EASTBIO: Sense & Sensibility: How does the brain filter sensory experience?

This PhD project will investigate the neuronal mechanisms that gate plasticity and learning in the sensory cortex, using touch as a model system. Our work suggests that plasticity depends on the convergence of sensory information with signals reflecting behavioural context. These signals may place cortical circuits into a state in which they are ready to change, allowing the brain to prioritise behaviourally relevant information.

The student will investigate how defined cortical circuits control synaptic plasticity, before exploring how long-range neuromodulatory systems regulate these circuits. The project will examine how neuromodulators, including acetylcholine and serotonin, influence cortical plasticity and whether manipulating these systems can modify perceptual learning.

We are looking for an ambitious student that will gain hands-on training in systems and synaptic neuroscience, including whole-cell electrophysiology in living brain slices and stereotaxic surgery, combined with cutting-edge adeno-associated viral (AAV) approaches to manipulate defined neuronal circuits. Experiments will be complemented by the repurposing of drugs used in humans to investigate whether pharmacologically targeting these pathways can modify plasticity and learning. This multidisciplinary training will build specialist UK bioscience capacity spanning synaptic physiology, neuronal circuit manipulation and quantitative, integrative neuroscience. Students with interest in neuroscience, neuronal circuits, synaptic physiology, and sensations are preferred.

The project will advance the frontiers of bioscience discovery by uncovering fundamental rules governing how neuronal circuits integrate sensory and neuromodulatory signals to control plasticity and learning. By bridging synaptic physiology, neuronal circuits and pharmacology, the research will contribute to an integrated understanding of health and future therapeutic discovery.

The research will be based within the Institute for Neuroscience and Cardiovascular Research at the University of Edinburgh, in the new Queen’s Medical Research Institute (QMRI). The work will take place alongside researchers at the Simons Initiative for the Developing Brain (SIDB), where insights into plasticity and learning could inform research into neurodevelopmental disorders.

Ultimately, this work aims to transform our understanding of sensory perception, identifying the neuronal “filter” that determines which sensory experiences drive plasticity and learning, and revealing pathways that could ultimately be harnessed to enhance the brain’s capacity to learn.

This 4 year PhD project is part of a competition funded by EASTBIO BBSRC Doctoral Training Partnership (DTP). Detailed guidance on the application process, and the EASTBIO Application and Reference Forms can be found at How to Apply | Biology.

Please send your completed EASTBIO Application Form along with a copy of your academic transcripts (as a pdf) to INCR.PostgraduateRecruitment@ed.ac.uk. You should also contact your referees and ask them to submit their references (on the EASTBIO reference form template) to INCR.PostgraduateRecruitment@ed.ac.uk by the application deadline of 16th November 2026.

Funding Notes

This opportunity is open to UK and international students and provides funding covering stipend and UK level tuition fees. The University of Edinburgh covers the difference between home and international fees meaning that the EASTBIO DTP offers fully-funded studentships to all appointees. There is a cap on the number of international students the DTP recruits. It is therefore important for us to know from the outset which fees status category applicants will fall under when applying to our University.

Please refer to UKRI website and Annex B of the UKRI Training Grant Terms and Conditions for full eligibility criteria