A post-doctoral position in photonics and electrophysiology applied to ischemic neuron activation is offered to work on a coordinated project between Dr. Abraham Martín at Achucarro Basque Center for Neuroscience (Leioa, https://www.achucarro.org/research-groups) and Dr. Aitzol Garcia-Etxarri at the Donostia International Physics Center (DIPC).

This interdisciplinary project will explore and validate the potential use of functionalized gold nanoparticles to generate a photothermal response and neuronal activity triggered by light. We will explore new classes of plasmonic nanoparticles, designing and fabricating them and then testing them in mouse cortical neurons using acute slices of healthy and ischemic mice brains in combination of patch-camp recordings and two-photon microscopy. 

Preliminary results demonstrate the feasibility of gold nanoparticle for two-photon neuronal photoactivation (see this: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6279767/). The project is a collaboration between Dr. Aitzol Garcia-Etxarri at the DIPC, Dr. Abraham Martin at Achucarro, Dr. Marek Grzelczak at the Materials Physics Center (MPC), Dr. Monica Carril at Instituto Biofisika (IBF) and Prof. Rafael Yuste at the Neurotechnology Center at Columbia University in New York City, USA (NTC). The design of the plasmonic nanoparticles will be done at the DIPC, fabricated at the MPC, functionalized at Biofisika and experimentally tested in mouse cortical neurons in vitro and in vivo at Achucarro and NTC. The role of this postdoctoral researcher will be mainly focused on ex vivo experiments. 

We offer a one-year full-time position (extendable to 3 years) starting on March-April 2024. 

Previous experience in animal handling and in vivo electrophysiology is highly desirable, experience on two photon microscopy is preferred but not necessarily required.