Title:  Postdoctoral Associate - Cellular Heterogeneity and Circuit Organization of Brains

Summary

The Noebels and Jiang laboratories in the Departments of Neuroscience/Neurology at Baylor College of Medicine are jointly seeking applicants for postdoc associate positions. The specific goal of the postdoc fellows for these positions is to use a multi-disciplinary approach, including single-cell RNA sequencing, Patch-seq, multi-patch clamp recording, machine learning, and complicated genetic tools to understand cellular heterogeneity and circuit organization of healthy and diseased brains. The fellows will use rodent and primate models, including surgically resected human tissue, to understand brain cell types with the molecular, spatial, and morpho-electric annotations, and how genetic lesions (related to epilepsy and autism) give rise to culprit cell types that contribute to the core symptoms of affected individuals.

You can learn more about our research at (https://www.bcm.edu/people-search/jeffrey-noebels-27644  or https://www.bcm.edu/research/labs-and-centers/faculty-labs/xiaolong-jiang-lab) and more specific information for current projects from recent publications in our labs:

Jiang X., Shen S., Cadwell C.R., Berens P., Sinz F., Ecker A.S., Tolias A.S. (2015). Principles of Connectivity among Morphologically Defined Cell Types in Adult Neocortex. Science. Vol. 350 no. 6264 DOI: 10.1126
Cadwell CR, Palasantza A, Jiang X, Berens P, Deng Q, Yilmaz M, Reimer J, Shen S, Bethge M, Tolias KF, Sandberg R & Tolias AS (2016). Morphological, electrophysiological, and transcriptomic profiling of single neurons using Patch-seq. Nature Biotechnology, 34(2), 199-203. doi: 10.1038/nbt.3445. Epub 2015 Dec 21.
Scala F, Kobak D, Shan S, Bernaerts Y, Laturnus S, Cadwell CR, Hartmanis H, Castro J, Tan ZH, Sandberg S, Berens P, Jiang X*, Tolias AT*. Layer 4 of mouse neocortex differs in cell types and circuit organization between sensory areas. Nature Communication. volume 10, Article number: 4174 (2019) *co-corresponding authors
Hatcher A, Yu K, Meyer J, Aiba I, Deneen B, Noebels JL. Pathogenesis of peritumoral hyperexcitability in an immunocompetent CRISPR-based glioblastoma model.  J Clin Invest. 2020 May 1;130(5):2286-2300.
Miao Q, Herlitze S, Mark D, Noebels JL. Adult loss of Cacna1a in mice recapitulates childhood absence epilepsy by distinct thalamic bursting mechanisms. Brain. 2020 Jan 1;143(1):161-174.
 

Job Purpose

Postdoctoral Associates are trainees working in an apprenticeship mode in preparation for a career as a scientific professional.

Job Duties

• Use single-nucleus RNA-sequencing, Patch-seq, multi-patching electrophysiology, and other molecular techniques on brain tissue to decipher and define cellular constituents of cortical circuits with molecular, morpho-electric, spatial, and functional annotations in the primate and rodent brain. 
• Probe and define the cellular constituents of brain circuits associated with epilepsy and autism.
• Perform rigorous and well-controlled experiments as well as data analysis.
• Summarize research findings, publish results in research journals, and presentation of research results at professional conferences.

Minimum Qualifications

• MD or Ph.D in Basic Science, Health Science, or a related field.
• No experience is required.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with patch-clamp electrophysiology.
• Excellent written/oral communication and organizational skills are required, and work effectively in a team environment.
• Extensive knowledge of single-cell RNA-seq, bioinformatics analysis, and molecular techniques.