. Cell type-specific translation profiling reveals a novel strategy for treating fragile X syndrome. Neuron. 2017 Aug 2; 95(3):550-563.e5. doi: 10.1016/j.neuron.2017.07.013.
2) Stoppel LJ, Osterweil EK, and Bear MF. The mGluR Theory of fragile X syndrome. Fragile X Syndrome: From Genetics to Targeted Treatment. Willemsen, R. & Kooy, F. (Eds.). Academic Press, 2017. ISBN: 0128045078, 9780128045077.
3) Asiminas A*, Jackson AD*, Louros S†, Till SM†, Spano T, Dando O, Bear MF, Chattarji S, Hardingham GE, Osterweil EK, Wyllie DJA, Wood ER, and Kind PC. Sustained correction of associative learning deficits following brief, early treatment in a rat model of Fragile X Syndrome. Science Translational Medicine. 2019 May 29;11(494). pii: eaao0498. doi: 10.1126/scitranslmed.aao0498.