Topic: protein aggregation

Lead experimental studies that identify and validate targets for neurodegenerative disease. Design rodent experiments, analyse human and animal brain tissue, and develop quantitative measures of protein aggregation, inflammation, cell loss and vascular integrity. Collaborate with pharmacology, histology, molecular biology and computational teams to turn mechanistic findings into programme decisions. The employer’s current vacancy accepts applications without a stated fixed deadline.

Neurodegenerative diseases are chronic and inexorable conditions characterised by the presence of insoluble aggregates of abnormally ubiquinated and phosphorylated proteins. Recent evidence also suggests that protein misfolding can propagate throughout the body in a prion-like fashion via the interstitial or cerebrospinal fluids (CSF). As protein aggregation occurs well before the onset of brain damage and symptoms, new biomarkers sensitive to early pathology, together with therapeutic strategies that include eliminating seed proteins and blocking cell-to-cell spread, are of vital importance.