Position Title: Postdoctoral/Senior Scientist positions
Location: Department of Neuroscience, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis
Start Date: May 2023
Introduction
Postdoctoral/Senior Scientists positions are available in the Integrated Circuit Neuroscience labs (icnlabs.org), which are part of the Department of Neuroscience and the Medical Discovery Team on Optical Imaging and Brain Science at the University of Minnesota, Minneapolis. The labs will be located in the Center for Magnetic Resonance Research (CMRR), home to some of the most advanced MR instrumentation in the world. In addition, the Optical Imaging team will have access to state-of-the-art single- and multiphoton instruments for cellular resolution calcium and voltage imaging in behaving animals. The multi-population voltage imaging technique, established by the ICN labs(see refs.: Kannan, Vasan et al., Nature Methods, 2018; Science, 2022) is uniquely poised to provide novel insights into the dynamics of genetically targeted neuron types in cortical and subcortical areas, during rodent behaviour, at single-neuron, single-spike resolution.
The labs are funded by the Department's start-up as well by multi-year NIH BRAIN Initiative grants, awarded to the PIs, that support the engineering and application of innovative optical technologies to dissect the circuit and network basis of mental experience and behaviour.
Job description
The incoming candidate will be involved in dissecting the neural and circuit basis of rodent behavior using multipopulation voltage imaging and examine the real-time dynamic relationships between genetically targeted neuron types during attentional paradigms/virtual navigation. The candidate will be trained in cutting-edge techniques including targeted voltage and calcium imaging, targeted gene perturbation, and single-cell transcriptomics. They will participate in all aspects of the project from conception to data acquisition, analyses, and the dissemination of the work and will have multiple opportunities to train graduate and undergraduate students, collaborate with other labs, and compete for early career fellowships.
The candidate
Required Qualifications:
- Ph.D. degree in engineering or the life sciences, ideally awarded within the last 1-2
years, with a strong background in cellular, circuits, or systems neuroscience. - Experience with live tissue/live animal fluorescence imaging, and/or slice
electrophysiology. - An excellent track record, as evidenced by first-author publications and conference
presentations. - Knowledge of programming languages, such as MATLAB, for data acquisition and
analyses.
Preferred Experience:
- Prior experience with stereotaxic rodent surgeries, including intracranial viral vector
infusions and cranial window implantations, subcortical cannular implantations,
and/or animal behavioural assays is desired. - Must be self-driven and open to opportunities to initiate new studies within the realm
of systems neuroscience using cutting-edge imaging techniques with advanced
spatiotemporal resolution.
How to apply
Please email CV, a 2-page research statement, and the contact information for 3 referees as a single PDF to Madhu Kannan, Ph.D., ([email protected]) and Ganesh Vasan, Ph.D. ([email protected]).
The position includes an excellent comprehensive benefits package, including low-cost medical, dental, and pharmacy plans, as well as paid holidays, vacation, and sick leave. For additional details, please see: https://humanresources.umn.edu....
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