Two Postdoc Positions in the Shouval lab
The Shouval lab has two openings for Postdoc's in Theoretical/Computational Neuroscience. One position is at a system-circuit level and the other at the cellular-molecular level. The Shouval lab is located at the Department of Neurobiology and Anatomy and the UT Medical School in Houston.
1. Circuit/System level modeling
This Postdoc will be involved in a collaborative project with the lab of Marshall Shuler at Johns Hopkins. This postdoc is funded by an and NIH grant: Learning Temporal Representations In Cortex; Their Behavioral Correlates And Mechanism. The aim of the theoretical component it to explain specific physiological data from the Shuler lab, and specifically to explain how cortical neurons can learn to represent behaviorally relevant cortical intervals. More generally, this is a study of the plasticity of cortical dynamics. We have published several papers related to this work; these include: Shuler and Bear, Science (2006), Gavornik et. al PNAS (2009), Gavornik and Shouval, J Comp. Neurosci (2011).
The Postdoc is expected to perform both computational and analytical work. This work includes mean-field analysis of spiking networks, simulations of networks of spiking cortical neurons, and modeling reward dependent synaptic plasticity in such cortical circuits. The work will be based on a close collaboration with the experimental group at Hopkins, and will require travel to the experimental lab several times a year.
2. Cellular/Molecular level modeling
This Postdoc Will be involved in a collaborative project with the lab of Todd Sacktor in SUNY Downstate in NY. This Postdoc is funded by NIH grant: CRCNS: PKMzeta-dependent protein synthesis can account for the maintenance of synaptic plasticity. The aim of this project is to explain how memories are maintained despite the molecular turnover and diffusion of their substrates. Work on this project will include detailed modeling at the molecular level of the biochemical networks that ensure the stability of memory. To carry out this project, mass action and stochastic models will be simulated as well as bifurcation analysis and analytical approximate solutions of the fixed points and the dynamics. Additionally more abstract aspects of such a process will be examined, including it's impact on memory storage and learning at the cellular and circuit level. The Sacktor lab has many publications on PKMzeta and its impact on memory, and our lab has several publications on how the control of protein synthesis can account for the stability of memory (search Aslam and Shouval). This project will be based on a close collaboration with the Sacktor lab and the Postdoc will be expected to travel periodically to the Sacktor lab to facilitate the collaboration.
The ideal Postdoc's for these positions will have a PhD in computational neuroscience, but Postdocs with a strong analytical background in the Physical or Mathematical Sciences will also be considered. For the second position I will also consider applicants with a background in chemical engineering. The positions are for one year, with a possible extension for two more years. The salary will follow the NIH scale.
The Shouval lab focuses on modeling synaptic plasticity, and its impact on learning memory and cortical dynamics. The lab is located in the department of Neurobiology and Anatomy at the University of Texas Medical School in Houston. This is an excellent environment for conducting research in Computational Neuroscience as several labs in the department conduct computational work and because of our participation in the Gulf Coast Consortium in Theoretical and Computational Neuroscience, which is a collaboration between several different universities in the Houston area, including Rice University, Baylor College of Medicine and the University of Houston (http://gulfcoastconsortia.org/Research/Gulf_Coast_Consortium_for_Theoretical_and_Computational_Neuroscience.aspx). More than 20 faculty members from the different Houston area universities belong to the consortium. As part of this collaborative effort we hold a weekly theoretical seminar, an annual conference and several joint graduate courses.
If you are interested in one of these positions please contact me directly by email (harel.shouval@uth.tmc.edu), and attach your CV.
Harel Shouval
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http://nba.uth.tmc.edu/resources/faculty/members/shouval.htm
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