Postdoctoral research associate

The German Primate Center (DPZ) - Leibniz Institute for Primate Research is one of 95 research and infrastructure establishments of the Leibniz Association. It conducts basic biological and biomedical research in all fields in which non-human primates play essential roles: in particular in infection research, the neurosciences and organismic primate biology. Besides its research infrastructure in Göttingen the DPZ maintains four field stations to do research on and with primates.
www.dpz.eu/en/about-us/profile/mission.html

The Perception and Plasticity Group is looking for an excellent
Postdoctoral research associate

The Perception and Plasticity Group of Caspar Schwiedrzik at the DPZ is looking for an outstanding postdoc interested in studying the neural basis of perceptual learning in vision. The project investigates neural mechanisms of learning and perception at the level of circuits and single cells, utilizing functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) in combination with electrophysiology and behavioral testing in humans and non-human primates. It is funded by an ERC Starting Grant (Acronym VarPL; “Specificity or generalization? Neural mechanisms for perceptual learning with variability”). The postdoc’s project will focus on investigating the neural basis of visual perceptual learning in macaque monkeys combining fMRI, multi-electrode electrophysiological recordings and electrical microstimulation. In addition, the postdoc will have the opportunity to cooperate with other lab members on parallel, comparative research exploring the same questions in humans.

We seek to understand the cortical basis and computational principles of perception and experience- dependent plasticity in the macaque and human brain. To this end, we use a multimodal approach including fMRI-guided electrophysiological recordings in non-human primates and fMRI and ECoG in humans. The postdoc will play a key role in our research efforts in this area. The lab is located at the DPZ (http://www.dpz.eu) and the European Neuroscience Institute Göttingen (http://www.eni-g.de), which are interdisciplinary research centers with international faculty and students pursuing cutting-edge research in neuroscience. Further scientific exchange within the Leibniz ScienceCampus Primate Cognition (https://www.primate-cognition.eu) ensures a broad interdisciplinary framework for networking and cooperation. The postdoc will have access to a new imaging center with a dedicated 3T research scanner, state-of-the-art electrophysiology, and behavioral setups. For an overview of our work and representative publications, please see our website www.eni-g.de/groups/neural-circuits-and-cognition. For our most recent work, see www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/770982v1.

The position is available immediately with an initial appointment for 2 years. Extensions beyond 2 years and part-time employment is possible.

Candidates should have a PhD degree (or equivalent) in a relevant field (e.g., neuroscience, psychology, biology), and prior experience, evidenced by a publication or preprint, in electrophysiology in non-human primates, strong quantitative, programming, and experimental skills, and share a passion for understanding the neural basis of visual perception and its plasticity. Prior experience with microstimulation is a plus. A good command of English is a requirement, but fluency in German is not essential. We especially encourage women to apply.

Interested candidates should send in their curriculum vitae, a description of their scientific interest, a representative publication, a copy of their PhD degree, and the names and contact information of up to three references who are able to comment on your academic background and who have agreed to be contacted.

The appointment at the DPZ follows the applied regulations of civil service. The classification follows the TV-L. Disabled applicants with equal qualification will be given preferential consideration. We kind- ly ask you to indicate in your application if you are disabled.

Please send in your written application including all certificates until the 15 of November, 2019 under key word “Postdoc Perception and Plasticity” to Deutsches Primatenzentrum GmbH – Leibniz Institut für Primatenforschung – Personnel Office – Kellnerweg 4 – 37077 Göttingen or via mail to bewerbung(at)dpz.eu

For further information please contact Dr. Schwiedrzik, cschwiedrzik(at)dpz.eu, phone: +49 (0)551-39- 61371 or see http://www.dpz.eu

More information about the Leibniz-Association can be found under www.leibniz-gemeinschaft.de/en.html