Research Associate, Cope Lab

The Rector & Visitors of the University of Virginia; Charlottesville (VA); On-site; USD 52,000 - 70,000; Full time

Job summary

The Rector & Visitors of the University of Virginia's Dr. Elise Cope's Lab in the Department of Neuroscience and BIG seeks a motivated Postdoctoral Research Associate to study how structural plasticity contributes to social memory in health and disease.

The lab uses diverse methods including electrophysiology, imaging, and transgenic approaches to dissect hippocampal circuits and social memory mechanisms. The successful candidate will manage independent projects, present at lab meetings and

Qualifications

• PhD in neuroscience or a related field by start date.
• First author publications.
• Experience planning and executing experiments and data analysis.
• Strong communication and teamwork.

Responsibilities

• Manage own research projects and contribute to lab goals.
• Present work at lab meetings and conferences.
• Contribute to grant applications and manuscripts.
• Mentor and teach students.

Skills

Independent research

Data analysis

Scientific communication

Team collaboration

Education

PhD in neuroscience or related field

Tools

Immunohistochemistry

Confocal imaging

In vivo neural recordings

Stereotaxic surgery

Behavior testing

Job description

Dr. Elise Cope's Lab (copelab.org) in the Department of Neuroscience and the Center of Brain Immunology and Glia (BIG) at the University of Virginia is seeking to hire a motivated Postdoctoral Research Associate to investigate how structural plasticity contributes to social memory function in the healthy and diseased brain. Research in the lab focuses on hippocampal microcircuits underlying social memory, with an emphasis on the roles of adult-born neurons, perineuronal nets, and microglia. The Cope Lab employs behavioral, histological, pharmacologic, environmental, transgenic, viral, chemogenetic, and in vivo electrophysiological methods to uncover how these cells and their cellular or extracellular structures interact and collectively shape hippocampal social memory function.

Postdoctoral Research Associates will manage their own projects, interact with other lab members and collaborators, present their work at lab meetings and conferences, and contribute to grant applications and manuscripts for publication. Candidates will be expected to learn new techniques as a part of their training requirement. This position also includes opportunities to help mentor and teach students.

The position is a 12-month appointment with the possibility of renewal contingent upon satisfactory performance and the availability of funding.

Postdoctoral employment is temporary and is normally limited to an individual who has been awarded a Ph.D. or equivalent doctorate within the previous five years and who will be involved in full-time research or scholarship at the University. Employment as a Postdoctoral Research Associate is viewed as training and is preparatory for a full-time academic or research career, is supervised by a senior scholar, and allows the appointee to publish the results of his/her research or scholarship during the training period.

For questions regarding this position, please contact Dr. Elise Cope at [e-mail]. The University of Virginia is located in picturesque and historical Charlottesville, with outstanding schools, affordable housing, is less than two hours from Washington, DC, and only an hour away from Richmond, VA.

Qualified candidates must have:

• Doctoral degree in neuroscience, or a related field by the start date of the appointment
• First author publication(s)
• Experience in the independent conduct of laboratory experiments including experimental design, data display in figures, data analysis including standard statistical analyses, and data management
• Interest and confidence in developing new techniques for hypothesis testing
• High level of motivation and technical capacity to drive a research project
• Strong organizational skills and attention to detail
• Excellent communication skills, demonstrated by a strong publication record, consistent with the candidate's career stage, and presentations at conferences
• Ability to work with others as part of a team, including both teaching and learning from others

Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience with one or more of these methods: mouse handling, stereotaxic survival surgery, behavior testing, immunohistochemistry, confocal imaging, in vivo neural recordings.
• Demonstrated creativity and flexibility in experimental design or new methods

Physical Demands:

This is primarily a sedentary job involving extensive use of desktop computers. The job does occasionally require traveling some distance to attend meetings, and programs.

The position will remain open until filled. This is an exempt-level, benefitted position. For more information on the benefits at UVA, visit hr.virginia.edu/benefits. This position is a restricted position and is dependent upon project need, availability of funding, and performance. This position is located in Charlottesville, VA. The University will perform background checks on all new hires prior to employment. A pre-employment health screening is required.

The University of Virginia is an equal opportunity employer. All interested persons are encouraged to apply, including veterans and individuals with disabilities. Learn more about UVA's commitment to non-discrimination and equal opportunity employment.