Research Assistant 

School of Physiology and Pharmacology
£31,342 – £35,256 per annum (depending on experience)
Job Number: ACAD101517

A postdoctoral position for three years (in the first instance) funded by the US National Institutes of Health is available in the School of Physiology & Pharmacology, working with Dr Tony Pickering, Dr Marcus Drake and Prof Christopher Fry. The project is part of a collaboration with investigators at the University of Pittsburgh. The project will investigate the physiology of bladder function and dysfunction in mice using a range of experimental methods. The planned research will primarily employ our novel in situ preparations (PMID:21625609; PMID: 24008334) in combination with optogenetics, along with assays of transmitter release, and neurophysiological recordings. The objective is to understand the effect of existing drugs and novel compounds (particularly those that influence phosphodiesterases) on urine storage and voiding function, in health and in a model of spinal cord injury. These studies will be extended to identify new targets for clinical intervention that may lead to the development of new therapies. The supervision and working environment is a close collaboration between the School of Physiology and Pharmacology and the Bristol Urological Institute, a major research-driven clinical department with world-renowned expertise in Urodynamics and Neuro-urology.

You must have a PhD or MD by research. Previous experience in one or more of the following areas will be advantageous: a) cellular electrophysiology b) in vivo systems neuroscience/neuropharmacology c) Autonomic physiology.

Contacts for informal enquiries:

Dr Tony Pickering, [email protected]; Tel: 0117 3312311