Postdoctoral Positions in Neuroscience and Drosophila Neurobiology

 

Department of Neurobiology, University of Massachusetts Medical School

 

Two NIH-funded postdoctoral positions are available to enthusiastic young scientists, for the study of neural signaling events in both mammalian and Drosophila systems.

 

Successful candidates will have the following choices of research direction.

 

1) Human genetic studies implicate that a new Ca2+/Calmodulin-binding transcription factor CAMTA1 suppresses brain tumorigenesis and facilitate memory formation. We are planning to generate a knock-out mouse from existing ES cells, and characterize the cellular mechanism of CAMTA1 function using in vitro neuronal cultures.

 

2) Taking advantage of Drosophila genetic tools, we are characterizing the physiological function of each neuron-neuron and neuron-glia interaction in lamina, the first layer of visual neuropil.

 

3) We are using the Drosophila eye as a genetic modal system to study pathologies of retinal degeneration disorders such as retinitis pigmentosa. Specifically, we are isolating new visual mutants and studying how abnormal signaling and trafficking of rhodopsin (a light-stimulated GPCR) in these mutants lead to degeneration of photoreceptor neuron.

 

Additional information about our researches can be found at the website:http://www.umassmed.edu/neurobiology/faculty/li_hs.cfm.

 

We highly support the future career of postdoctoral fellow from this laboratory. The candidates are expected to have experience in mouse genetics, molecular and cell biology, or Drosophila neurobiology. Training on electrophysiology is a plus. Application materials, including a cover letter describing research interest, a copy of CV and contact information of three references, should be sent to Hong-Sheng.Li@umassmed.edu.