Description du sujet de thèse

• PhD Project Summary
Long-term monitoring of the electrical activity in biological neuronal networks remains a major challenge for multiple applications (both fundamental and medical). Thus many efforts have been devoted to develop specific technologies that allow tracking of neurons activity over time and across multiple spatial and temporal scales. Currently, only calcium imaging and dense extracellular recordings with silicon probe enable simultaneous recording of hundreds of neurons. However, they are limited respectively by their temporal resolution or low biocompatibility. At the interface between nanoelectronics and neurophysics, our approach is based on the fabrication of dense arrays of graphenebased field-effect transistors and conductive polymer. The combination of these two transparent and biocompatible materials represents an original and promising approach for long-term recording of the activity of multiple individual neurons simultaneously. These devices will be applied to extracellular multi-channel measurements in primary neuron cultures. They will offer both the ability to assess activity modifications at the neuronal network level and capture fast local events such as single action potentials.

• PhD Project Plan
Based on our previous works, the project is structured around three key tasks:
(1) microfabrication of innovative nanoelectronic devices and characterization of their transport and detection properties;
(2) Application of these devices to measure the electrical activity of neuronal networks (in-vitro cell cultures);
(3) Analysis of the collected data using advanced "spike sorting" algorithms.
This final step will allow the inference of functional connectivity in neuronal networks, which is useful for studying learning and neural plasticity processes. The PhD candidate will carry out all three tasks under the supervision of the three advisors.

• Required Skills
This interdisciplinary project gathers nanophysics, electrophysiology, and neuroscience, with a strong focus on nanoelectronics, chemistry, materials science, and data processing. A solid background in at least one of these fields is preferred.

Contexte de travail

PhD Supervisors:
- Cécile Delacour (Institut Néel, CNRS)
- Yannick Coffnier (IEMN, CNRS)
- Pierre Yger (Lille Neuroscience & Cognition LilNCog, INSERM).
Regular travels and meeting in the three laboratories are planned to ensure smooth project execution.

The PhD recruited will join the Thermodynamics and Biophysics of Small Systems (TPS) team. The Institut NÉEL is a CNRS unit (UPR 2940) under agreement with the University Grenoble Alpes. The laboratory is related to the CNRS Physique. It is one of the largest French national research institutes for fundamental research in condensed matter physics enriched by interdisciplinary activities at the interfaces with chemistry, engineering and biology. It consists of 450 employees, including 175 researchers.
We are located on the CNRS Campus in Grenoble, at the center of a unique scientific, industrial and cultural environment in the heart of the French Alps.

Le poste se situe dans un secteur relevant de la protection du potentiel scientifique et technique (PPST), et nécessite donc, conformément à la réglementation, que votre arrivée soit autorisée par l'autorité compétente du MESR.