Postdoc position at Imperial College London – optics, holography, neuroscience, optogenetics
Post by Amanda Foust
Applications are invited for the above post to work with Dr. Amanda Foust (Bioengineering department) and Prof. Pier Luigi Dragotti (Electrical and Electronic Engineering department) on a BBSRC funded project in Neurotechnology. Our objective is to develop a new high speed, high throughput, three-dimensional imaging modality to track network-level neuronal activity in mammalian brain. This cross-disciplinary project will integrate fields of neurophysiology, optical engineering, signal and image processing.
The successful candidate will build, test and optimize the new optical system in live mouse brain slices. This will include two-photon, holographic optogenetic neuron stimulation and simultaneous imaging with synthetic or genetically-encoded fluorescent calcium indicators. S/he will work closely with a PDRA co-supervised by Prof Dragotti to process and interpret image data.
The successful candidate will have a PhD (or be very near completion, or equivalent) in neurosciences, physics, engineering or a related topic. Experience in neuronal functional imaging, voltage and/or calcium fluorescence, is a requirement. Additional experience with brain slice electrophysiology including whole-cell patch clamp, optogenetic neuronal stimulation and/or two-photon microscopy is desirable. The successful candidate will receive further training in optical system design, alignment, optimization and maintenance from Dr. Foust. The successful candidate will also have a good publication record, be able to show evidence of working well in teams, and demonstrate an ability to work to tight deadlines. Preference will be given to candidates with a deep experimental background, and to those with experience writing custom neurophysiology data acquisition/analysis software in Matlab, Python or other language. The ideal candidate would be a “tool developer” as well as “tool user.”
Link to job ad with application instruction
