Position Description

The Department of Human Evolutionary Biology at Harvard University invites applications for a Postdoctoral Fellow in the Evolutionary Neuroscience Laboratory of Dr. Erin Hecht to contribute to neuroimaging, behavioral, endocrine, and genomic analyses in domestic dogs, with a focus on service dogs and guide dogs. This research is non-invasive.

This is a one-year position, expected to begin in spring 2026, with possibility of renewal dependent upon adequate funding and satisfactory performance. The postdoctoral position is funded through a 4-year grant from Mae Philanthropies.

The research will take place in the Evolutionary Neuroscience Laboratory directed by Dr. Hecht and located in the Peabody Museum on Harvard University's Cambridge, Massachusetts campus. Broadly, the Evolutionary Neuroscience Laboratory studies how brains change in response to selection pressure on behavior, and how brains acquire heritable adaptations for complex, learned behaviors. The lab's websites are: http://hechtlab.org/ and http://caninebrains.org

There will be opportunities for cross-training and interaction with an interdisciplinary research team including neuroscientists, primatologists, geneticists, and animal behavior scientists. Additional projects and training opportunities can be tailored to suit the candidate's goals and interests, and may include comparative human/nonhuman primate neuroimaging, neuroimaging and behavior studies with experimentally bred foxes, histological analyses of fixed brain tissue, and/or human neuroimaging, behavior and psychological assessments.

Basic Qualifications

A doctoral degree is required for this position. Desired qualifications include research in neuroscience, psychology, neuroimaging, histology, and/or animal behavior.

Special Instructions

Please submit a letter of interest, an updated CV, and the names of three references. Evaluation will begin at the time the advertisement is placed and will continue until the position is filled.