Postdoctoral fellow in Neuroscience 2013 USA

A Post-doctoral fellow position is available immediately to study cognitive learning mechanisms in neocortical circuits, using genetic approaches. The lab has established a system that targets some of the essential information for visual object discriminations to an identified neocortical circuit, enabling studies on how neocortical circuits encode learning. Specifically, genetic activation (via a virus vector) of protein kinase C pathways in several hundred neurons in rat postrhinal cortex improves accuracy on new visual shape discriminations (J. Neurosci. 2005, 25;8468-81).

Further, some of essential information for performance is encoded in the genetically-modified circuit: After gene transfer and learning, creation of small lesions that ablate the genetically-modified circuit selectively reduces performance for discriminations learned after gene transfer (PNAS 2010 107;14478-83). During learning, both the transduced neurons and the genetically-modified circuit are preferentially activated (Hippocampus 2012, 22;2276-89). Current studies are designed to modify circuit dynamics to understand how a neocortical circuit encodes cognitive information.

Requirements:Applicants with experience in stereotactic injections/gene transfer, perfusions, and histological analyses are especially encouraged. The successful candidate will have a Ph.D. and/or M.D., and research experience, including studies on the mammalian brain. Although no experience with visual learning is required, as it will be performed by other lab members, it can be learned. The lab is located in the New Jersey Neuroscience Institute, Edison NJ, USA, located outside of New York City.

How to Apply:

Send CV and names of 3 references to Dr. Alfred Geller at alfredgeller1@gmail.com.