Postdoctoral studies in Experimental Systems Neuroscience  (scholarship)

Do you want to contribute to top quality medical research? 

Division

Are you passionate about understanding how neural circuits generate behavior?

The Stagkourakis Lab at Karolinska Institutet (KI) and SciLifeLab in Stockholm is recruiting for a postdoctoral researcher in experimental systems neuroscience.  

Our research combines in vivo large-scale electrophysiology (Neuropixels), AAV-based circuit targeting, behavior, and imaging approaches such as miniscope and two-photon microscopy. We maintain a strong commitment to technical innovation and behavioral rigor.

Duties

We are based at the Department of Neuroscience at Karolinska Institutet and are part of SciLifeLab, Sweden’s national center for large-scale biosciences and data-driven life science. Our mission is to uncover the neural and neurohormonal mechanisms underlying instinctual and homeostatic behaviors, including aggression, fear, hunger, and thirst. We are looking for an experimental neuroscientist with strong technical skills, creative insight, and the motivation to lead complex in vivo and/or in vitro experiments using advanced tools.

Entry requirements

We seek highly motivated individuals with a strong interest in neural circuits and behavior. The successful candidate should be:

• Independent, yet collaborative.
• Technically proficient in modern in vivo/in vitro methods.
• Eager to contribute creatively to ongoing research, as well as drive new directions.

Required qualifications:

• A PhD (or equivalent) in neuroscience, biology, physics, engineering, or related field.
• Demonstrated research productivity (e.g., publications, preprints, or thesis work).
• Prior experience with in vivo or in vitro experimental neuroscience.

Essential skills (at least two of the following):

• Experience with complex experimental setups.
• Skilled in rodent behavior and experimental design.
• In vivo and/or in vitro imaging or electrophysiology.
• Proficient in data analysis.

Desirable (at least one of the following):

• Two-photon or Inscopix miniscope imaging and associated analysis pipelines.
• Patch-clamp or imaging in acute brain slices.
• Behavioral tracking with DeepLabCut, MoSeq, or similar.
• Circuit manipulation techniques (optogenetics or chemogenetics).
• Familiarity with platforms like Arduino, Bonsai, or DataJoint. 

Postdoctoral scholarships may be established for foreign researchers who pursue their merit in Sweden. A foreign researcher is a person living in another country who comes to Sweden with the intention of only staying in Sweden for all or part of their postdoctoral education at KI. Persons who are resident in Sweden and/or have carried out all or part of their academic education at KI or some other educational institution in Sweden cannot be considered for scholarships. The purpose of scholarships for postdoctoral qualification is to promote internationalization and contribute to research qualification after a doctorate or equivalent.

A scholarship for carrying out postdoctoral research can be granted for a maximum of two years within a four-year period following the receipt of a doctoral degree or equivalent.

To be eligible for a postdoctoral scholarship, the person must have obtained a doctorate, or a foreign degree deemed to be equivalent to a doctorate. Applicants who have not completed a doctorate at the end of the application period may also apply, provided that all requirements for a completed degree are met before the (intended) start date of the post-doctoral education.

What do we offer?

A creative and inspiring environment with wide-ranging expertise and interests. Karolinska Institutet is one of the world's leading medical universities. Here, we conduct innovative medical research and provide the largest range of biomedical education in Sweden. At KI, you get to meet researchers working with a wide range of specialisms and methods, giving you ample opportunity to exchange knowledge and experience with the various scientific fields within medicine and health. It is the crossover collaborations, which have pushed KI to where it is today, at the forefront of global research. Several of the people you meet in healthcare are educated at KI. A close relationship with the health care providers is important for creating groundbreaking top quality education and research. Students and employees have free access to our modern gym facilities with trained staff on site.

• A creative, collaborative, and supportive research environment.
• Access to state-of-the-art lab neurotechnologies and infrastructure at KI and SciLifeLab.
• Opportunities to lead and shape independent experimental projects.
• Mentorship in scientific development, grant writing, teaching, and supervision.
• Active involvement in cross-disciplinary collaborations with computational, molecular, and behavioral neuroscientists.

Location:

The lab is located at:

• Biomedicum D8, Dept. of Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet, Solnavägen 9, Solna.
• SciLifeLab Gamma 5, Tomtebodavägen 23A, Solna. 

Type of scholarship

The amount is tax free and it is set for twelve months at a time, paid out on a six months basis. In exceptional cases, shorter periods may be acceptable.

Application process

An application must contain the following documents in English or Swedish:

• A complete curriculum vitae, including date of the thesis defence, title of the thesis, previous academic positions, academic title, current position, academic distinctions, and committee work
• A complete list of publications
• A summary of current work (no more than one page)

For a brief overview of the lab and our research, see here.

Stagkourakis Lab

SciLifeLab

The application is to be submitted on the Varbi recruitment system.

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