Postdoctoral Researcher to Develop Antisense Therapies for Familial Alzheimer’s Disease

Postdoctoral Researcher to Develop Antisense Therapies for Familial Alzheimer’s Disease

VIB

Leuven, Belgium

Description

The Laboratory for the Research of Neurodegenerative Diseases headed by prof. Bart De Strooper in collaboration with the Laboratory for Therapeutic and Diagnostic Antibodies headed by Prof. Maarten Dewilde, is looking for a motivated postdoctoral scientist to join our multidisciplinary project on gene therapy for Alzheimer’s Disease. This work is focused on the specific targeting of clinical mutations that cause dominant inherited Alzheimer’s disease using an unique antisense strategy (ASO). We will couple those ASO to our proprietary blood-brain shuttles to improve brain exposure, improve administration via intravenous instead of intrathecal routes, and decrease toxicity associated with ASO treatment. The candidate will be involved in both the generation and the testing of the ASO constructs and will follow the clinical candidates on their journey from preclinical to clinical application. Candidates with a strong biological/medical focus or candidates with a focus on (ASO) chemistry and medical development are welcome and we might actually recruit two persons with complementary expertise.

Profile

Required:

The successful candidate:

• Should hold a PhD degree in neuroscience, biology, chemistry, engineering or a related field;
• Should be creative, enthusiastic, critically thinking, and motivated;
• Ready to work against stringent deadlines;
• Enjoys teamwork and has excellent oral and written communication skills in English.

Appreciated:

• Experience working with laboratory mice (FELASA B);
• Experience with ASO chemistry;
• Knowledge of blood brain barrier biology and transport;
• Knowledge of the literature on neurodegenerative disorders;
• Good understanding of antisense oligonucleotide therapies;
• Good publication record.