Job ID: 121421
Postdoctoral position in preclinical stroke research
Position: Post-doctoral Position
Deadline: 2 February 2025
Contract Length: 20 months
City: Coventry
Country: United Kingdom
Institution: University of Warwick
Department: School of Life Sciences
Description:
An exciting opportunity is available to study a novel approach to the treatment of ischaemic stroke. Stroke deprives the brain of the substrates necessary to synthesise ATP, the cellular energy source. As a result, ATP levels decrease in the ischaemic brain initiating the pathological cascade that results in neuronal death. Moreover, the metabolites of ATP, such as adenosine, are lost from the brain into the circulation where they are no longer available for resynthesis into ATP. This prolongs the ATP deficit, worsening outcome, even after, and if, the blood supply to the brain is restored. We have pioneered an innovative approach to this brain bioenergetic crisis through providing the brain with ribose and adenine, two vital precursors of ATP, which the brain converts into ATP. Extensive in vitro validation and encouraging confirmatory results in an in vivo stroke model resulted in a project grant award from the Stroke Association to pursue ribose and adenine (RibAde) as a potential hyperacute point-of-care treatment for stroke, that could not only metabolically support the ischaemic brain, but may also increase chances for successful recanalization therapy.
The successful applicant will have a PhD or equivalent in neuroscience or a related discipline, will be familiar with the scientific literature pertaining to cerebral ischaemia and brain injury, and will have extensive experimental expertise in animal models of ischemic stroke.
You should either currently hold UK Home Office Personal License PILA-C or should be willing to undertake the course and hold this license prior to starting this role.