Postdoc position: effects of early life stress on behavior and circuitry in mice, Yale University

The Kaffman lab is investigating the mechanisms by which different doses of stress during the postnatal period in mice affect neurodevelopment and behavior later in life. Using high resolution diffusion MRI (DOI: 10.22541/au.159050220.00045500/v2) and resting state fMRI (DOI: 10.1038/s41398-018-0092-z) we recently found that mice that were exposed to complex stress early in life have similar structural abnormalities to those seen in humans. Interestingly, exposure to complex stress during the postnatal period increased fronto-limbic connectivity in male but not female mice. The goal of this project is to use chemogenetics and calcium imaging to clarify how changes in connectivity and network activation induce behavioral abnormalities in adult male and female mice exposed to complex stress early in life.

The following expertise are required for this position:

• Stereotactic viral injections into adult mice
• Use of chemogenetic tools to manipulate behavior in mice
• Calcium imaging in behaving mice
• Behavioral testing in mice
• Tissue processing of mouse brain for immunohistochemistry and confocal microscopy
• Excellent verbal and writing skills in English are essential

Candidates should have completed a Ph.D. in neuroscience, and email the following materials to Arie Kaffman at arie.kaffman@yale.edu:

• A cover letter describing their interests and technical skills
• Updated CV
• e-mail addresses and phone numbers of three references