<html>
<head>
<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8">
</head>
<body style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space;" class="">
<div style="margin: 0px; text-align: justify;" class="">-----------------------------------------------------------------------------</div>
<div style="margin: 0px; text-align: justify;" class="">PhD position in the Blue Brain Project - Department of
<i class="">In Silico</i> Neuroscience</div>
<div style="margin: 0px; text-align: justify;" class="">-----------------------------------------------------------------------------</div>
<div style="margin: 0px; text-align: justify; min-height: 16px;" class=""><br class="">
</div>
<div style="margin: 0px; text-align: justify;" class="">Project title: Digital Reconstruction of Cholinergic Neuromodulation of Neocortical Microcircuitry</div>
<div style="margin: 0px; text-align: justify; min-height: 16px;" class=""><br class="">
</div>
<div style="margin: 0px; text-align: justify;" class="">Supervisors: Dr. Srikanth Ramaswamy, Prof. Henry Markram</div>
<div style="margin: 0px; text-align: justify; min-height: 16px;" class=""><br class="">
</div>
<div style="margin: 0px; text-align: justify;" class="">Keywords: Neocortex, microcircuits, simulation, neuromodulation, acetylcholine, dendrites, synaptic transmission, network activity</div>
<div style="margin: 0px; text-align: justify; min-height: 16px;" class=""><br class="">
</div>
<div style="margin: 0px; text-align: justify;" class="">Project description: Neuromodulators are chemical messengers - hormones, neuropeptides, and neurotransmitters - that diffusely target neurons and synapses in specific brain regions. Distinct groups of
neurons located in subcortical areas release neuromodulators such as acetylcholine (ACh), noradrenaline, serotonin, dopamine, and histamine. These neuromodulators directly control information processing in neocortical microcircuits by modulating shifts between
activity states such as sleep and wakefulness, or distraction and attention. Neuromodulators are also directly implicated in a spectrum of debilitating disorders such as migraine, schizophrenia, Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease. Yet, despite their crucial
role in physiology and pathology, we lack a detailed understanding of the way they regulate the function of dendrites, synapses, neurons, and network activity in neocortical microcircuitry. </div>
<div style="margin: 0px; text-align: justify; min-height: 16px;" class=""><br class="">
</div>
<div style="margin: 0px; text-align: justify;" class="">The objective of the proposed PhD project will be to devise, implement and study biophysical models of ACh neuromodulation of neocortical microcircuitry. The project will leverage the Blue Brain Project’s
data-driven digital reconstruction of neocortical microcircuitry<span style="font-size: 12px;" class=""><sup class="">1, 2</sup></span>, and augment it with biophysical models of the anatomy and physiology of ACh neuromodulation of somatosensory cortex. Specifically,
the project will implement and constrain cellular and synaptic models of ACh neuromodulation and study its regulation of cortical activity states. The project requires active collaboration with the Laboratory of Neural Microcircuitry (LNMC), EPFL to design
neurophysiological experiments in thenrodent somatosensory syetem and integrate relevant data into the digital reconstruction. Significant computing resources on a large high performance computing system will be made available for this project.</div>
<div style="margin: 0px; text-align: justify; min-height: 16px;" class=""><br class="">
</div>
<div style="margin: 0px; text-align: justify;" class="">1. Markram, H.*, Muller, E.*, Ramaswamy, S.*, Reimann, M.* et al. (2015). Reconstruction and Simulation of Neocortical Microcircuitry.
<i class="">Cell</i> 163:2, 456-495. * Co-first author.</div>
<div style="margin: 0px; text-align: justify; min-height: 16px;" class=""><br class="">
</div>
<div style="margin: 0px; text-align: justify;" class="">2. Ramaswamy S.*, Courcol J-D.*, Abdellah M., Adaszewski S.R., Antille N. et al. (2015). The Neocortical Microcircuit Collaboration Portal: A Resource for Rat Somatosensory Cortex.
<i class="">Front. Neural Circuits</i> 9:44. *Co-first author.</div>
<div style="margin: 0px; text-align: justify; min-height: 16px;" class=""><br class="">
</div>
<div style="margin: 0px; text-align: justify;" class="">Key collaborators: Dr. Rodrigo Perin (EPFL-LNMC), Ms. Ayah Khubieh (EPFL-LNMC), Dr. Eilif Muller (EPFL-BBP), Dr. Fabien Delalondre (EPFL-BBP), Prof. Felix Schürmann (EPFL-BBP), and Prof. Idan Segev (Hebrew
University, Jerusalem).</div>
<div style="margin: 0px; text-align: justify; min-height: 16px;" class=""><br class="">
</div>
<div style="margin: 0px; text-align: justify;" class="">This project is offered in the context of the EPFL Doctoral School in Neuroscience (EDNE). </div>
<div style="margin: 0px; text-align: justify;" class="">Please visit <a href="http://phd.epfl.ch/neuroscience-openings" class="">
http://phd.epfl.ch/neuroscience-openings</a> for further details, and information on how to apply. </div>
<div style="margin: 0px; text-align: justify;" class="">Application Deadline: Nov 15th, 2016.</div>
<div style="margin: 0px; text-align: justify; min-height: 16px;" class=""><br class="">
</div>
<div style="margin: 0px; text-align: justify;" class="">For further details on the project contact:</div>
<div style="margin: 0px; text-align: justify; color: rgb(71, 135, 255);" class="">
<span style="font-kerning: none; color: #000000" class="">Dr. Srikanth Ramaswamy <<a href="mailto:srikanth.ramaswamy@epfl.ch" class="">srikanth.ramaswamy@epfl.ch</a>></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px; text-align: justify; min-height: 16px;" class=""><br class="">
</div>
<div style="margin: 0px; text-align: justify; min-height: 16px;" class=""><br class="">
</div>
<div style="margin: 0px; text-align: justify;" class="">-------------</div>
<div style="margin: 0px; text-align: justify;" class="">Dr. Srikanth Ramaswamy</div>
<div style="margin: 0px; text-align: justify; min-height: 16px;" class=""><br class="">
</div>
<div style="margin: 0px; text-align: justify;" class="">EPFL - Blue Brain Project</div>
<div style="margin: 0px; text-align: justify;" class="">Biotech Campus</div>
<div style="margin: 0px; text-align: justify;" class="">Chemin des Mines 9</div>
<div style="margin: 0px; text-align: justify;" class="">1202 Geneva</div>
<div style="margin: 0px; text-align: justify;" class="">Switzerland</div>
<div style="margin: 0px; text-align: justify; min-height: 16px;" class=""><br class="">
</div>
<div style="margin: 0px; text-align: justify;" class="">Tel: +41 21 693 9633</div>
<div style="margin: 0px; text-align: justify;" class="">Fax: +41 21 693 5350</div>
<div style="margin: 0px; text-align: justify;" class="">www: <a href="https://people.epfl.ch/srikanth.ramaswamy" class="">
https://people.epfl.ch/srikanth.ramaswamy</a></div>
<div style="margin: 0px; text-align: justify; min-height: 16px;" class=""><br class="">
</div>
</body>
</html>