Postdoctoral Training Fellow – A. Schaefer Sensory Circuits and Neurotechnology Lab

Location: The Francis Crick Institute, Midland Road, London

Contract:  Fixed term/Full time

Short summary

The Research Group

This position is available in Prof Andreas Schaefer’s laboratory. The Sensory Circuits and Neurotechnology Lab studies how information is represented and processed in the brain, focussing on sensory circuits in mice. To this end, the lab uses and develops anatomical, physiological, and behavioural techniques to dissect the structure and function of neural circuits. The PTF will report to the Group Leader and the Principal Laboratory Research Scientist, Carles Bosch, who leads the Functional Connectomics project in the lab.

The PTF will be part of an EPSRC funded project jointly led by Andreas Schaefer’s and Alexandra Pacureanu’s lab at the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF) in Grenoble, France. The purpose of the project in general is to apply correlative connectomics approaches to sensory circuits and to further the development of X-ray Nanoholotomgraphy together with in vivo imaging and volume electron microscopy.

This specific PTF project will be to solve long-standing questions around the logic of connectivity in the olfactory bulb. Importantly, the PTF will lead the analysis of volume electron microscopy and synchrotron X-ray imaging data. S/he will analyse data acquired by other collaboration members as well as acquire volume EM and synchrotron tomograms.

Key Responsibilities

• Leading independent projects together with the PLRS
• Intellectually lead the lab’s efforts to understand the functional logic of inhibition 
• Developing and maintaining a multimodal data registration and analysis pipeline, including developing efficient classifiers for annotation in collaboration with our industrial image analysis partner ScalableMinds.
• Liaising with our synchrotron collaborators at e.g. ESRF, preparing beamtime proposals and reports
• Perform and optimize sample preparation approaches including histology and sample trimming

About us

The Francis Crick Institute is a biomedical discovery institute dedicated to understanding the fundamental biology underlying health and disease. Its work is helping to understand why disease develops and to translate discoveries into new ways to prevent, diagnose and treat illnesses such as cancer, heart disease, stroke, infections, and neurodegenerative diseases.

An independent organisation, its founding partners are the Medical Research Council (MRC), Cancer Research UK, Wellcome, UCL (University College London), Imperial College London and King’s College London.

The Crick was formed in 2015, and in 2016 it moved into a new state-of-the-art building in central London which brings together 1500 scientists and support staff working collaboratively across disciplines, making it the biggest biomedical research facility under in one building in Europe.

The Francis Crick Institute will be world-class with a strong national role. Its distinctive vision for excellence includes commitments to collaboration; developing emerging talent and exporting it the rest of the UK; public engagement; and helping turn discoveries into treatments as quickly as possible to improve lives and strengthen the economy.

• If you are interested in applying for this role, please apply via our website.
• The closing date for applications is 07/04/2023.
• All offers of employment are subject to successful security screening and continuous eligibility to work in the United Kingdom.