A postdoctoral position is available immediately to study the dynamics of neural ensembles and their variation in health and disease. The postdoc will be supervised by Dr. Audrey Sederberg and Dr. David Redish as a part of the computational core of the new NIMH-funded Conte Center at the University of Minnesota, a multi-lab collaboration to determine the mechanisms of information processing breakdown in psychosis and ultimately develop optimized treatments for people suffering from this disorder. More information on the Conte Center at UMN is available at neuroprsmh.umn.edu.
The postdoctoral fellow will be responsible for modeling the dynamics of ensembles of neurons using data that are being recorded across multiple species, including rodents and non-human primates, during complex decision-making tasks. The patterns of errors in these tasks vary with disease status, and the overarching goal is to use this modeling framework to determine the dynamical basis of failures in information processing in local circuits. A secondary goal is to determine the extent to which different failure modes could be detected based on non-invasive measurements in humans (e.g. EEG, MEG, fMRI).
The postdoc will be primarily in Dr. Sederberg’s group, which is affiliated with the Medical Discovery Team (MDT) for Optical Imaging and Brain Science, housed in the Center for Magnetic Resonance Research. A fraction of the postdoc’s time will be reserved for projects of their choice, with many opportunities for collaboration in the MDT and elsewhere throughout the neuroscience and computational communities at the University of Minnesota.
- Candidates must have a Ph.D. in neuroscience or a related field, with a strong quantitative background.
- Coding skills are required (MATLAB or python) and experience with statistical models of populations of neurons is desired.
- Salary will be commensurate with experience, within the postdoctoral salary range of the University of Minnesota.
- The position is initially for one year, but funding is available for multiple years upon mutual agreement.
To apply, please send:
- your CV,
- a link to the paper you wrote that you are most proud of,
- a cover letter including a short paragraph (300 words or less) describing your research interests, and
- the names of two people we can contact for references.
The University is an equal-opportunity employer. Candidates from all backgrounds are encouraged to apply.