"Post Doctoral Associate"

Position Summary

Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey is seeking a Post Doctoral Associate for the Brain Health Institute within Rutgers Biomedical and Health Sciences(RBHS). The primary purpose of the Post Doctoral Associate is to perform experiments to examine how the orexin system mediates affective and motivational states arising with opioid withdrawal in an animal model of opioid addiction. The studies will explore how the orexin system affects these behaviors as well as analgesia in a model of chronic pain. This knowledge will facilitate the development and/or adoption of orexin-based therapies that can effectively treat the multifaceted symptoms associated with addiction. This Post Doctoral Associate will perform research into brain substrates of addiction using advanced behavioral economic and other behavioral, chemogenetic and neuroscience approaches in rodent non-contingent and self-administration models of opioid exposure. Research will use Wild Type and orexin-cre rats, local microinjections of DIO viral vectors into brain, immunohistochemical and in situ analyses, qPCR analyses of brain peptides, and assays for addiction-like behavioral phenotypes to identify brain circuits responsible for addiction.

Key Duties

• As directed performs various research and clinical technical operations relative to ongoing investigatory activities of a laboratory; may assist in conducting specialized research for a particular phase of a project.
• Conduct behavioral, anatomic, chemogenetic, and pharmacological in rodents to delineate mechanisms underlying opioid abuse.
• Conduct conditioned place preference, and learning and memory tasks, intracerebral infusions, and pharmacological manipulations in rodents to develop novel therapeutic approaches to prevent development of addiction propensity during chronical administration of prescription opioids.
• Perform small animal surgeries, including stereotaxic surgery and jugular vein catheterization.
• Perform immunohistochemistry for neuronal markers in rat brain, Western blotting, ELISA, or qPCR.
• Utilize viral vector techniques to obtain cell-type specific neuronal gene transduction manipulations in vivo.
• Use specialized computer skills to analyze data, like Graphpad Prism, Pathfinder, and Ethovision.
• Analyze, organize, and present data at laboratory meetings and major scientific meetings.
• Write and submit manuscripts for publication in peer-reviewed scientific journals.
• Write and submit applications for grant funding to support laboratory research.

Minimum Education and Experience

A Ph.D. degree in Neurosciences. A minimum of 6 years' experience in addiction research using animal models and rodent surgery techniques is required. Minimum requirements include laboratory skills in all of the following techniques: rodent behavior assessment, rodent surgery, immunohistochemistry, microscopy and Data analysis and visualization using software such as GraphPad Prism, Pathfinder, and EthoVision, algesiometry & pain assessment in animal models, rodent drug self-administration, chemogenetics, histology and qPCR.

Physical Demands and Work Environment

PHYSICAL DEMANDS: Sitting, standing, walking, reaching, kneeling, talking and hearing. Ability to lift up to 25 lbs. WORK ENVIRONMENT: Scientific research laboratory. Computer data input. Universal safety precautions are mandatory. Lab environment. Moderate noise. Exposure to blood, excrement, anti-neoplastic drugs and possible exposure to infectious and communicable diseases. Exposure to hazardous chemicals.