We are delighted to announce that the MRC Brain Network Dynamics Unit has received funding from the Aligning Science Across Parkinson’s (ASAP) initiative for a substantial multi-year research collaboration to advance the understanding of brain cell and circuit dysfunction in Parkinson’s.
The new international collaboration builds on the MRC Unit’s interactions with colleagues at the Oxford Parkinson’s Disease Centre, and will bring three Oxford teams together with researchers based at the University of Boston, USA, the Karolinska Institutet, Sweden, the University of Peking, China, and Stanford University, USA. As part of this collaboration, the MRC Unit will leverage its leading expertise in high-resolution in vivo phenotyping of rodent models of Parkinson’s.
ASAP is a coordinated research initiative to advance targeted basic research for Parkinson’s disease. Its mission is to accelerate the pace of discovery and inform the path to a cure through collaboration, research-enabling resources, and data sharing. The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research is ASAP’s implementation partner and issued the grant.
Professor Peter Magill, who will lead the Unit’s contribution to the collaboration, commented, “This is an exciting opportunity to enhance the Unit’s strong portfolio of fundamental and translational neuroscience research. We look forward to working with our collaborators as we pursue our shared goal of defining why, how and when brain network dynamics go awry in Parkinson’s.”
Our congratulations go to Unit D.Phil. student Saed Khawaldeh for successfully defending his doctoral thesis, entitled “Subthalamic nucleus bursting dynamics and prediction of motor measures using machine learning”, in his viva voce examination on 14th October 2021.
Saed’s viva examiners were Professor Simon Little (University of California San Francisco, USA) and Professor Kia Nobre (University of Oxford). The viva took place remotely via digital conferencing.
Saed was supervised by Professor Peter Brown (MRC BNDU) and Professor Mark Woolrich (Psychiatry).
We are excited to announce that the MRC Brain Network Dynamics Unit has up to three MRC-funded studentships available from October 2022 to support Ph.D. (D.Phil.) projects as part of the Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences. Each studentship is for 3.5 years.
The MRC-funded D.Phil. projects on offer are:
Project 1 (1 studentship available). Brain-computer interfacing for closed-loop neuromodulation. Supervisor: Associate Professor Huiling Tan
Project 2 (1 studentship available). Investigating network dynamics of the human hippocampus. Supervisor: Professor David Dupret
Project 3 (1 studentship available). Brain-inspired machine learning for optimizing deep brain stimulation. Supervisor: Professor Rafal Bogacz
The closing date for applications is 12.00 midday UK time on Friday 3rd December 2021.
See our Studentships page for more details on projects and how to apply.
We welcome applications from both Home Students and International Students. Candidates can apply for more than one D.Phil. project. Candidates are strongly encouraged to contact project supervisors in advance of applying.
Many congratulations to Unit Group Leader and MRC Investigator Huiling Tan on being awarded a prestigious Turing Fellowship for the 2021/22 academic year.
Turing Fellows are scholars with proven research excellence in data science, artificial intelligence or a related field, and are appointed following an open competition by The Alan Turing Institute, the UK’s national institute for data science and artificial intelligence.
Huiling commented, “I am delighted to be named a Turing Fellow. I look forward to working with the Turing Institute and its network of Fellows to advance the Unit’s research, particularly that using machine learning to improve the detection and control of brain activity dynamics for therapeutic benefit.”
Our congratulations go to Unit D.Phil. student Moritz Möller for successfully defending his doctoral thesis, entitled “Learning about the distribution of rewards through dopamine and the basal ganglia pathways”, in his viva voce examination on 15th September 2021.
Moritz’s viva examiners were Professor Samuel Gerschman (Department of Psychology, Harvard University, USA) and Professor Timothy Behrens (Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University of Oxford). The viva took place remotely via digital conferencing.
Moritz was supervised by Professor Rafal Bogacz (MRC BNDU) and Associate Professor Sanjay Manohar (NDCN).
We bid a fond farewell to Dr Petra Fischer as she leaves the Unit to take up her new position of Lecturer in Neuroscience at the University of Bristol.
Petra has been working in the Unit as part of the Brown Group and Tan Group, where she has delivered a series of important studies that elucidate the role of neuronal oscillations in the control of movement in health and disease.
Unit Interim Director Peter Magill commented "It has been a pleasure and a privilege to host Petra in the Unit for her Ph.D. studies and postdoctoral training. Petra is an exceptional researcher and has made outstanding contributions to a wide range of scientific and public engagement activities at the Unit. We look forward to exploring further opportunities to collaborate with Petra as she establishes her independent research programme in Bristol. We will all miss working with Petra in the Unit, but it is a comfort to know that it is ‘au revoir’ and not ‘goodbye’."
Our congratulations go to Unit D.Phil. student Roman Rothaermel for successfully defending his doctoral thesis, entitled “Brain-wide cell assembly patterns for memory-guided behaviour”, in his viva voce examination on 28th July 2021.
Roman’s viva examiners were Dr Andrew MacAskill (University College London) and Professor Stephanie Cragg (University of Oxford). The viva took place remotely via digital conferencing.
Roman was supervised by Professor David Dupret (MRC BNDU) and Professor Mark Stokes (Experimental Psychology).
Congratulations to Unit students Beatriz Silveira de Arruda and Ioana Grigoras on co-winning the Director’s Award for Public Engagement for 2021.
The Award is given annually, on the basis of nominations made by Unit members, to recognise and celebrate the exemplary contributions of individuals or a small collective to the Unit’s extensive Outreach Programme.
Beatriz's and Ioana’s Awards were announced by Unit Interim Director Professor Peter Magill at a special ceremony held last week.
Professor Magill commented “It gives us all great pleasure to reward Beatriz and Ioana in this way. Both have clearly shown strong personal commitments to public engagement, successfully delivering a number of activities in Oxford and beyond. Beatriz has taken the Unit’s outreach programme as far as Brazil, and Ioana is commended for her creative use of digital media for wider impact.
The Unit held its twelfth Science Day on Friday 9th July 2021. Unpublished work and future research projects were the focus of discussion, and Unit members and visitors enthusiastically took the chance to offer the constructive criticism needed to support collaboration and foster cutting-edge research.
There were 8 research talks, all of which were given by the Unit’s early-career scientists. Unit Research Support Manager Ben Micklem also gave an insightful presentation on best practice in data sharing. Attendees were also treated to a Special Lecture by Professor Rob Brownstone of University College London, in which he gave an entertaining and shrewd account of the neuronal mechanisms of DYT1 dystonia.
Unit Interim Director Professor Peter Magill commented: “A fantastic virtual showcase of interdisciplinary research, and a great opportunity to review our collective progress in fulfilling the Units’ Mission. It was a pleasure and a privilege to see the next generation of our talented researchers in action and to learn from them.”
Our congratulations go to Unit D.Phil. student Charlie Clarke-Williams for successfully defending his doctoral thesis, entitled “Investigating multi-regional neural dynamics associated with cocaine-paired memory”, in his viva voce examination on 6th July 2021.
Charlie’s viva examiners were Professor Antonio Fernandez-Ruiz (Cornell University, USA) and Professor Mark Woolrich (University of Oxford). The viva took place remotely via digital conferencing.
Charlie was supervised by Professor David Dupret (MRC BNDU) and Professor David Bannerman (Experimental Psychology).