Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen

We are looking for a highly motivated and dynamic postdoc for a 2-year position to investigate the effect of early-life stress on neural circuits. The selected candidate will start on 1 December 2022 or as soon as possible thereafter.

Our research
We are a systems neuroscience laboratory focusing on understanding the mechanisms by which neural circuits and behaviors are affected by stress, to better understand the etiology of mental disorders (https://in.ku.dk/research/kermen-lab/). Our expertise includes behavioral assays, neuronal tracing, in vivo calcium imaging of large populations of neurons (2 photon & light sheet microscope), opto/chemogenetics. We use transparent, transgenic larval zebrafish as a vertebrate model amenable to whole brain imaging at cellular resolution in vivo.

You will work directly with Associate Prof. Florence Kermen and in close collaboration with other team members. Frequent scientific and social events at the institute contribute to a collaborative and enjoyable work atmosphere. We are located in beautiful and well-connected Copenhagen.

Your job
In this project funded by the Lundbeck Foundation, your main task will be to determine the stress-induced changes in neural circuits of the zebrafish brain using immunohistochemistry, axonal tracing, quantitative behavioural assays, pharmacology and in vivo calcium imaging. You will play a key role in establishing the imaging and data analysis protocols and have a large degree of freedom in shaping the project, based on your experience. You will have the opportunity to grow your professional network by participating in relevant conferences. You will actively contribute to the team’s scientific goals by training/supervising junior scientists.

Your profile
We are looking for an independent and highly motivated researcher with the following experience:

Essential experience and skills:

• You have a PhD and a good track record (first-author publications or preprints) in Neuroscience or in a related biological field
• You have documented experience with immunohistochemistry, and behavioural assays
• You hold a valid certificate in Laboratory Animal science (FELASA)
• You have good scientific communication skills and ability to work in teams
• You are proficient in English, written and spoken

Desirable experience and skills:

• Experience with calcium imaging or electrophysiology
• Experience with zebrafish or transgenic animals
• Experience with writing and publishing scientific articles

Application procedure
Your online application must be submitted in English by following this link (https://employment.ku.dk/faculty/?show=157408) and clicking ‘Apply now’. Your application must include the following documents/attachments – all in PDF format:

1. Motivated letter of application
2. CV incl. education, work/research experience, grant/awards, language skills and contact details of 2 academic references.
3. A certified/signed copy of a) PhD certificate and b) Master of Science certificate. If the PhD is not completed, a written statement from the supervisor will do.
4. Complete list of publications, indicating your specific contributions.

Deadline for applications: 2 October 2022, 23.59pm CET