Fly Jobs

Two postdoctoral positions are available in the group of Michael Reiser at the Janelia Farm Research Campus. The Howard Hughes Medical Institute's Janelia Farm Research Campus is a unique, world-class research community in the Washington, DC area. The work in our group draws upon experimental approaches to investigate the processing of multisensory information by the Drosophila nervous system. We use tethered-flight experiments in a variety of virtual-reality flight simulators to quantify motor responses to controlled multisensory stimuli. In addition to studying several aspects of visual processing in flies, the lab is working to understand the mechanosensory pathways that underlie the behavioral responses to wind stimuli and the robust gravity response.

The postdoctoral researchers will be involved in designing and conducting quantitative behavior experiments with the goal of identifying candidate neuronal circuits to be investigated using molecular-genetic tools, imaging, and electrophysiology. These projects will benefit from close collaboration with several other groups at Janelia Farm working on complementary efforts to study neural circuits in the adult fly brain.

The positions are open to candidates with either a strong background in experimental biology (prior experience with electrophysiology, biological imaging, quantitative behavior, and/or Drosophila genetics is preferred) or those with a technical background in Engineering/Physics/Mathematics and a keen interest in Neuroscience. Applicants should have a Ph.D. in Neuroscience/Biology/Engineering or a related field. Interested applicants should apply by email; please include your curriculum vitae and a letter of research interests, and arrange for three letters of reference to be sent to:

Michael Reiser (reiserm at janelia.hhmi.org)
Howard Hughes Medical Institute / Janelia Farm Research Campus
19700 Helix Drive
Ashburn, VA 20147

Post-Doctoral Scholar in Visual-Olfactory Fusion and Sensory-Motor Integration in Drosophila, UCLA. I currently have one position available in my lab for a postdoctoral research associate to join an NSF-funded international research team focusing on the neurobehavioral genetics and physiology of cross-modal sensory integration starting in September 2007 (pending final administrative approval from NSF). The successful candidate will have opportunities to engage in quantitative behavioral analyses ("virtual reality" visual and olfactory flight simulators), modeling, and genetic manipulation of neural circuits. UCLA boasts vigorous interdisciplinary neuroscience and Drosophila research groups, providing a highly enriched training environment. Experience with either electrophysiology, biomechanics, or computer programming (preferably Matlab) are desired but not essential. Demonstrated expertise in either vision, or olfaction, or fly biology and genetics are essential. This is a full-time position for up to three years with competitive salary and benefits. A PhD in neuroscience or a related field is required. Please email a statement of interest, CV, and names of three references to Mark Frye (frye (at) physic dot ucla dot edu). Please see our lab website for information about lab projects, personnel and publications: http://www.physci.ucla.edu/research/frye/

Post-Doctoral Position at Massachusetts General Hospital Department of Pediatrics, Developmental Immunology, Harvard Medical Shool. A Post-Doctoral Position is available for two years—with the possibility of extension—to study mechanisms of innate immune recognition and phagocytosis in pathogen-host interaction. For recent research interests see Cell 2005;123:335-48. We use Drosophila melanogaster and various pathogenic bacteria as model organisms and combine genetics with molecular, biochemical, structural and cell biological approaches.