Postdoctoral Position in the Active Perception Laboratory at the University of Rochester

A postdoctoral position is available in the Active Perception Laboratory at the University of Rochester to study the benefits of eye movements for visual functions.

This position is part of an ongoing collaboration with Dr. Jonathan Victor at Cornell University and Dr. Martina Poletti at the University of Rochester. The ideal candidate will be a highly motivated individual with experience in vision science and data analysis and the ability to work well in a team. A quantitative background and demonstrated interest in applying quantitative methods to neuroscience is preferable. Experience with signal processing, real-time programming, and C++ is a plus.

The APLab is a dynamic multidisciplinary research group focused on understanding vision as an integrated sensorimotor process. Approaches include visual psychophysics under controlled retinal stimulation and perturbation of the visuomotor cycle, computational modeling of the early visual pathways, retinal imaging, and human electrophysiology. The laboratory is equipped with a unique combination of facilities (several developed in-house) for high-resolution recording of head and eye movements, real-time control of the visual flow on the retina during eye movements, adaptive optics and optical coherence tomography imaging of the human retina, virtual reality, and EEG measurements.

Research from the APLab has led to important findings on how humans process visual information and establish spatial representations. It has identified fundamental oculomotor strategies (e.g., Ko et al, Nature Neurosci. 2010), revealed novel contributions from eye movements to spatial vision (e.g., Rucci et al, Nature 2007; Intoy & Rucci, Nature Commun. 2020), shed new light on the perceptual role of extraretinal signals (e.g., Poletti et al, Nature Neurosci. 2017; Intoy et al, PNAS 2021), and raised specific hypotheses on the influences of motor activity in the neural encoding of visual information (e.g., Casile et al, eLife 2019) and in visual development (e.g., Rucci et al, J. Neurosci, 2000). Furthermore, our work has resulted in new tools for eye-tracking and real-time control of retinal stimulation and has led to robots directly controlled by models of neural pathways. A full list of our publications can be found on our website.

The Active Perception Laboratory is part of the Center for Visual Science at the University of Rochester, a center with a long history of fundamental accomplishments in vision science. CVS is composed by more than 35 research laboratories creating a vibrant and highly collaborative scientific community.

To apply, please send curriculum vitae, brief statement of research interests and accomplishments, and names of two references to Michele Rucci (mrucci@ur.rochester.edu) Jonathan Victor (jdvicto@med.cornell.edu) and Martina Poletti (martina_poletti@urmc.rochester.edu)

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