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Ten 4-year PhD positions in clinical vision and neuroscience: Groningen, Netherlands

Ten 4-year PhD positions in clinical vision and neuroscience
Within the European Glaucoma Research and Training program (http://www.egretprogram.
eu/), 10 PhD students will receive training to become the next
generation of clinical vision- and neuroscientists, specialized in studying
neurodegenerative diseases and glaucoma in particular. Our international team
includes academic, health care and private sector members with expertise in
ophthalmology, audiology, neurology, genetics, epidemiology, and neuroscience.
The 4-year PhD program will be based at the University Medical Center Groningen in
the Netherlands. An overview of the participating researchers, their research
interests and the PhD project topics can be found at www.egret-program.eu.

Program description
Glaucoma is the most common age-related neurodegenerative eye-disease in
western society and one of the four major blinding eye diseases worldwide.
The classic view of glaucoma is that of an eye disease in which an elevated
intraocular pressure damages the retinal nerve cells mechanically, initially resulting
in visual field loss, and ultimately in blindness. However, recent insights indicate that
the classic view is far too simplistic: rather than a disease restricted to the eye,
glaucoma involves both intraocular pressure and intracranial pressure and damages
neural tissue in both the eye and the brain.
With this in mind, EGRET focuses on three key research topics:
1) Improving functional tests: current functional tests assume a straightforward
relationship between the number of surviving retinal ganglion cells and visual
sensitivity. This is most likely too simplistic. We will refine existing objective tests of
glaucoma by studying light and motion perception using advanced psychophysics,
eyetracking, and multifocal pupillographic perimetry.
2) Improving structural assessment: examining the entire visual system in glaucoma
and studying the relationship to other neurodegenerative disease (Parkinson) by
using optical coherence tomography (OCT) to measure the retina and optic nerve
head, assess intraocular and intracranial pressure, and perform (f)MRI
measurements.
3) Improving genetic knowledge on glaucoma: investigation of the role of glaucomarelated
genes in large patient and population-based cohorts available in the EGRET
network.

Training
As a PhD student, you will follow a multidisciplinary PhD training consisting of a
number of high-level training courses and workshops. As you will be able to
experience working in industrial, health care and academic environments, you will
have the opportunity to develop both your academic as well as your entrepreneurial
skills.

Our ideal candidate:
1. May come from a variety of background (which include but is not limited to
biomedical engineering, genetics, neuroscience, ophthalmology, neuropsychology,
computer science).
2. Has a broad and strong interest in both theoretical and applied science.
3. Should be passionate about doing research and have or be willing to develop the
skills to communicate this passion with other scientists and the general public.
4. Should welcome the opportunity to conduct research abroad and work within a
multidisciplinary team.
5. Must hold (or be on the way to hold) an MSc in a relevant scientific or medical
discipline.
The requirements for the specific projects can be found via: http://www.egretprogram.
eu/projects/

Eligibility
The EGRET program is supported by a MARIE SKŁODOWSKA-CURIE grant. According
to the grant rules, transnational mobility is required for all PhD positions. To be
eligible for a PhD position, you cannot have resided or carried out your main activity
in the country of the recruiting institution for more than 12 months during
the previous 36 months. We are only recruiting Early-Stage Researchers who, at the
time of recruitment are in the first four years (full-time equivalent research
experience) of their research careers and not yet have been awarded a doctoral
degree.

Employment conditions
PhD candidates will start their project in 2016; the exact starting point will be
decided together with the lab that the candidate becomes affiliated with. All
recruiting partners honour EU and national employment law in relation to
researcher recruitment and ensure that fellows have the same rights, health and
safety standards as local researchers.

How to apply
Please submit a statement of your motivation for a specific project (1-2 pages), a
copy of your CV and contact details for 2 referees (name, work address, phone,
email) in a single PDF document. At the top of your motivation letter, make sure to
indicate your nationality and country of residence over the last 3 years. If you wish
to apply for several projects, please submit a separate application for each project
(information on http://www.egret-program.eu/projects/).
Applications should be submitted via: http://www.egret-program.eu/phdpositions/
apply/ (deadline: 19th of February 2016).
Questions can be addressed by emailing jobs@egret-program.eu

Employer:University Medical Center Groningen (UMCG)

Location:Groningen, Netherlands

Expires:February 22, 2016

Job type:PhD Studentship

Salary:Unspecified

Qualifications:Postgraduate - Master's degree

Employment type:Contract

Job hours:Full-time