Job description/Research Training and Responsibilities:
A postdoctoral researcher position studying electrocortical activity during human navigation is available in the laboratory of Dr. Daniel Ferris (https://faculty.eng.ufl.edu/human-ne…ics-laboratory). This position is for an initial one-year appointment, and has the potential to be renewed for three additional years based on performance and funding availability. The postdoctoral research will work on a currently funded NIH project (R01 AG089050) designed to identify neural correlates of cognitive-motor impairments in older adults. Research will involve using high-density electroencephalography (EEG) to track changes in electrocortical dynamics in older adults that complete a navigation task in virtual reality. Subjects will walk overground with an immersive virtual reality headset while we monitor their brain activity.
Attributes of UF and Gainesville: The University of Florida is one of only a few comprehensive universities, having medical, veterinary, dental, nursing, public health, and engineering disciplines all co-localized on the same, contiguous campus. UF is a highly collaborative environment that provides researchers with many opportunities for learning (e.g., top seminar programs, excellent core research facilities) and research collaborations. Gainesville is located in the northern region of Florida, within 1-1.5 hours of each coast, and just 1.5-2 hours to Orlando and Tampa. It is a small to medium-sized city with a low cost of living, excellent public and private schools, and southern hospitality. The J. Crayton Pruitt Family Department of Biomedical Engineering is one of only a few departments in the nation to be co-localized with a top-ranked medical school, veterinary school and dental school. The department is housed in a new state-of-the-art building (completed in 2010) that is co-located with the medical school and steps from engineering. Biomedical Engineering at UF partners with many local research centers and institutes including the McKnight Brain Institute, the Clinical and Translational Science Institute, the National High Magnetic Field Laboratory and the Malcom Randall VA Medical Center.
Minimum Qualifications: Applicants must have a Ph.D. in neuroscience, biomedical engineering, kinesiology, or a related biomedical science area. Applicants must have experience with manuscript preparation and submission. Experience with virtual reality, Matlab, EEGLAB, EEG, and motion analysis is desirable.
Salary: NIH postdoctoral scale (e.g., minimum US $61,008 annually)
Position is open until filled.
Special Instructions to applicants: Applicants should submit applications through https://explore.jobs.ufl.edu/cw/en-us/job/533572/postdoc. Review of applications will start immediately and continue until the position is filled.
PROJECT SUMMARY
NIH RFA AG-24-041 requests applications to determine the neural mechanisms that underlie the association between gait and cognition in aging and Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and Alzheimer’s disease-related dementias (ADRD). Mobility declines precede mild cognitive impairment (MCI) in most older adults. Understanding the neural control of gait in these individuals will inform the use of gait changes as an early biomarker for AD/ADRD and lead to new, early interventions. Our well-composed, cross disciplinary team has the requisite expertise in aging, cognitive decline, sensorimotor neuroscience, and spatial navigation to address this topic. We propose a novel and transformational perspective that the relationship between mobility disability and MCI lies in vestibular and hippocampal contributions to gait and cognition. Vestibular function declines with aging and is even more impacted in individuals with MCI and Alzheimer’s disease (AD). These declines are linked to falls in both typical aging and AD, a major health concern with often devastating consequences in aging. It is well known that vestibular inputs project to the brainstem, cerebellum, and vestibular cortex. What is less understood are vestibular projections to the hippocampus, primary motor cortex, and premotor areas. This is a critical knowledge gap, as the hippocampus and other temporal lobe structures play a key role in spatial navigation, a behavior which also declines in MCI and AD. The hippocampus shows rapid and early atrophy in AD. Here, we test the novel hypothesis that vestibular declines impact walking in those with subjective cognitive decline coupled with a family history of AD (placing them at high risk for AD). We propose that spatial navigation performance during walking is more impaired in this population due to simultaneous cognitive and motor demands on declining vestibular inputs. Aim 1 is to determine whether brain structure and network segregation (how independently a network functions) of vestibular-motor and vestibular-hippocampal brain regions are reduced in individuals with subjective cognitive decline. We will assess whether these brain metrics are linked to declines in mobility and spatial navigation. Under Aim 2, we use cutting edge, mobile EEG approaches to identify spectral power differences between those with subjective cognitive decline and typical aging during actual walking and spatial navigation. In Aim 3, we will determine whether vestibular network segregation can be restored with bilateral vestibular cortical transcranial direct current stimulation. We will further determine whether blood biomarkers for phosphorylated tau and amyloid beta mediate brain-behavior associations in Aim 4. The results will lead to a greater understanding of the neural control of gait and cognitive-motor interactions in subjective cognitive decline, providing insights for new, early biomarkers and interventions for impending declines.
