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EPFL, the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne, is one of the most dynamic university campuses in Europe and ranks among the top 20 universities worldwide. The EPFL employs more than 6,500 people supporting the three main missions of the institutions: education, research and innovation. The EPFL campus offers an exceptional working environment at the heart of a community of more than 18,500 people, including over 14,000 students and 4,000 researchers from more than 120 different countries.

Post-doc researcher in Clinical Neuroengineering

Mission

The Laboratory of Clinical Neuroengineering, directed by Friedhelm Hummel https://www.epfl.ch/labs/hummel-lab has an open position for a Post-Doc researcher on the topic of noninvasive deep brain stimulation to address aspects of freezing of gait in Parkinson’s in a SNSF-funded international Lead Agency project.

Project description

The overarching goal of the project "Multimodal approach for the detection, prediction, and management of Freezing of Gait in Parkinson's Disease (MAPP)" funded by Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) together with Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de S. Paulo (FAPESP) with the following PIs: Prof. Hummel (EPFL), Prof. Micera (EPFL), Prof. Shokur (University Hospital of Lausanne, CHUV) and Prof. Boari Coelho (Universidade Federal do ABC (UFABC)) is to design and test a closed-loop wearable system for neuromodulation to assist in mitigating the freezing in PD patients.

Profile

The specific part of the project seeks to develop a transformative, non-invasive deep brain stimulation approach, using tTIS, to target pathological patterns of neural activity in the basal ganglia of PD. FoG events have been associated with an abnormally strong low beta activity (12-15 Hz) in the subthalamic nucleus (STN). tTIS is a disruptive non-invasive brain stimulation approach that allows targeting deep brain regions that could previously not be stimulated selectively with conventional non-invasive approaches. We have pioneered tTIS for human applications to target the hippocampus (e.g., Beanto, Moon et al. 2024 Science Advances) and striatum (e.g., Wessel, Beanato et al. 2023 Nature Neuroscience 2024; Vassiliadis et al. 2024 Nature Human Behavior). tTIS is safe, and well tolerated (Vassiliadis et al. 2024 JNE) and has the potential to reduce neural oscillations in deep brain regions (Vassiliadis et al. 2024 Nature Human Behavior). Hence, tTIS appears as a particularly promising opportunity to target pathological neural activity in the basal ganglia (Hummel & Wessel 2024 Nature Reviews Neurology) and ultimately prevent the occurrence of FoG. The personalized nature of these technologies can represent a significant advancement, tailoring interventions to individual patient needs and responses.

 

To address these aspects, the ideal candidate should have: 

  • PhD (or equivalent degree) in neuroscience, medicine or psychology, computer science or engineering or MD degree
  • Strong motivation
  • Strong neuromodulation background, especially non-invasive brain stimulation and/or
  • Strong neuroimaging background, especially in M/EEG
  • Good programming skills
  • Good communication skills
  • Previous research experience in human experimental translational neuroscience is a plus.

We offer

How to apply

Please submit your application through the online platform.

You are asked to supply in one PDF:

  • A motivation letter
  • A CV with a publication list
  • Contact details for 2 referees

 

For any further information, please contact: friedhelm.hummel@epfl.ch

 

Contract Start Date : 03/01/2025 

Activity Rate : 100.00 

Contract Type: CDD

Duration: 1 year renewable 

Reference: 1371 










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