Research Post Doctoral Fellow

A Brief Overview

Assume responsibility for an on-going, innovative research project as a Postdoctoral Fellow at CHOP. Our postdoc experience will broaden your skillset, scientific background, and research capabilities.

CHOP's Commitment to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
CHOP is committed to building an inclusive culture where employees feel a sense of belonging, connection, and community within their workplace. We are a team dedicated to fostering an environment that allows for all to be their authentic selves. We are focused on attracting, cultivating, and retaining diverse talent who can help us deliver on our mission to be a world leader in the advancement of healthcare for children.

We strongly encourage all candidates of diverse backgrounds and lived experiences to apply.

About the Laboratory

The Mukherjee Laboratory at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) and the University of Pennsylvania (UPenn) invites applications from highly motivated candidates for a fully funded Postdoctoral Fellowship. Our collaborative, interdisciplinary research team investigates neural circuits underlying complex cognitive processes and their dysfunction in psychiatric disorders. Our work focuses particularly on the functional maturation of cognitive control circuits during adolescence and their fidelity in rodent and tree shrew models of neurodevelopmental disorders, including the 22q11.2 deletion syndrome.

For more information, please visit: https://lokmanya15.wixsite.com/mukherjeelab

The successful candidate will lead innovative projects to understand how experiences and intrinsic neural plasticity shape cognitive functions, ultimately contributing toward novel therapeutic approaches for psychiatric disorders. This position requires a PhD or MD/PhD degree in neuroscience or mathematics/physics/engineering/computer science as well as demonstrable research experience in at least one (required) or multiple (desirable) of the following techniques:

1. in vivoelectrophysiology,

2. in vivo miniscope or fiber photometry imaging,

3. survival brain surgery in rodents or other mammals

4. sn RNA seq and analysis

5. large scale brain wide mapping of functional connectivity using microscopy

6. Closed loop optogenetics

7. computational modelling of neural networks or behavioral data

Salary is competitive and commensurate with experience and accomplishments. Interested applicants should send the following documents directly to Dr. Mukherjee at mukherjea2@chop.edu:

• Letter detailing research interests and experience (1-2 pages),
• CV (list of publications),
• Contact information for three professional references (email)

Key Responsibilities:

• Design behavioral experiments to probe cognitive control mechanisms
• Record and analyze neural activity in mice or tree shrews engaged in cognitive tasks
• Employ tools to tag active ensembles of neurons for subsequent perturbation with opto/chemo genetics.
• Develop cell-type specific connectivity maps from adolescence to adulthood
• Collate research findings into publications and write expert reviews
• Contribute data and ideas to grant proposals
• Lead/contribute cross-disciplinary collaborations across laboratories
• Mentor graduate and undergraduate students at the bench
• Maintain rigorous laboratory standards, protocols, and data management practices

Responsibilities

• Participate in project planning, recording, and evaluation of data.

• Conduct independent scholarly research, developing new methods and protocols under the guidance of a mentor (principal investigator).

• Acquire technical, lab management, and grant writing skills.

• Participate in seminars, lectures, poster sessions, national presentations, and professional workshops.

• Supervise junior lab members.

• Assist with other research projects as needed.

Education

• Required: Doctorate