PhD in Neuroscience studying cerebellar control of movement

The Schonewille lab is looking for a PhD student to study how different subpopulations of neurons in the cerebellum individually contribute to the control of movement. This project is centered around behavior and electrophysiology in mice, expanded with optogenetic, anatomical, genetic and modeling approaches. 

The cerebellum plays a crucial role in integrating the information from our senses with the movements we want to make. Central in this integration is the Purkinje cell, receiving enormous amounts of input with its massive dendritic tree. Recent developments indicate that the cerebellum contains subpopulations of Purkinje cells with distinct gene expression profiles.

The aim of this PhD project is to investigate how these subpopulations operate, individually and in cooperation, to control movements. To this end, the PhD candidate will primarily use in vivo electrophysiology, optogenetic stimulation and behavioral analysis, which can be combined with immunohistochemistry, anatomical tracing and ex vivo electrophysiology. The project is funded by a NWO Vici grant, so the PhD candidate will be part of a team of researchers and technicians working on the proposed project.