Qualification Type: | PhD |
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Location: | Newcastle upon Tyne |
Funding for: | UK Students, EU Students |
Funding amount: | £18,622 annual stipend |
Hours: | Full Time, Part Time |
Placed On: | 25th August 2023 |
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Closes: | 1st November 2023 |
Reference: | BI071 |
Award summary
100% of home tuition fees paid and an annual stipend (living expenses) of £18,622 with additional Research Training and Support Grant (£5,000 p.a.) to cover research and travel costs.
Overview
Social cognition disorders, such as anxiety and autism spectrum disorders, can have a serious impact on an individual's quality of life. However, the brain circuits underlying these disorders are still poorly understood, which has limited the development of effective treatments. Therefore, a robust preclinical model is needed to assess social and cognitive behavioural characteristics of individual animals, and to quantitatively assess phenotypic traits associate with social cognitive disorder that will enables us to target specific brain circuits to advance treatment options in selected animals.
This studentship will provide training in the development of comprehensive assessments to identify animals who exhibit phenotypic traits associated with social cognitive disorders (e.g., autism and anxiety). The student will develop viral vector approaches for neural tracing combined with fMRI and electrophysiology in the social brain circuits of macaque and marmoset brains.
The research has the potential to advance precision medicine approaches for social cognition disorders. The information obtained from this project could not only develop targeted treatments that are more likely to be effective on identified individual animals who are at high risk, but it will also greatly advance the 3Rs and animal welfare. The student will join a synergistic partnership between Newcastle University and partners in the UK, US, and Japan.
Number of awards: 1
Start date: 8th January 2024
Award duration: A full time PhD (36 months) or a part time PhD (72 months)
Sponsor: Newcastle University, Faculty Medical Sciences
Supervisors: Dr Yuki Kikuchi
Eligibility Criteria
How to apply
You must register and apply through the University’s Apply to Newcastle Portal and select ‘Create a Postgraduate Application’.
Use ‘Course Search’ to identify your programme of study:
Provide the following information in the ‘Further Questions’ section:
In addition, you will need to upload the following supporting documentation:
Contact details
Dr. Yuki Kikuchi
Biosciences Institute
Email: yukiko.kikuchi@ncl.ac.uk
Phone: +44 (0) 191 208 7559
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