Postdoctoral Fellow – P Znamenskiy lab Details of the role: Salary: From £43,210 with benefits, subject to skills and experience Application closing date: 2nd February 2025 About us… The Francis Crick Institute is Europe’s largest biomedical research institute under one roof.
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About the role… Using the primary visual cortex as a model, the Znamenskiy lab aims to understand how connections between different neuronal cell types are organized and how this organization enables the computations that they perform.
If you hold a PhD in Neuroscience or a related field or in the final stages of PhD submission, this may be the perfect opportunity to join the lab.
The lab combines the approaches of systems and molecular neuroscience and develops new tools to relate gene expression and connectivity with the activity of cortical neurons.
Specifically, the lab has been investigating how visual cortical circuits enable animals to parse the three-dimensional organisation of visual scenes.
This role will offer you the chance to lead on your own projects, and also work in a team to contribute to other projects on a collaborative basis (both in the lab and with external collaborators) and this may also include guiding PhD students in their research.
What you will be doing… We have recently discovered that a large fraction of neurons in the primary visual cortex are selective for depth from motion parallax ( https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2024.09.27.615442v1 ).
This selectivity is a consequence of integration of optic flow and locomotion-related signals.
This project will build on these findings to understand how depth-selective responses are transformed across the visual cortical hierarchy and how they arise in early visual circuits.
To answer these questions, this project will use chronic two- and three-photon calcium imaging in mice navigating in three-dimensional virtual reality (VR) environments, pharmacological and optogenetic manipulation of neural activity, and high-density electrophysiological recordings in VR and in freely moving animals.
About you… Essential PhD in Neuroscience or a related field or in the final stages of PhD submission Good knowledge and experience in in vivo calcium imaging or electrophysiology Experience in data analysis in Python or MATLAB Track record of writing papers as evidenced by publications or submitted manuscripts in referred journals Evidence of data presentation at scientific meetings Desirable Experience in stereotactic surgery in mice To see the complete Job Description click here for more info LINK To see more about the lab click here.
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What will you receive? At the Francis Crick Institute, we value our team members and are proud to offer an extensive range of benefits to support their well-being and development: Visas: Applicants for this role will be eligible for sponsorship to work in the UK Generous Leave : 28 days of annual leave, plus three additional days over Christmas and bank holidays.
Pension Scheme : Defined contribution pension with employer contributions of up to 16%.
Health & Well-being : 24/7 GP consultation services.
Occupational health services and mental health support programs.
Eye care vouchers and discounted healthcare plans.
Work-Life Balance : Back-up care for dependents.
Childcare support allowance.
Annual leave purchase options.
Perks : Discounted gym memberships, bike-to-work scheme, and shopping discounts.
Subsidised on-site restaurant and social spaces for team interaction.
Development & Recognition : Comprehensive training, mentoring, and a pay structure with performance-linked progression.
Find out what benefits the Crick has to offer: For more information on our great pay and benefits package please click here: https://www.crick.ac.uk/careers-and-study/life-at-the-crick/pay-and-benefits Equality, Diversity & Inclusion: We welcome applications from all backgrounds.
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We particularly welcome applications from people who are Minority Ethnic as they are currently underrepresented in the Crick at this level.
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