PhD position at the Institute of Neuroscience - Université Catholique de Louvain

Characterization of vagus nerve electro neurogram for seizure detection in rats as possible marker for closed loop VNS

Vagus nerve stimulation is an add on treatment for patients with refractory epilepsy. Despite its well-established use in clinical practice, mechanisms of action remain poorly understood and only one third of implanted patients respond to the treatment. This project aims to improve VNS therapy through the development of closed loop vagal nerve stimulation. Up till today, seizure detection is mainly based on scalp or intracranial EEG, nevertheless seizures also affect the autonomous system. For this reason, exploiting the vagal neural traffic with respect to seizures may offer an innovative way to detect seizures and allow the development of closed loop stimulation. We previously have described in our laboratory a reliable method to record vagus nerve electroneurogram (VENG) during acute induced seizures in anesthetized rats (under revision at J of Neuroscience Methods). In a next step of this project we plan to implant rats with a custom-made cuff electrode and determine whether spontaneous seizures can be detected through VENG recording.  

The researcher will be starting first October 2020. He/she will be based at UCL, located in Brussels (Belgium) and the project will be performed in close collaboration with all the partners. Your promotor will be Pr. Riëm El Tahry, neurologist at Cliniques Universitaires Saint Luc and PI at IONS, UCL, Pole NEUR-CEMO. Your co-promoter will be Pr. Antoine Nonclercq, PI at BEAMS department, ULB. The PhD research is planned in four years. The financing of the first year of funding is currently under evaluation. Thereafter, application for FNRS/FRIA funding will be required.

We are looking for a highly motivated engineer with excellent degrees and specific interest for Neurosciences, showing excellent knowledge, or the willingness to acquire it, in signal processing (Matlab) and electronics, and willing to integrate in a multidisciplinary team consisting of neurologists, neurophysiologists and engineers. 50% of your project will require animal handling and surgery. You will have to participate in the obligatory lab animal course organized by the UCL. Fluent English and basic French are required.

Application: Interested candidates are requested to send their application to Pr. Riëm El Tahry (riem.eltahry@uclouvain.be), with a copy to Pr. Antoine Nonclercq (anoncler@ulb.ac.be), and Pr. Jean Delbeke (jdelbeke@gmail.com) and including a cover letter describing yourself and your interests and a resume.