Please forward this offer among potentially interested students. Thanks. Jürgen Reingruber Topic: Development of a Mathematical Model of Signal Transduction and Adaptation in Mammalian Cone Photoreceptors Field: Computational Neuroscience, Sensory Transduction Location: Institute of Biology École Normale Supérieure, Paris Supervision: Jürgen Reingruber, IBENS Collaboration: G. Fain and A. P. Sampath from UCLA Funding: 42 months by ANR, starting earliest in October 2019 Project description: We are looking for a PhD student for an interdisciplinary project between physics, mathematics computer science and neuroscience. Cone photoreceptors are the fundamental retinal neurons underlying our daylight vision. In spite of their importance for our visual perception, a comprehensive biophysical model showing how cones convert light into an electrical signal has not yet been developed. In close partnership with our experimental collaborators from UCLA, the student will analyze new (and worldwide unique) electrophysiological recordings to develop the first molecular model for the light response in cones. He will use asymptotic analysis and simulations to obtain a precise understanding of how cones respond and adapt during daylight. He will perform simulations with molecularly modified models to study how sensory transduction is altered in a diseased photoreceptor, which is important for understanding and treatment of photoreceptor dysfunctions. More details about the project can be found here: http://www.biologie.ens.fr/~reingrub/content/PhDDescription.pdf Lab and Environment: The lab where the research will be conducted is located in the Institute of Biology at École Normale Supérieure in the Latin Quarter in Paris. The ENS is a leading multidisciplinary research center and part of the PSL university. It is located in the heart of Paris right next Collège de France, Institute Curie, EPSCI (school of engineering), Sorbonne and other universities. The lab provides high speed internet, a powerful workstation (iMac) and access to Bioclust, the IBENS computing cluster. The lab comprises PhD students and postdocs with background in physics, applied mathematics and computer science. Candidate: The candidate should have a solid background in physics, applied mathematics, computer science or equivalent. Her/he should be highly motivated and interested in neuroscience and biology. Ideally the candidate should have skills and experience in modeling, analysis of dynamical systems, stochastic processes as well as programming and running simulations using either Matlab, C/C++, Comsol or Python. To apply, please send a CV and a motivation letter to Jürgen Reingruber (reingrub@ens.fr). -- Jürgen Reingruber, PhD Institute of Biology (IBENS) École Normale Supérieure 46 rue d'Ulm, 75005 Paris, France Tel: +33 (0)1 4432 3662 Fax: +33 (0)1 4432 8887