<div dir="ltr"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif">Dear all,<br><br>a 2.5-year
PostDoc position for developing computational models of disease progression in dementia
patients is available<span class="gmail-apple-converted-space"> </span>within<span class="gmail-apple-converted-space"> </span>my lab.<b><br>
<br>
<strong>About the project</strong></b><br>
The most ideal time to intervene with disease-modifying treatment is early on
before significant neurodegenerative change and neuronal loss has occurred.
However, another highly relevant consideration is improvements in subtype
diagnosis i.e. determination of the type of neurodegenerative process giving
rise to dementia.  Differentiation is
crucial as there are different management trajectories for each disease; for
example, neuroleptic drugs which are given to AD can be fatal in the DLB group.
Promising preliminary data, using simulation of disease progression, suggest
that we may be able to make an early diagnosis even when subtle changes cannot
be detected with the current machine learning approach. Going beyond machine
learning subtype classification, our study aims to develop a simulation-based
model of disease progression that can facilitate early treatment of the disease
leading to improved outcomes for patients and reduced overall healthcare costs.<br>
<br>
<strong>Available RA position</strong><br>
As part of this project, the lab of Prof. Marcus Kaiser (</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Cambria,serif"><a href="http://www.dynamic-connectome.org/" target="_blank" style="color:blue"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(140,104,203);text-decoration-line:none">http://www.dynamic-connectome.org/</span></a></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif"> ), with joint
supervision from the lab of Dr John-Paul Taylor (</span><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif"><a href="https://www.lewybodylab.org/" style="color:blue">https://www.lewybodylab.org/</a></span><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif"> <span lang="EN-US">), are
seeking a talented and enthusiastic research assistant with a PhD awarded, or a
PhD thesis about to be submitted, in computational biology or related subjects;
prior experience in the neurosciences is desirable.<br>
    <br>
The aim of this joint project, between Newcastle University and Korea
University, is to developing more accurate dementia progression models that can
inform diagnosis and treatment of patients using neuroimaging (MRI and PET)
data. Objectives of this position are, first, to observe brain network features
of dementia patients and how these features are changing with disease
progression. Second, to develop computational models of how structural and
functional connectivity will change over time in these patients. Third, testing
whether the models can reproduce the actual progression and to test different
hypotheses about the underlying causes of brain network changes. <br>
<br>
Good communication skills, very strong dynamics modelling skills, and a track
record of previous peer-reviewed journal publications. You will have experience
with neuroimaging and/or computer simulations. The position will include visits
to our collaborators in South Korea (Profs Cheol Han and Hyun-Ghang Jeong,
Korea University). <br>
<br>
<strong>Research Environment</strong><br>
Neuroinformatics at Newcastle University in the UK covers a range of topics
from electrophysiology to neuroimaging. We are among the pioneers in connectome
analysis and the establishment computational models to inform interventions in
patients, e.g. through the £10m Wellcome Trust/EPSRC-funded CANDO project. Our
strength is a close collaboration between computational, experimental, and
clinical researchers. We currently have a team of 13 faculty members in
the areas of Neuroinformatics and Neurotechnology: </span></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Cambria,serif"><a href="http://neuroinformatics.ncl.ac.uk/" target="_blank" style="color:blue"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(140,104,203);text-decoration-line:none">http://neuroinformatics.ncl.ac.uk/</span></a></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif"> <br></span><div><div dir="ltr" class="gmail_signature" data-smartmail="gmail_signature"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><p><span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:black"> </span></p><p><span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:black">Best,<br></span><span style="color:black;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif;font-size:10.5pt">  Marcus</span></p><p><span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:black"> </span></p><p><span style="font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:black">--</span><span style="font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:black"></span></p><p><span style="font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:black"> </span></p><p><span style="font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:black">Marcus Kaiser, Ph.D. FRSB    </span><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif;color:black"><span style="font-family:Arial,sans-serif"><a href="https://twitter.com/ConnectomeLab" target="_blank" style="font-size:10.5pt">@ConnectomeLab</a><span style="font-size:14px"><br></span></span></span><span style="color:black;font-family:Arial,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:13.5pt">Professor of Neuroinformatics</span><span style="font-size:18px"><br></span></span><span style="color:black;font-family:Arial,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:10.5pt">Interdisciplinary Computing and Complex Biosystems (ICOS) Research Group</span><span style="font-size:14px"><br></span></span><span style="color:black;font-size:13.5pt"><font face="Arial, sans-serif">School of Computing <br></font></span><span style="color:black;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif;font-size:13.5pt">Urban Sciences Building<br></span><span style="color:black;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif;font-size:13.5pt">Newcastle University<br></span><span style="color:black;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif;font-size:13.5pt">1 Science Square<br></span><span style="color:black;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif;font-size:13.5pt">Science Central<br></span><span style="color:black;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif;font-size:13.5pt">Newcastle upon Tyne<br></span><span style="color:black;font-size:13.5pt"><font face="Calibri, sans-serif">NE5 5TG<br></font></span><span style="color:black;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;font-size:13.5pt">UK</span><span style="color:black;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif;font-size:13.5pt"> </span></p><p><span lang="DE" style="font-size:13.5pt"><font color="#000000" face="Arial, sans-serif">Lab website:</font><font color="#000000" face="Calibri, sans-serif"><br></font></span><span style="font-size:13.5pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:black"><a href="http://www.dynamic-connectome.org/" target="_blank"><span lang="DE">http://www.dynamic-connectome.org</span></a></span><span lang="DE" style="font-size:13.5pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:black">/ </span></p><p><span lang="DE" style="font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:black"></span></p><p><span style="font-family:Arial,sans-serif;font-size:13.5pt"><font color="#000000">Neuroinformatics@Newcastle:<br></font></span><span style="font-size:13.5pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:black"><a href="http://neuroinformatics.ncl.ac.uk" target="_blank"><span lang="DE">http://neuroinformatics.ncl.ac.uk</span></a></span><span lang="DE" style="font-size:13.5pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:black">/ </span><span style="color:black;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif;font-size:13.5pt"> </span></p><p><span style="font-size:13.5pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><font color="#000000">Neuroinformatics UK:<br></font></span><a href="http://www.neuroinformatics.org.uk/" target="_blank" style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif;font-size:13.5pt">http://www.neuroinformatics.org.uk/</a></p><p><br><br></p></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div><div dir="ltr"><br></div></div>