Postdoctoral Fellow in Neurobiology and Neuromodulation (Ponce Lab)

Postdoctoral Fellow in Neurobiology and Neuromodulation (Ponce Lab)

School: Harvard Medical School

Department/Area: Neurobiology

Position Description

We invite applicants for a postdoctoral fellow position in the Ponce Lab at Harvard Medical School in Boston, Massachusetts. The work of the Ponce Lab is focused on how populations of neurons in the primate visual system encode and transform visual information, and how neuromodulatory state changes, including exposure to drugs of abuse, alter visual processing and visual behavior. We combine large-scale electrophysiology with controlled and naturalistic visual paradigms in macaque monkeys, together with quantitative behavioral analysis and computational modeling, to identify circuit and population-level signatures of drug related changes in sensory coding. We welcome applications from recent PhD graduates who are interested in these or related fields, particularly those who may bring a new technology or perspective to bear on the work in the lab. Experience with nonhuman primates, systems neuroscience, electrophysiology, behavioral analysis, or computational modeling of vision is especially desirable.

The successful candidate will work with Dr. Carlos R. Ponce to develop an independent research project within the scope of the lab's research focus. In addition to carrying out experimental and computational neuroscience research that measures how drugs of abuse modulate neural coding and visual behavior, the successful candidate will be expected to apply for fellowship funding, contribute to the writing of grants and manuscripts, participate in teaching and mentoring of lab members as needed, and otherwise contribute to overall lab operations and a collaborative environment.

Because this position involves hands-on experiments and close coordination with other lab members, we especially value candidates who are punctual, consistently present on site during normal working hours, and fully engaged in the day-to-day pace of the research program.

Basic Qualifications

• Ph.D. or M.D./Ph.D. in areas such as systems neuroscience, visual neuroscience, neurophysiology, computational neuroscience, biomedical engineering, psychology, physics, or related fields
• Strong interest in neuromodulation, pharmacology, or state dependent changes in neural coding, with experience in in vivo neurophysiology or behavioral experimentation strongly preferred

Additional Qualifications

• Demonstrated experience designing and executing behavioral or neurophysiology experiments, ideally in nonhuman primates
• Experience with electrophysiology acquisition and analysis (for example spike sorting, LFP analysis, population analyses)
• Strong quantitative skills and programming experience (MATLAB and or Python), including reproducible analysis workflows
• Familiarity with computational models of vision and machine learning methods (for example CNNs, deep generative models, encoding models) is preferred but not required
• Ability to communicate scientific results clearly through figures, writing, and presentations, and to work effectively in a collaborative team environment

Special Instructions

Required documents:

• CV
• Research summary of PhD work.
• Cover letter describing your interest in the lab and initial ideas for new research directions or projects you could undertake in the lab.
• Names and contact information for three people who have agreed to serve as a reference

Please submit application documents through the ARIeS portal. Applications will be considered on a rolling basis. Selected candidates will be invited for in-person interviews involving a research presentation on past work. References will be requested at final stages of the consideration process.

Expected Dates:

• Application deadline: 4/10/2026
• Start date: The position is expected to start on or around June/August 2026 with some flexibility.
• Duration: This is a one-year term position from the date of hire, with the possibility of extension, contingent upon work performance, business need, and continued funding to support the position.

Contact Information

Carlos Ponce, MD, PhD

Contact Email: carlos@hms.harvard.edu

Salary Range

Information regarding postdoctoral fellow salary, which is determined by the number of years post PhD, can be found at https://postdoc.hms.harvard.edu/guidelines