Postdoctoral Fellowship in Visual Psychophysics and Retinal Function available at the University of Rochester

David Williams and William Merigan at the University of Rochester seek a neuroscientist to join their collaboration to discover the perceptual roles of individual retinal circuits in the primate retina. There is considerable controversy about the contributions each of the 20+ classes of ganglion cells make to visual experience in part because we have not had a viable method to directly stimulate cells of known class in the awake behaving primate. Using fluorescence adaptive optics imaging of the calcium responses to visual stimuli of single retinal ganglion cells, we have recently shown that single cells can be classified in the living primate eye. These cells can be subsequently stimulated optogenetically, offering the exciting possibility of conducting psychophysical experiments on single cells to reveal the visual role of each ganglion cell class. These experiments have potential implications not only for the basic neuroscience of vision but also for new approaches to restore vision in the blind. The most attractive candidates will have completed a PhD in the area of visual neuroscience. We are especially interested in candidates with experience applying psychophysics in animal models. Experience with neurophysiology, adaptive optics retinal imaging, calcium imaging, and/or optogenetics, is desirable but not required. The position provides an excellent opportunity to broaden your skills to include those methodologies.

The Williams and Merigan laboratories are part of the Advanced Retinal Imaging Alliance (ARIA), a community of more than two dozen scientists and engineers who use advanced optical technologies to probe retinal function. ARIA is closely affiliated with the Center for Visual Science, the Flaum Eye Institute, the Institute of Optics, Brain and Cognitive Science, and Neuroscience. The University of Rochester has 45 vision scientists, many with international reputations including Farran Briggs, Greg DeAnglelis, John Foxe, Krystel Huxlin, Susana Marcos, Juliette McGregor, Martina Poletti, Michele Rucci, Duje Tadin and Jesse Schallek among others, providing a vibrant and highly collaborative community for training in vision science. We enjoy unusually strong links between our signature strengths in vision science and optics, providing unique opportunities for postdocs to merge visual science and optical engineering. Rochester is a very affordable city that hosts a superb jazz festival annually and has excellent opportunities for outdoor adventures in the nearby Finger Lakes Region and the Adirondack Mountains. Salary support will be provided by a MURI grant from the Air Force Office of Scientific Research for a minimum of 3 years and will follow the NIH scale for postdoctoral fellows.

Applicants should submit a statement of interest, curriculum vitae, and names of three references to:

David Williams
Center for Visual Science
University of Rochester
Rochester, NY 14627-0270
david@cvs.rochester.edu

The University of Rochester is an equal opportunity employer.

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