Funded PhD role in Neurogenetics at the University of Leicester
Project: Identifying the neurogenetic network underlying visually-driven sleep
Deadline: 27 November 2025
Sleep is a behavioural quiescence widely observed in the animal kingdom. Evidence indicates that daily light and visual stimuli contribute to sleep pressure; our lab is interested in identifying the elusive molecular and neural basis of such vision-driven sleep. We have identified various genetic components in the light/vision-driven sleep in the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster. Circuit-based manipulation also indicates parallel neurogenetic pathways linking the visual system and the known sleep homeostatic centre in the fly brain. This PhD project, therefore, aims to combine the latest techniques in connectomics and Drosophila sleep to map out these neural pathways in the fly brain. The student will conduct this exciting project through the following three objectives.
For further details:
Project Enquiries to kc280@leicester.ac.uk
Lab details here
Application and project details here