진학프로석·박사 채용 접수 플랫폼

KEYWORDS: Selective neuronal vulnerability, Spinocerebellar ataxia, Neurodegeneration

Purkinje cells, Chromatin organization, Epigenetic regulation, Transcriptional dysregulation, Nuclear architecture

Principal Investigator: Pawel M. Switonski

Research topic Chromatin dynamics of Purkinje cells as a determinant of neuronal vulnerability in ataxias

I. Project description

We offer a position as an assistant professor (post-doc) within the OPUS-29 project entitled: “Identifying changes in Purkinje cell chromatin dynamics as novel drivers of neuronal vulnerability in spinocerebellar ataxias” Neurodegenerative diseases often show striking cell-type specificity, with selected neuronal populations degenerating despite widespread expression of disease-causing mutations. A prominent example is spinocerebellar ataxia (SCA), in which degeneration of Purkinje cells leads to progressive motor dysfunction. The molecular mechanisms underlying this selective neuronal vulnerability remain poorly understood.

This project aims to identify chromatin- and nucleus-centered mechanisms that drive Purkinje cell degeneration in SCA. Building on strong preliminary data, the project focuses on disease-associated alterations in chromatin organization, epigenetic regulation, nuclear architecture, and phase separation phenomena, and their consequences for transcriptional control. Using state-of-the-art epigenomic, imaging, and molecular approaches, the project seeks to establish whether chromatin dysfunction represents a unifying driver of Purkinje cell vulnerability across multiple ataxia models.

The postdoctoral researcher will play a key role in executing and shaping advanced experimental strategies, integrating high-throughput epigenetic profiling with functional and cellular analyses. The position offers substantial scientific independence and opportunities to contribute intellectually to study design, data interpretation, and publication, within a collaborative and well-resourced research environment.