Postdoctoral Fellow-MSH-30035-281

Job Description

Details of Research Project:

Our lab explores how neural population dynamics, neural circuit and synaptic plasticity support social cognitive behaviors including social memory, and decision-making. To tackle these questions, we take a multidisciplinary approach that spans molecular, synaptic, and systems neuroscience using techniques such as optogenetics, miniscope imaging, slice electrophysiology, and single-cell transcriptomics.

The Postdoctoral Fellow will participate in research studies aimed at understanding the neural mechanisms of social cognition. The project will focus on exploring the synaptic plasticity and neural circuitries underlying social memory. Moreover, the project involves the study of social memory deficits in autism-associated mouse lines.

Qualifications

Educational and other Requirements for the position:

PhD or equivalent in neuroscience or a related field

Experience Required:

Minimum of 3 years laboratory experience working in Neuroscience or related field and PhD

Goals/Outcomes of the Research Project:

We expect to identify neural circuitries and underlying synaptic plasticity mediating social memory in adaptive and maladaptive states and leverage those neural mechanisms to rescue social memory deficits in autism mouse models. The findings will be a critical step for the development of therapeutics to improve social memory deficits and potentially also related social deficiencies in autism.

Responsibilities

Technical Duties:

Ideal applicants will have expertise in one or more of the following areas: molecular techniques such as single-cell RNA sequencing; synaptic physiology, including patch-clamp electrophysiology; behavioral neuroscience, particularly using optogenetics or in vivo imaging; or computational approaches to neural data analysis and modeling.

Under the PIs guidance, the Postdoctoral Fellows main responsibilities in this research are to lead projects, design experiments, perform experiments independently, prepare and publish the results. The experiments will include social behavioral assays, stereotaxic surgeries, and miniscope recordings.

• Social behavioral assay: Subject mice are placed in the middle chamber of the behavioral apparatus for 1 min, at which time the dividers are lifted, and mice are allowed to explore the other two chambers freely for 5 min. One chamber contains a familiar mouse, and the other chamber contains a novel mouse of the same sex. For analysis, a video tracking system (BIOBSERVE) was used to automatically track the location of the subject mouse during its free exploration.

• Stereotaxic surgery: Mice, 47 weeks of age, are anaesthetized by intraperitoneal injection with a mixture of ketamine and dexmedetomidine. Heads are fixed on a Kopf stereotaxic apparatus and holes were drilled bilaterally into the skull except for structures on the midline. Glass cannulas filled with virus solution were lowered to the specified depth from the dura and 0.30.75 l of virus solution was injected using a microinjection pump (Harvard Apparatus) at a flow rate of 0.10.25 l min1. After surgery, atipamezole is administered by intraperitoneal injection.

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About the Mount Sinai Health System:

Mount Sinai Health System is one of the largest academic medical systems in the New York metro area, with more than 48,000 employees working across eight hospitals, more than 400 outpatient practices, more than 300 labs, a school of nursing, and a leading school of medicine and graduate education. Mount Sinai advances health for all people, everywhere, by taking on the most complex health care challenges of our time discovering and applying new scientific learning and knowledge; developing safer, more effective treatments; educating the next generation of medical leaders and innovators; and supporting local communities by delivering high-quality care to all who need it. Through the integration of its hospitals, labs, and schools, Mount Sinai offers comprehensive health care solutions from birth through geriatrics, leveraging innovative approaches such as artificial intelligence and informatics while keeping patients medical and emotional needs at the center of all treatment. The Health System includes more than 9,000 primary and specialty care physicians; 13 joint-venture outpatient surgery centers throughout the five boroughs of New York City, Westchester, Long Island, and Florida; and more than 30 affiliated community health centers. We are consistently ranked by U.S. News & World Report's Best Hospitals, receiving high "Honor Roll" status, and are highly ranked: No. 1 in Geriatrics, top 5 in Cardiology/Heart Surgery, and top 20 in Diabetes/Endocrinology, Gastroenterology/GI Surgery, Neurology/Neurosurgery, Orthopedics, Pulmonology/Lung Surgery, Rehabilitation, and Urology. New York Eye and Ear Infirmary of Mount Sinai is ranked No. 12 in Ophthalmology. U.S. News & World Reports Best Childrens Hospitals ranks Mount Sinai Kravis Children's Hospital among the countrys best in several pediatric specialties. The Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai is ranked No. 11 nationwide in National Institutes of Health funding and in the 99th percentile in research dollars per investigator according to the Association of American Medical Colleges. Newsweeks The Worlds Best Smart Hospitals ranks The Mount Sinai Hospital as No. 1 in New York and in the top five globally, and Mount Sinai Morningside in the top 20 globally.

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Compensation Statement

Mount Sinai Health System (MSHS) provides a salary range to comply with the New York City Law on Salary Transparency in Job Advertisements. The salary range for the role is $72500 - $80000 Annually. Actual salaries depend on a variety of factors, including experience, education, and hospital need. The salary range or contractual rate listed does not include bonuses/incentive, differential pay or other forms of compensation or benefits.