Jake Gratten

Cellular genomics of Parkinson's disease

We are seeking a highly motivated PhD candidate with a background and interest in human genomics, statistics and neurodegenerative disease to join the Cognitive Health Genomics group at the Mater Research Institute, UQ. The successful candidate would work on an NHMRC-funded study to identify selectively vulnerable neuronal and/or glial cell types across the spatial and temporal course of Parkinson’s disease using single cell approaches.

Project description

Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a complex neurodegenerative condition affecting 1% of Australians aged ≥60-years. There is no cure, and the number of affected individuals is rising steeply as populations age. Understanding the genetic basis of PD is critical to developing new therapeutics to counter the growing disease burden. Large-scale genome-wide association studies (GWAS) of PD have identified nearly 100 risk loci, but interpretation of these findings remains challenging; we do not yet know the identity of most PD risk genes, nor the specific cell types in which they act, nor when they act during the course of disease, which hampers efforts to identify targets for interventions. We will address these challenges by using single nucleus RNA-seq to identify cell types involved in the onset and progression of Lewy body pathology in PD-related brain regions.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree with first class honours, or Masters, in statistics, mathematics, bioinformatics, human genetics, animal breeding, or an equivalent field.
• Prior research experience in human genomics or animal breeding, including a familiarity with high-throughput genomic data and working in a high-performance computing environment.
• Skills in the R statistical computing language and/or python, C++ or an equivalent computing language.
• High degree of motivation and organisation, and an ability to work both independently and as part of a team.
• (Co-)authorship on at least one peer-reviewed publication (for International applicants)
• Excellent written and oral communications skills in English.

For further information please contact Dr Jake Gratten, jacob.gratten@mater.uq.edu.au, +61-7-34437585.