Postdoctoral Scientist Neurobiology

MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology; Newtown; On-site; GBP 30,000 - 45,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading research institute in the UK is seeking a candidate to conduct pioneering research in automated connectome mapping. The role involves applying new methods to analyze brain volumes of wild-type and disease models in fruit fly larvae. The ideal candidate will have a PhD or be nearing completion in neuroscience or a related field, with experience in bioimage informatics and an understanding of machine learning techniques. This position offers an opportunity to contribute to groundbreaking research in the field of connectomics.

Qualifications

• PhD (or near completion) in neuroscience or related quantitative field.
• Experience in bioimage informatics and circuit mapping.
• Understanding of machine learning applications in neuroscience.

Responsibilities

• Conduct a research project on automated connectome mapping.
• Apply techniques to analyze brain volumes in fruit fly larvae.

Skills

Bioimage informatics

Neuroscience knowledge

Machine learning

Data analysis

Education

PhD in neuroscience or related field

Job description

Overview

In order to compare the connectome across different experimental conditions, developmental stages, and strains or species, we must first measure the natural variability, by mapping the connectome across multiple individuals and statistically quantifying the individual differences from the common subset. Mapping the first connectome manually with computer-assisted means took 10 years and the effort of dozens of laboratories. Today, the knowledge acquired, the existence of one mapped connectome to act as reference, the fact that the larval fly brain is composed of stereotyped and uniquely identifiable neurons, plus machine learning approaches to computer vision, offers the opportunity to automatically map many connectomes across many animals, and therefore study how connectomes vary in development, in disease, and across closely related species. Identifying the differences across conditions will help understand the relation between neuronal circuit structure and function.

Responsibilities

The candidate will conduct a research project in applying new automated approaches to connectome mapping at scale to many brain volumes of both wild-type and disease models in fruit fly larvae.

Qualifications

The ideal candidate will have a PhD (or due to complete within 6 months) in neuroscience, or in a related field (physics, computer science, applied math, or biology in a quantitative programme within a computational group) where the research project broadly meets the scope of connectomics: bioimage informatics applied to large-scale volumetric densely-labelled data for circuit mapping and analysis, or at least, bioimage informatics applied to neuroscience data such as neuronal activity imaging, neuronal activity monitoring, behavioural tracking, or transcriptomics of neural tissue. Further details on the technical skills and expertise for the role is outlined in the job description.