Postdoctoral Researcher in the Neuroscience of Exploration
The Noise lab (PI: Becket Ebitz) is looking for a postdoctoral research associate for an NSERC-funded project that will look at the dynamics of exploratory behavior in humans and rhesus macaques. The lab is in the Department of Neuroscience in the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Montreal. The department is highly collaborative and the postdoctoral researcher will have the opportunity to learn from and interact with a variety of experimental and computational labs both within and beyond the department.
We know that a diversity of perspectives improves and invigorates our work and we encourage applications from people from all backgrounds and with all identities.
About the lab:
We are a systems/cognitive neuroscience lab working at the intersection of decision-making, oculomotor control, and executive function. More information about our research is available on our website: http://ebitzlab.com
Position details:
The research project will involve behavioral experiments in humans, large-scale electrophysiology studies in the rhesus macaque, and computational modeling. The goal of this project is to uncover the neural mechanisms underlying the decision to explore for new information (versus to exploit the information we already have). The postdoctoral researcher will collect data (working with technical staff and students), analyze data (working with the PI and computational collaborators), and write papers and fellowships (working with the PI and other mentors in the department). The ideal candidate will be excited to take the lead on this project, and will coordinate with others for support as needed. The postdoctoral researcher will also have opportunities to mentor undergraduate and graduate students and to participate in other professional development activities related to their long-term career goals.
This project is related to an ongoing international collaboration. As part of this collaboration, the postdoctoral researcher will have opportunities to collaborate on analyzing related datasets, including human intracranial recordings (with Alexander Herman, University of Minnesota) and rodent fiber photometry data (with Nicola Grissom, University of Minnesota).
Basic Qualifications:
- PhD expected or obtained in Neuroscience, Psychology, or Physiology, or computationally-intensive field (i.e. Math, Physics, or Engineering).
Preferred Qualifications:
- The ideal candidate will have some, if not all, of the following skills (and will be motivated to acquire the others).
- Extensive programming experience (ideally with Matlab and/or Python).
- Previous experience in collecting and analyzing neurophysiology data.
- Previous experience with non-human primates or other large mammals.
- Familiarity with dynamical systems theory, control theory, and/or linear algebra.
- Solid written and oral communication skills in English.