postdoc position available

Postdoctoral Positions

in neurodevelopment and synaptic plasticity

Postdoctoral positions are available to investigate molecular mechanisms of how synapses form and how their structure and function change under physiological as well as pathological conditions. Representative papers of the laboratory include Neuron 26:443, 2000; Neuron 35:489, 2002; Nature Neurosci. 7:1250, 2004; Nature Cell Biol. 7:1124, 2005; J. Neurosci. 27:3968, 2007; Neuron 54:599, 2007; and Neuron 54:583, 2007 (for more information, please visit http://www.mcg.edu/institutes/immag/meilab/index.htm). The positions require PhD in life sciences. Successful candidates are high-motivated and self-driven individuals and will have the opportunity to develop and carry out exciting projects using multidisciplinary approaches including molecular biology, electrophysiology, and behavioural analysis. Immediate projects focus on pathophysiological mechanisms of neurological and psychiatric disorders including schizophrenia, epilepsy, ALS, and muscular dystrophy. The Medical College of Georgia is located in Augusta, Georgia, a small city on the Savannah River famous for the Masters gold tournament and enriched life. Interested candidates should send CV, statement of research interests, and contact information of three references to Dr. Lin Mei at lmei@mcg.edu.

Ron Yu, a postdoc from Axel lab, now run his own lab at Stowers Institute, have a postdoc position avariable (see details in the website http://www.stowers-institute.org/labs/YuLab.asp).

Postdoctoral Fellow positions at Duke University

We are looking for postdoctoral fellows to join our team to study the function of HDAC members and reversible protein acetylation in cell signaling and human disease. Our current focus is to elucidate the functional intersection of HDAC members with autophagy machinery in neurodegeneration, mitochondria in cancer metabolism, and skeletal muscle remodeling in neuromuscular disease and muscle atrophy (see Kawaguchi et. al. Cell. 115. 727-738, (2003), Kovacs et. al Molecular Cell 18 601-607 (2005), Bolger, et. J. Neuroscience 25(41):9544-53 (2005), Pandey et. al Nature. 447:859-63 (2007), and Cohen et. al,  J. Biol. Chem. 282(46):3375 (2008)). Individuals with experience working with mouse models are particularly encouraged to apply. Interested candidates should send curriculum vitae to: yao00001@mc.duke.edu

Tso-Pang Yao,  Ph.D.

Associate Professor

Department of Pharmacology and Cancer Biology

Duke University

Durham, North Carolina, USA

"it is ok to ask some outstanding candidates from 
other labs - just find out if they are indeed technically excellent, 
has at least 1 first author paper in a good journal , and preferably can speak English some.  The projects here 
will be Katp channels, using primary cells (islet beta cells, maybe 
cardiac myocytes) and cell lines, whole cell and inside-out 
congiruation (for cell lines - COS, HEK).  We are also doing 
pancreatic slice - like braine slice, to patch on intact islets )- so brain slice patch clampers are also 
welcome."

This lab is in Medicine and Physiology University of Toronto, The boss is very nice and their lab has published several >10 papers. someone interested in this could send email to wybiophysics@yahoo.com.cn

Please suggest the lab to your classmates if any of them are looking for
postdoc in US and have interest in neurodegeneration area. The lab am
particulary interested in students with electrophysiological training.

The lab of Dr. Ilya Bezprozvanny is focused on studies of neuronal calcium
signaling in connection with neurodegenerative disorders (HD and AD).

  lease take a look at discription of our projects, papers and people on
the lab's website:

 http://www4.utsouthwestern.edu/ilya

 If you are interested in doing postdoc in the lab, please contact Dr.
Ilya Bezprozvanny

 Dr. Ilya Bezprozvanny
 rofessor of Physiology, Carla Cocke Francis Professor in Alzheimer's
 Research
 Dept of Physiology, ND12.502B
 UT Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas
 5323 Harry Hines Blvd.
 (for FedEx: 6001 Forest Park)
 Dallas, TX 75390-9040
 USA

 tel: (214) 645-6017
 fax: (214) 645-6018
 E-mail: Ilya.Bezprozvanny@UTSouthwestern.edu
 Web: http://www4.utsouthwestern.edu/ilya

POSTDOCTORAL OPPORTUNITY
Christopher Pittenger, MD, Ph.D.
Department of Psychiatry
Yale University
We are exploring the striatal mechanisms of normal and pathological habit learning.
Automated, relatively inflexible execution of habit-like patterns of behavior and thought
constitute a large percentage of an organism’s behavioral repertoire, especially in a
familiar environment. Significant evidence suggests that the dorsal striatum – the input
nucleus of the basal ganglia – plays a substantial role in both the forming and the
execution of such behavioral patterns. Dysregulated habits contribute to many
psychiatric disorders, including Tourette syndrome, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and
drug addiction. However, the molecular, cellular, and network mechanisms underlying
habit learning remain poorly understood, in part because analyses in genetically modified
mice have only very recently been brought to bear on this class of behaviors (see, for
example, Pittenger et al, J. Neurosci. 2006).
The laboratory uses a combination of pharmacological, transgenic and virus-delivered
molecular manipulations to dissect the mechanisms of habit learning, and both
established and novel behavioral analyses to parse the consequences of such
manipulations. A theme is maximum spatial and cell-type specificity of such
manipulations; we are developing methods to target manipulations to defined populations
of striatal interneurons, examining their role in the orchestration of striatal network
activity and information processing. Another theme is systems-level interactions; recent
behavioral work highlights the sometimes competitive interactions between striatumdependent
and hippocampus-dependent learning. Finally, we have a strong interest in
psychiatric disorders in which striatal function and habit learning are disrupted; we are
actively pursuing to distinct models of Tourette syndrome.
The Division of Molecular Psychiatry is an unusually collaborative group of laboratories,
with expertise ranging from proteomics to behavioral analysis. The Pittenger laboratory
is funded by the National Institute of Mental Health, NARSAD, the American Psychiatric
Association, and the Tourette Syndrome Association of America. We will be moving
into large, brand new laboratory space in the fall of 2008.
http://info.med.yale.edu/psych/faculty/pittenger.htm
http://info.med.yale.edu/neurosci/faculty/pittenger_research_statement.pdf
203-974-7675
Christopher.pittenger@yale.edu

Stanford University
POSTDOCTORAL POSITION
A postdoctoral position will be available in my group starting in the fall of 2008 to
work on problems at the interface of physics, chemistry and neurobiology.
Research will employ quantitative tools including single molecule imaging and
microfluidic technologies to quantify biological events inside neurons. Current
topics of interest are axonal transport, neurotrophin signaling and neuronal
network topology. A Ph.D. degree in physics, chemistry, or neuroscience is
preferred. Candidates with both biophysics and neuroscience backgrounds are
strongly encouraged to apply.
Interested applicants should send curriculum vitae, and arrange for references
sent to (e-mail preferred):
Bianxiao Cui, Assistant Professor of Chemistry
URL: http://www.stanford.edu/dept/chemistry/faculty/cui/index.html
Email: bcui@stanford.edu

A Postdoctoral position is available for an electrophysiologist with interest in molecular biology in Dr. Zhengping Jia’s laboratory, Department of Physiology, University of Toronto; Neurosciences & Mental Health, The Hospital for Sick Children; Toronto, Canada. The primary assignment of this postdoctoral position would be studies of hippocampal synaptic plasticity on various strains of transgenic mice. Techniques include whole-cell recordings and molecular manipulations such as viral vector-mediated gene expression.

http://www.sickkids.ca/HSCdirectory/personalprofile.asp?pID=3715&s=Research+Programs&sID=1104&ss=Neurosciences+%26+Mental+Health&ssID=378&sss=&sssID=

http://www.uoftphysiology.com/faculty/members/facultyDetails.cfm?faculty=39&from=facultyList

Select publications:

Meng J, Meng Y, Hanna A, Janus C, Jia Z. Abnormal long-lasting synaptic plasticity and cognition in mice lacking the mental retardation gene Pak3. J Neurosci. 2005 Jul 13;25(28):6641-50.

Meng Y, Zhang Y, Tregoubov V, Falls DL, Jia Z. Regulation of spine morphology and synaptic function by LIMK and the actin cytoskeleton. Rev Neurosci. 2003;14(3):233-40. Review.

Meng Y, Zhang Y, Jia Z. Synaptic transmission and plasticity in the absence of AMPA glutamate receptor GluR2 and GluR3. Neuron. 2003 Jul 3;39(1):163-76.

Meng YH, Zhang Y, Tregoubov V, Janus C, Cruz L, Jackson M, Lu WY, MacDonald JF, Wang J, Falls DL, Jia ZP. Abnormal spine morphology and enhanced LTP in LIMK-1 knockout mice. Neuron. 35: 121-133, 2002.

Peng X, Jia ZP, Zhang Y, Ware J, Trimble, W. The septin CDCrel-1 is dispensable for normal development and neurotransmitter release. Molecular and Cellular Biology. 22 (1): 378-387, 2002.

Henderson J, Georgiou J, Jia ZP, Robertson J, Elowe S, Roder J, Pawson T. The receptor tyrosine kinase EphB2 regulates NMDA-dependent synaptic function. Neuron. 32: 1041-1056, 2001.

Lei S, Jackson M, Jia ZP, Roder J, Bai D, Orser BA, MacDoanld JF. Cyclic GMP-dependent feedback inhibition of AMPA receptors is independent of PKG. Nature Neuroscience. 3(6):559-565, 2000.

Gerlai R, Henderson J, Roder J, Jia ZP. Multiple behavioral anomalies in GluR2 mutant mice exhibiting enhanced LTP. Behav. Brain Res. 95(1):37-45, 1999.

Jia ZP, Lu Y-M, Henderson J, Taverna F, Romano C, Abramow-Newerly W, Wojtowicz M, Roder J. Selective abolition of the NMDA component of long term potentiation in mice lacking mGluR5. Learning & Memory. 5: 331-343, 1998.

Mainen ZF, Jia ZP, Roder J, Malinow R. Use-dependent AMPA receptor block in mice lacking GluR2 suggests postsynaptic site for LTP expression. Nature Neuroscience. 1(7):579-586, 1998.

Jia ZP, Agopyan N, Miu P, Xiong Z, Henderson J, Gerlai R, Taverna F, Velumian A, MacDonald J, Carlen P, Abramow-Newerly W, Roder J, Enhanced LTP in mice deficient in the AMPA receptor GluR2. Neuron. 17:945-956, 1996.

Hahnenberger KM, Jia ZP, Young PG. Functional expression of the Schizosaccharomyces pombe Na+/H+ antiporter gene, sod2, in saccharomyces cerevisiae. PNAS USA. 93, 5031-5036, 1996.

Jia ZP, McCullough N, Martel R, Hemmingsen S, Young PG. Gene amplification at a locus encoding a putative Na+/H+ antiporter confers sodium and lithium tolerance in fission yeast. EMBO J. 11: 1631-1640, 1992.

Postdoctoral Position-A Gap Junction-Dependent Cell Network Establishes Left-Right Neuronal Asymmetry

Gap junctions are prominent features that link immature cells in the nervous system of both invertebrates and vertebrates. However, little is known about the functional consequences of these interactions. We recently showed for the first time that signaling through gap junctions coordinates a network of cells to establish left-right asymmetry in the nervous system of C. elegans that is reflected in olfactory gene expression and function (Chuang et. al., Cell 2007). We are interested in understanding the molecular mechanisms of left-right neuronal asymmetry by this gap junction-dependent cell network. To learn more about the lab, please visit

http://www.cincinnatichildrens.org/research/div/dev-biology/fac-labs/chuang/
http://neuroscience.uc.edu/faculty/person.cfm?NeuroID=180

Applicants should have a Ph.D. degree (for less than three years) in genetics, cell biology, molecular biology, neurobiology, biochemistry or similar with experience in molecular biology techniques. Candidates with prior experience in electrophysiological recordings or calcium imaging or microarray are encouraged to apply. Interested and qualified candidates please send a brief cover letter describing research experience and interest, CV, pdf files of first-author publications from peer-reviewed journals, and names and contact information of at least two references to Dr. Chiou-Fen Chuang at Chiou-Fen.Chuang@cchmc.org.

References:
Gabel, C. V., Antonie, F., Chuang, C.-F., Samuel, A. D., and Chang, C. (2008). Distinct cellular and molecular mechanisms mediate initial axon development and adult-stage axon regeneration in C. elegans. Development 135, 1129-1136.

Chuang, C.-F., VanHoven, M. K., Fetter, R. D., Verselis, V. K., and Bargmann, C. I. (2007). An innexin-dependent cell network establishes left-right neuronal asymmetry in C. elegans. Cell 129, 787-799.

Chuang, C.-F. and Bargmann, C. I. (2005). A Toll-interleukin 1 repeat protein at the synapse specifies asymmetric odorant receptor expression via ASK1 MAPKKK signaling. Genes & Dev. 19, 270-281.

Electrophysiology
Postdoctoral Position
Department of Neuroscience
Howard Hughes Medical
Institute at Johns Hopkins
University
Postdoctoral Position in Neuroscience
A Postdoctoral Fellow position is available to study the mechanisms
controlling synaptic transmission and synaptic plasticity. Our
laboratory uses molecular, cellular and electrophysiological approaches
to study the regulation of synaptic transmission and synaptic structure
that underlie synaptic plasticity. An electrophysiologist trained in whole
cell recording techniques is needed for studies to analyze synaptic
function combining electrophysiology, two-photon uncaging and live
imaging techniques. Applicants should have experience in whole cell
electrophysiological techniques. Applicants should send a CV and the
names of three references to the address listed below.
Richard L. Huganir
Department of Neuroscience
Howard Hughes Medical Institute
Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine
Baltimore, MD 21205
rhuganir@jhmi.edu