POSITIONS AVAILABLE IN THE MYELIN GROUP

To apply for any of the positions listed below, send an e-mail (address below) indicating which position you are interested in, or contact Tony Heape at the Department of Anatomy & Cell Biology.

Updated 15^th January 2007

No postgraduate positions are available at the present time.

ProGradu students may apply any time Applications, including CV, should be sent, by e-mail or normal mail, to:

Anthony M. Heape, Ph.D.

Docent of Biochemistry/Neurochemistry



Department of Anatomy & Cell Biology

PL 5000 (Aapistie 7)

FIN-90014 University of Oulu



Tel. (+358) 08 537 51 97

Fax. (+358) 08 537 51 72

E-mail : aheape (at) cc.oulu.fi

Web page: http://cc.oulu.fi/~aheape/MyelinGroup.html

The Myelin Group research program includes two integrated projects with different levels of focus and complexity. The first focuses on the elucidation of the normal structural and functional properties of the myelin-associated glycoprotein (MAG) and their relevance to demyelinating disease. The second, undertaken as a collaborative project with the Myelination & Myelin Disease Consortium (MMDC), aims to identify and characterize protein functional networks (PFN) involved in the terminal differentiation of the glial cells, called Schwann cells, that are responsible for myelin synthesis in the peripheral nervous system (PNS), providing the basis for the development of targetted diagnostic and therapeutic strategies for hereditary demyelinating diseases of the PNS.

Recombinant and native proteins, cell cocultures, normal and mutant mice, and rat and human nervous tissues, are employed in immunocytochemistry, molecular biology, and protein biochemistry, and in collaboration with other groups, functional genomics and proteomics and structural approaches to achieve the following aims:

1) identify new isoform-specific MAG ligands and characterize their expression, and the mechanisms, regulation and functions of the MAG-ligand interactions,
2) develop the biotools for the analysis of PNS myelin-related PFNs and,
3) identify and characterize the PFNs involved in myelin formation and disease.

The results of this project are expected to increase our knowledge of the mechanisms involved in the formation, maintenance and pathological destruction or malformation of the myelin sheath. This is essential for the development of effective, specific and safe treatments for demyelinating diseases, which not only requires that we identify the causative factors of these diseases, but also that we understand precisely how those factors and the corresponding treatments interfere with normal myelin formation and/or maintenance.

The Myelin Group is funded by Tekes and the Finnish Academy

Contact Information
Back to Top
Home