Department of Pharmacology, Mansfield Road, Oxford OX1 3QT
The post holder will use experimental approaches to contribute to a project that is investigating aspects of synaptic inhibition and plasticity in the mammalian cortex. The research will employ in vivo and ex vivo studies in rodents, in order to characterize novel mechanisms by which synaptic efficacy changes as a function of the animal's recent experience.
The successful applicant will be an enthusiastic, motivated and highly organised scientist possessing excellent laboratory skills. Good communication skills and the ability to work both as part of a team, and independently, are essential. The post holder will also provide guidance to less experienced members of the research group, including postdocs, research assistants, technicians, plus PhD and project students.
Your main responsiblities will be:
• Perform in vivo patch clamp electrophysiological recordings and local field recordings to investigate aspects of synaptic transmission in the rodent cortex.
• Perform in vivo and ex vivo experiments to quantify aspects of synaptic inhibition and synaptic plasticity in the cortex. Adapt existing and develop new scientific techniques and experimental protocols where required.
• Manipulate and monitor aspects of synaptic transmission using in vivo gene delivery techniques, such as viral delivery and electroporation.
• Combine optogenetic techniques with electrophysiological recording methods.
Essential criteria include:
• Hold a relevant PhD/DPhil (or be close to completion), together with relevant experience in cellular neuroscience.
• Extensive experience of performing patch clamp electrophysiological recordings to quantify aspects of synaptic transmission in the rodent cortex.
• Previous experience of performing in vivo patch clamp electrophysiological recordings.
• Extensive experience of performing in vivo gene delivery techniques in the rodent brain, such as viral delivery and/or electroporation.
• Previous experience of developing custom analysis scripts for quantifying aspects of synaptic inhibition.
The post holder will be a member of Professor Colin Akerman's research group, at the University of Oxford. This is a fixed-term post of 24 months in the first instance, with an initial probationary period (funded by the MRC). The exact start date is to be confirmed, but will not be before 1 January 2025.
The closing date for applications is 12noon on Monday 21 October 2024.
Contact Person : Administrator Vacancy ID : 175858 Contact Phone : Closing Date & Time : 21-Oct-2024 12:00 Pay Scale : RESEARCH GRADE 7 Contact Email : [email protected] Salary (£) : 37524 - 42,021