Postdoctoral Research Associate

Job Title

Postdoctoral Research Associate

Agency

Texas A&M University Health Science Center

Department

Neuroscience & Experimental Therapeutics

Proposed Minimum Salary

Commensurate

Job Location

Bryan, Texas

Job Type

Staff

Job Description

What we believe

Texas A&M University is committed to enriching the learning and working environment for all visitors, students, faculty, and staff by promoting a culture that embraces inclusion, diversity, equity, and accountability.  Diverse perspectives, talents and identities are vital to accomplishing our mission and living our core values .”

Who we are

As one of the fastest-growing academic health centers in the nation, the Texas A&M University Health Science Center encompasses five colleges and numerous centers and institutes working together to improve health through transformative education, innovative research and team-based health care delivery.

What we want

We are looking for an individual to join our team. We desire an individual who subscribes to and supports our commitment as stated above. The successful applicant will bring an expert level of experience to the position and understand the demands of supporting executives in a fast-paced environment. This person must be professional, enjoy working in a high-volume environment and be able to apply strong organizational skills while being flexible in their daily routine. If this is you, we invite you to apply to become a member of our team.

Required Education:

• Relevant Ph.D.

Required Special Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities:

• Ability to multi-task and work cooperatively with others.

• Experience working with diverse individuals and communities.

Preferred Education:

Ph.D. in neuroscience or related area

Preferred Experience:

• 1-3 years of research experience after obtaining Ph.D. degree.

• Prior in-depth experience with rodent behavioral assay, including operant self-administration of alcohol or drug in rats or mice.

• Strong experience with stereotaxic virus or drug infusion, conditioned place preference, locomotor activity measurement, T-maze and Barn's Maze. Experience with chemo genetic and optogenetic manipulation of rodent behavior, immunohistochemistry and image analysis.

• Trackable records on first-author publications.

Preferred Special Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities:​

• Knowledge of cellular, synaptic, and circuit mechanisms underlying neuropsychiatric disorders including Alzheimer's disease or alcohol, cocaine, or opioid use disorders.

• Knowledge of behavioral science including instrumental and pavlovian conditioning, goal-directed versus habitual behaviors, and learning and memory.

• Ability to conduct and analyze oral or intravenous operant drug self-administration in rats or mice, canula or optical fiber implantation, conditioned place preference or aversion, locomotor activity, T-maze or Barn's maze.

• Ability to write manuscript and funding.

Job Responsibilities:

• Design research experiments.

• Train rats and mice to self-administer alcohol, cocaine, or opioids (e.g., morphine or fentanyl) using operant chambers.

• Conduct surgeries for intravenous self-administration of drugs (cocaine or opioid).

• Canula or fiber implantation.

• Deliver optical or electrical stimulation with or without tie-locked to lever presses of magazine entries.

• Measure and analyze lever presses, magazine entries.

• Conduct conditioned place preference and measure locomotor activity before and after intraperitoneal injection of drugs.

• Construct graphs with analyzed data. Write manuscript and rebuttal letters.

• Conduct stereotaxic infusion of virus or other neuronal tracers.

• Perform intracardial perfusion and brain fixation.

• Perform brain sectioning using vibratome or cryostat.

• Mount brain section and acquire section image using confocal microscope.

• Analyze confocal images using Imaris and other programs.

• Performs other duties as assigned.

Instructions to Applicants: Applications received by Texas A&M University must either have all job application data entered or a resume attached. Failure to provide all job application data or a complete resume could result in an invalid submission and a rejected application. We encourage all applicants to upload a resume or use a LinkedIn profile to pre-populate the online application.

All positions are security-sensitive. Applicants are subject to a criminal history investigation, and employment is contingent upon the institution’s verification of credentials and/or other information required by the institution’s procedures, including the completion of the criminal history check.

Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action/Veterans/Disability Employer committed to diversity.