The School of Biological and Behavioural Sciences at Queen Mary is one of the UK’s elite research centres, according to the 2021 Research Excellence Framework (REF). We offer a multi-disciplinary research environment and have approximately 180 PhD students working on projects in the biological and psychological sciences. Our students have access to a variety of research facilities supported by experienced staff, as well as a range of student support services.
Dr Guifen Chen group focuses on studying how sensory inputs are integrated at the neural network level to form spatial representation in the brain. Her long-term research interests lie in the network mechanisms of spatial cognition and episodic memory in healthy and diseased brains including Alzheimer's and Autism. Further details about Dr Guifen Chen's group are available here: https://www.qmul.ac.uk/sbbs/staff/guifen-chen.html
Chen and Bor have over 75 publications between them, many in leading international journals such as Science, Nature Neuroscience, Nature Communications, PNAS, eLIFE and Current Biology. Their joint funding exceeds >£1M, including a BBSRC grant (Chen) and a Wellcome Trust 5-year fellowship (Bor).
Our PhD students become part of Queen Mary’s Doctoral College which provides training and development opportunities, advice on funding, and financial support for research. Our students also have access to a Researcher Development Programme designed to help recognise and develop key skills and attributes needed to effectively manage research, and to prepare and plan for the next stages of their career.
There is considerable variability in how well people cognitively cope with neural disruption, for instance due to ageing or Alzheimer’s disease (AD). The neural basis of this ‘cognitive reserve' is unclear.
Spatial memory dysfunction and hippocampus atrophy has been associated with early AD. In mammals, the hippocampus and its adjacent areas in the medial temporal lobe have long been implicated in spatial navigation and learning. Several types of spatial neurons have been discovered in this area, including place cells and grid cells. The activity of these neurons represents an animal’s current location.
The aim of this project is to study the neural basis of spatial cognitive reserve, comparing normal ageing and AD in mice. We will first design novel spatial navigation tasks in virtual reality environments where animals learn to associate their physical self-movement on a floating ball with the change of sensory inputs from virtual scenes and test whether the experience of learning the tasks helps to slow cognitive decline in ageing and AD. We will then monitor neural changes during the learning process using electrophysiology. Finally we will analyse the interaction of neural activity between subnetworks using cutting edge information theory tools, which divide the neural signal into different forms of information, and compare the information theory differences between normal ageing and AD. The findings will shine a light on neural mechanisms implicated in age-associated cognitive decline, and potentially provide key insights into how to alleviate this decline in ageing and AD populations. This work aligns with health and wellbeing, AI&data modelling as well as fundamental discovery science themes.
This studentship is open to students applying for CONACyT funding. CONACyT will provide a contribution towards your tuition fees each year and Queen Mary will waive the remaining fee. CONACyT will pay a stipend towards living costs to its scholars. Further information can be found here: https://conacyt.mx/convocatorias/convocatorias-becas-al-extranjero/
Please refer to the CONACyT website here: https://conacyt.mx/convocatorias/convocatorias-becas-al-extranjero/ for full details on eligibility and conditions on the scholarship.
Applications are invited from highly motivated candidates with a keen interest in neuroscience and with or expecting to receive a first or upper-second class honours degree and a masters degree in an area relevant to the project (for example Neuroscience, Life Sciences, Medicine, Psychology, Physics, Maths or Computer Science). Candidates with programming skills such as Matlab, a good understanding of maths, and experience of rodent experiments are desirable.
Applicants from outside of the UK are required to provide evidence of their English language ability. Please see our English language requirements page for details: https://www.qmul.ac.uk/international-students/englishlanguagerequirements/postgraduateresearch/
Informal enquiries about the project can be sent to Guifen Chen at guifen.chen@qmul.ac.uk
Applicants will need to complete an online application form to be considered, including a CV, personal statement and qualifications. Shortlisted applicants will be invited for a formal interview by the project supervisor. Those who are successful in their application for our PhD programme will be issued with an offer letter which is conditional on securing a CONACyT scholarship (as well as any academic conditions still required to meet our entry requirements).
Once applicants have obtained their offer letter from Queen Mary they should then apply to CONACyT for the scholarship as per their requirements and deadlines, with the support of the project supervisor.
Only applicants who are successful in their application to CONACyT can be issued an unconditional offer and enrol on our PhD programme.
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