PhD

DO YOUR PhD AT NeuroPSI!

After your Master’s degree, if you wish to train for research in Neuroscience come and join one of the 22 NeuroPSI teams to do your PhD.

To pursue as a PhD student, you need to obtain a PhD fellowship (3 years of funding). Some options are listed on this page. Or, you can join a lab that is willing to fund you.

DOCTORAL SCHOOLS

NeuroPSI teams are affiliated with either the BioSigne or SDSV doctoral schools. You should contact the team(s) you are interested in working with to find out their affiliation.

Signaling and Integrated Networks in Biology (BIOSIGNE)

This doctoral school brings together research teams studying signalling and communication mechanisms in biology, and in particular in the fields of Neuroscience, Endocrinology, Neuroendocrinology, Reproduction and Immunology. In this framework, teams undertake multi-scale approaches, ranging from molecules to whole-organisms working on topics from fundamental mechanisms to biomedical applications.

Structure and Dynamics of Living Systems (SDSV)

This doctoral school trains in fundamental and applied research. The scientific activity of SDSV encompasses molecular, quantitative and population genetics, genomics, microbiology, cell biology, developmental biology and molecular evolution, structural biology and virology, with an increasing emergence of systems and synthetic biology, and interactions with chemistry, physics, mathematics and computer science.

DOCTORAL FELLOWSHIPS

Doctoral fellowships specific to NeuroPSI

Click here to access to PhD offers in NeuroPSI.

Doctoral contracts from Doctoral Schools

You can apply to the doctoral school, via the application portal of the Université Paris Saclay.

Other doctoral fellowships
  • Fondation pour la Recherche Médicale (FRM)
    The Fondation pour la Recherche Médicale supports research projects in all fields of biology and health. It actively contributes to the training of young researchers and encourages innovative research teams. See the calls for application.
  • The Franco-Thai Scholarship Program – For Thaï students only.
  • Chinese Scholarship Council à Paris-Sud – For Chinese students only.
  • Doctoral fellowships from the CNRS
    Recruitment of PhD students with disabilities

TESTIMONIES

Diana GARCÍA-GARCÍA

I did my PhD in 3 years at the Paris-Saclay Institute of Neurosciences (NeuroPSI) in Muriel Perron’s team. The 3 years at NeuroPSI have been a pleasant mix of exciting challenges, rich human relationships, and comprehensive training.

Despite the absence of a common place at NeuroPSI due to the physical separation between Orsay and Gif Sur Yvette, it is an institute where we help each other, we collaborate, and we take the time to talk about science, whether it be in the corridors or during the various scientific seminars and conferences that take place each week. However, the Institute is not just science, it also promotes opportunities for interactions between students during the Happy Neuro Hour Club, where doctoral students and postdoctoral fellows meet to socialize in a non-research context. During these years, I grew scientifically and personally, and I can honestly say that these years at NeuroPSI are some of the best years of my life.

Linda TIROU

I discovered the Institute NeuroPSI during my master degree internship in Martial RUAT team. Firstly I was moved by the beautiful scenery around the Institute, a small green spot nesteld in the timeless village Gif-sur-Yvette.

These surroundings allowed me to work in a pleasant and refreshing place. During my master’s internship, I experienced a rigorous and attentive supervision from the team leader and colleagues. I was pleasantly surprised to be involved in various projects and team meetings despite my lack of experience and knowledge. Afterwards I had the opportunity to embark upon a thesis within the same team allowing me to discover multiple sides of the NeuroPSI that gather so many different people and scientific topics in the same place. The Institute offers a wide range of research topics, techniques and work methods that you can discuss just by swinging by the coffee machine or at the corner of a corridor. You just need to say hello and to introduce yourself. Most of the people I met were always really open and happy to explain to me what they were working on, be it researchers, students or technicians. Of course, this adventure also showed me the difficulties and pressure associated to the world of research including the hierarchy, the budget management and the everyday stress. Thus I learnt to move forward in difficult situations, how to convince and defend what I believe while staying open-minded and attentive. Being a student, and then a post-doct for one year, I was impressed by the goodwill of some students in the Institute who, with a little encouragement, weren’t afraid to roll up their sleeves to participate to new initiatives despite the pressure of their own work. Together, we were able to organize the NeuroPSI Talents Day, a whole day dedicated to the Institute and created by PhD students to highlight and showcase the Masters, PhD, post-doc research works. In summary, despite the difficulties and pressure inherent to all research labs, the Institute NeuroPSI was an enriching experience for me and gave me useful tools for my professional life.

Rodrigo MELENDEZ GARCIA

It was back in 2016 when I got the opportunity to travel to France in order to pursue my PhD thanks to a CONACYT scholarship (Mexican scholarship). Thus, I had the privilege to join the team of Muriel Perron…

…with the aim to decipher the molecular mechanism of YAP, the downstream effector of the Hippo pathway, during DNA replication. The next four years I had the fortune to attend congresses and courses outside and inside the Institute of Neurosciences Paris Saclay that ultimately helped me to develop my scientific career. Besides, since I was interested in understanding the French culture and I wanted to participate in casual interactions while eating at the cafeteria, I decided to learn French with the lessons provided by the Paris-Saclay University and the CNRS. These skills were very useful to handle the several administrative proceedings that every foreign student from a non-European country must do. I am truly satisfied with my experience of doing a PhD in France even if it was a difficult task. At the end, I am grateful of this mixture of good and bad memories that were necessary for my career and allowed me to obtain an engineer post at the Institute Gustave Roussy where I continue to do research in the field of DNA replication.

See the list of NeuroPSI PhD thesis

MY PHD in 180s (MT180)

The CNRS and the Conférence des Présidents d’Université (CPU) organize every year the contest “Ma thèse en 180 secondes”. The MT180 contest allows PhD students from throughout France to present their research topic, in French, to a lay audience.

Each doctoral student must make a clear, concise, yet convincing presentation of his or her research project in three minutes. All of this with the support of a single slide.

Launch of the 2021 edition of Ma thèse en 180 secondes competition organized by the Université Paris-Saclay

Performance of NeuroPSI doctoral students

SOME FIGURES

Icône NeuroPSI
47 PhD students at NeuroPSI in 2021
Icône NeuroPSI
13 nationalities
+ 50 theses defended in the last 5 years

THE LIFE OF DOCTORAL STUDENTS AT THE INSTITUTE

NeuroPSI Talents Day

Conference organized by NeuroPSI doctoral and post-doctoral students during which they present their research topics to the community of the Institute.

Calendar

See the dates of NeuroPSI PhD defenses

Social events

Happy Neuro Hour Club
There is also life outside the lab. Come to socialize and relax with NeuroPSI PhD and post-doc students!