"RESEARCH FELLOW"

A cover letter is required for consideration for this position and should be attached as the first page of your resume. The cover letter should address your specific interest in the position and outline skills and experience that directly relate to this position. Please send cover letter, resume and contact info for two references to Pierre Apostolides, Ph.D. (pierre.apostolides@umich.edu).

The Apostolides Lab has multiple, fully-funded positions for postdoctoral fellows to undertake projects related to auditory perception, reinforcement learning, and neural plasticity. We study questions at a variety of levels, Ranging from synaptic and cellular studies using patch-clamp electrophysiology, large-scale population recordings using 2-photon Ca2+ imaging in awake behaving mice, and advanced modeling + machine learning analyses. Please read more about our research at www.apostolideslab.org.

Key questions we want to answer are:

• How do neural circuits extract meaningful information from noisy or ambiguous sensory signals?
• To what extent does neural plasticity in the auditory system occur via mechanisms dictated by classic theories of reinforcement learning, or does it differ?
• How does the brain adapt to changes in peripheral input after hearing loss?

The Apostolides Lab is located in the Kresge Hearing Research Institute (KHRI), University of Michigan Medical School. KHRI and the neuroscience community at the U-M provide a highly supportive and diverse research environment and excellent career development opportunities for postdoctoral fellows. We are committed to mentoring the next generation of scientists, and ample opportunities are available to refine 'soft skills' during the training period (e.g., grant writing, scientific presentations, networking).

Requirements:

• Ph.D. and/or M.D. in neuroscience or related field.
• Experience in electrophysiology, 2-photon imaging, animal behavior, and prior experience researching the auditory midbrain (inferior colliculus).
• Detail-oriented, quantitative mindset and experience with scientific programming (Matlab, python, or R) is critical.
• Strong organizational, leadership skills and passion for scientific discovery.
• Exceptional ability to work with a team as well as to work independently and be extremely self-motivated to complete projects.
• Willingness to learn new techniques.
• Excellent oral and written communication skills are required.