Job number:   V-DP-2008-01
Contact:   Prof. Dr. B.M. Spruijt

Delta Phenomics a privately held company providing contract research, consultancy and training services for pharmaceutical and nutrition companies, governmental agencies and academic institutions. Our expertise in rat and mouse behavior, neuroscience and pharmacology is combined with a unique automated behavioral testing and data analysis platform. This allows us to screen mutant lines and compound libraries at high throughput and deliver extensive behavioral profiles in a cost-effective manner.

The Job
We have an opening for a Ph.D. student, starting 1 December 2008. The Ph.D. student will work in the context of the project “Neuromodel” (http://www.neuromodel.eu/), a Marie Curie Initial Training Network funded by the EU 7th Framework Programme.

The project
The Neuromodel project concerns two neurodegenerative diseases, Parkinson’s Disease (PD) and Huntington’s Disease (HD), focusing on (i) understanding disease mechanisms leading to target identification, (ii) approaches towards treatment, (iii) development of models predictive for efficacy and translating to human pathology, and (iv) behavioral markers of animal models. Within the project, academic and industrial laboratories across Europe will be working together.
Delta Phenomics will be responsible for behavioral phenotyping of rodent models of PD and HD. This involves automated continuous observation and analysis of rodent behavior in an instrumented home cage (PhenoTyper®), equipped with devices to elicit specific behavioral responses in the domain of exploration, cognition and anxiety. Subtle changes in behavior, e.g. changes in movements or the patterning of movement, organization of spontaneous behavior, planning and cognitive performance, will be studied under conditions devoid of environmental pressure to display a certain type of behavior and thus without environmental stimuli eliciting behavior that may obscure a possible deficit. The PhenoTyper does not force the animal to perform but lets the animal decide whether or not to move, explore, learn, etc. Following this strategy, early onset of disease symptoms may be detected. In addition, the PhenoTyper allows an advanced analysis of hundreds of parameters and their patterning in time and space. This approach allows a detailed analysis of locomotion, time distribution, cognitive performance and behavioral rhythmicity, over multiple days. The aim of the Ph.D. research project is to identify behavioral characteristics typical for PD and HD.
The PhenoTyper system utilizes novel software and hardware to measure and analyze animal behavior. During the Neuromodel project there will be a close collaboration with the manufacturer of the system, Noldus Information Technology (Wageningen, The Netherlands, www.noldus.com) and other consortium partners.
The research will be supervised by Prof. Dr. B.M. Spruijt, scientific director of Delta Phenomics and professor at the Department of Biology, Utrecht University. The successful candidate will be associated with Utrecht University as a Ph.D. student.

Your profile
The ideal candidate has substantial knowledge of behavioral neuroscience and practical training in the observation and analysis of animal behavior (ethology) at M.Sc. level. Preference will be given to a candidate already familiar with automated data collection and analysis. We will provide additional training in experiment automation, data handling and statistical analysis. This position is open to any person with the required degree that allows entry into a Ph.D. program in any of the relevant fields (biology, biomedical sciences, psychology, veterinary medicine) at Utrecht University. You must be willing to move to The Netherlands for the duration of the project.

Marie Curie ITN regulations
- The candidate holds a passport of a country  other than the Netherlands
- The candidate is still within the first four years (full-time equivalent) of his/her career in research, at the time of appointment
- The candidate must not have resided or carried out research in The Netherlands for more than 12 months in the 3 years immediately prior to recruitment

How to apply for this position
Candidates are invited to send their application, including a letter of motivation, curriculum vitae and the names of two references, to Prof. Dr. Berry M. Spruijt, Delta Phenomics BV, P.O. Box 80086, 3508 TB Utrecht, The Netherlands. For more information, please contact This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .