Postdoctoral Fellow – Computational Neuroscience

New Brunswick, NJ             ·          Full time

Position Details

Position Information

Recruitment/Posting Title:       Postdoctoral Fellow – Computational Neuroscience

Job Category:                         Staff & Executive – Research (Laboratory/Non-Laboratory)

Department:                          RWJ-CABM

Overview                              

New Jersey’s academic health center, Rutgers Biomedical and Health Sciences (RBHS) takes an integrated approach to educating students, providing clinical care, and conducting research, all with the goal of improving human health. Aligned with Rutgers University–New Brunswick and collaborating university wide, RBHS includes eight schools, a behavioral health network, and five centers and institutes that focus on cancer treatment and research, neuroscience, advanced biotechnology and medicine, environmental and occupational health, and health care policy and aging research.

Our faculty are teachers, clinicians, and scientists with unparalleled experience who advance medical innovation and provide patient care informed by the latest research findings. We offer an outstanding education in medicine, dentistry, pharmacy, public health, nursing, biomedical research, and the full spectrum of allied health careers.

Our clinical and academic facilities are located throughout the state—at Rutgers University–New Brunswick, including Piscataway; and at locations in Newark, Scotch Plains, Somerset, Stratford, and other locations. Clinical partners include Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in New Brunswick, Newark’s University Hospital in Newark, and other affiliates.

Through this community of healers, scientists, and scholars, Rutgers is equipped as never before to transform lives.

Posting Summary            

Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey is seeking a Postdoctoral Fellow for the Center for Advanced Biotechnology and Medicine (CABM) within Robert Wood Johnson Medical School.

Reporting to the Principal Investigator, the Postdoctoral Fellow will conduct mouse brain slice electrophysiology and optogenetics experiments and/or conduct computational neuroscience and biology inspired machine learning research, depending on their interests. The Postdoctoral Fellow will work on projects related to top-down cortical supervision of hippocampal learning, which we theorize depends on a unique form of plasticity called behavioral timescale synaptic plasticity (BTSP) that is induced by a special neuronal signaling event called a dendritic calcium spike, or plateau potential. The position is fully funded by NIMH through an NSF-NIH Collaborative Research in Computational Neuroscience research grant awarded to Dr. Milstein. The project is a collaboration with Dr. Christine Grienberger at Brandeis University in Waltham, MA. The position represents a unique opportunity to be co-mentored by multiple investigators at the forefront of the field and includes the potential for travel to interact with experimental collaborators and to attend national and international research conferences. This is a grant-funded position contingent on the availability of funds to support it.

Among the key duties of this position are the following:

• Conduct brain slice physiology and/or computational neuroscience research, depending on interest.
• Analyze modeling data from simulating computational neural circuits, slice physiology data collected in the lab, and in vivo experimental data collected by collaborators.
• Share scientific results with the community by presenting posters and seminars locally and at external conferences, and by submitting manuscripts for peer-review and publication.
• Provide training and mentorship to undergraduate, graduate, and medical students in the Milstein lab.

Position Status:                     Full Time

Hours Per Week:                 

Daily Work Shift:                   Day

Work Arrangement:           

FLSA:                                         Exempt

Grade:                                      99S

Position Salary:                     

Annual Minimum Salary:  

Annual Mid Range Salary:

Annual Maximum Salary:  

Standard Hours:                    37.50

Union Description:               Non-Union

Payroll Designation:            PeopleSoft

Benefits              

Rutgers offers a comprehensive benefit program to eligible employees. For details, please go to http://uhr.rutgers.edu/benefits/benefits-overview.

Rutgers also offers a benefit program to eligible full-time postdoctoral fellow students. For details, please go to https://finance.rutgers.edu/healthcare-risk/insurance/postdoctoral-health-insurance.

Seniority Unit                       

Terms of Appointment:     Staff – 12 month

Position Pension Eligibility:         None

Qualifications

Minimum Education and Experience      

• A Ph.D. in neuroscience, computational neuroscience, bioengineering, computer science, or related field.
• Candidates in all-but-degree (ABD) status will also be considered.

Certifications/Licenses    

Required Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities               

• Prior experience writing computer programs using the language Python.
• Prior experience in modeling biological neural circuit function and/or performing brain slice electrophysiology experiments.

Preferred Qualifications  

Equipment Utilized            

Physical Demands and Work Environment

• Work will be performed primarily in an office environment working at a computer, or in a lab environment working at a microscope.

Special Conditions             

Posting Details

Posting Number:                  23ST1716

Posting Open Date             

Special Instructions to Applicants          

Regional Campus:                Rutgers Biomedical and Health Sciences (RBHS)

Home Location Campus:   Downtown New Brunswick

City:                                           New Brunswick

State:                                        NJ

Location Details                  

Pre-employment Screenings

All offers of employment are contingent upon successful completion of all pre-employment screenings.

Immunization Requirements

Under Policy 60.1.35 Immunization Policy for Rutgers Employees and Prospective Employees, Rutgers University requires all prospective employees to provide proof that they are vaccinated against COVID-19 prior to commencement of employment, unless the University has granted the individual a medical or religious exemption. Rutgers University may require certain prospective employees to receive an updated (bivalent) vaccine dose. Under Policy 100.3.1 Immunization Policy for Covered Individuals, if employment will commence during Flu Season, Rutgers University may require certain prospective employees to provide proof that they are vaccinated against Seasonal Influenza for the current Flu Season, unless the University has granted the individual a medical or religious exemption. Additional infection control and safety policies may apply. Prospective employees should speak with their hiring manager to determine which policies apply to the role or position for which they are applying. Failure to provide proof of vaccination for any required vaccines or obtain a medical or religious exemption from the University will result in rescission of a candidate’s offer of employment or disciplinary action up to and including termination.

Affirmative Action/Equal Employment Opportunity Statement

It is university policy to provide equal employment opportunity to all its employees and applicants for employment regardless of their race, creed, color, national origin, age, ancestry, nationality, marital or domestic partnership or civil union status, sex, pregnancy, gender identity or expression, disability status, liability for military service, protected veteran status, affectional or sexual orientation, atypical cellular or blood trait, genetic information (including the refusal to submit to genetic testing), or any other category protected by law. As an institution, we value diversity of background and opinion, and prohibit discrimination or harassment on the basis of any legally protected class in the areas of hiring, recruitment, promotion, transfer, demotion, training, compensation, pay, fringe benefits, layoff, termination or any other terms and conditions of employment. For additional information please see the Non-Discrimination Statement at the following web address: http://uhr.rutgers.edu/non-discrimination-statement