Neural circuit changes underpinning olfactory learning

About the Project

The School of Biomedical Sciences invites applications from prospective postgraduate researchers who wish to commence study for a PhD in neuroscience in the academic year 2025/26. This opportunity is open to candidates who have the means to self-fund their studies or who have a sponsor who will cover this cost.

Learning is a fundamental feature of brains; they rewire their circuitry to store new information, such as an association between a stimulus and its positive or negative outcome. The olfactory system is an attractive location to study learning with it being easily accessible for in vivo imaging in the mouse. Olfactory learning plays important roles throughout life including: neonatal/maternal attachment, social interaction, food choice and identifying danger. The olfactory system contains numerous factors that are thought to participate in learning including: synaptic plasticity, adult neurogenesis, and extensive inputs from other neuromodulatory brain regions.

This project will ask the question: does it matter how an association is learnt? There are multiple ways to learn a food odour, including by social transmission, operant conditioning and passive association and it appears that different neural mechanisms are employed for each of these learning paradigms. Do the different methods of learning result in different neural correlates to represent the association?

Although learning is fundamental to what brains do, little is understood about whether different learning strategies result in the same neural outcome and whether some of these are more robust to degradation. This project will begin to address this important question.

The applicant will take advantage of a range of cutting-edge techniques to analyse the neural basis of learning, including: Behavioural analysis, computational modelling and in vivo brain imaging using 2-photon microscopy to measure neural activity within the different neural cell types of olfactory bulb.

We are seeking motivated and enthusiastic applicants with a background in neuroscience, physiology or engineering, applicants with some programming experience are particularly welcome. You would in the labs of Dr Jamie Johnston (www.johnstonlab.org) and Prof. Nikita Gamper and would be embedded within the broad neuroscience research community at Leeds (https://neural.leeds.ac.uk/). It is recommended that prior to applying you should contact Dr Johnston outlining how your research interests/background align with this project.

Eligibility

Applicants to research degree programmes should normally have at least a first class or an upper second class British Bachelors Honours degree (or international equivalent) in an appropriate discipline.

Applicants whose first language is not English must provide evidence that their English language is sufficient to meet the specific demands of their study. The minimum English language entry requirement for postgraduate research study in the Faculty of Biological Sciences is an IELTS of 6.0 overall with at least 5.5 in each component (reading, writing, listening and speaking) or equivalent. The test must be dated within two years of the start date of the course in order to be valid.

How to apply

To apply for this project applicants should complete an online application form and attach the following documentation to support their application.

• a full academic CV
• degree certificate and transcripts of marks
• Evidence that you meet the University's minimum English language requirements (if applicable)
• Evidence of funding

To help us identify that you are applying for this project please ensure you provide the following information on your application form;

• Select PhD in Biological Sciences as your programme of study
• Give the full project title and name the supervisors listed in this advert

For information about the application process please contact the Faculty Admissions Team:

e: fbsgrad@leeds.ac.uk

Funding Notes

This project is open to applicants who have the funding to support their own studies or who have a sponsor who will cover these costs.