2 year Post Doc position in Neuroscience (Italy / USA) ((Italy / USA))

One Post-doc position is available in the context of a European Research Council (ERC) Consolidator grant “LIGHTUP – Turning the cortically blind brain to see”.

The project investigates the neural correlates of visual awareness and of non-conscious vision in patients with blindsight and in non-human primates (macaques) with V1 damage (see Abstract here).

We offer a full-time post-doc position for 2 years, extendible. Applications of highly motivated candidates with experience in monkey neurophysiology, vision sciences and neuroimaging are welcomed. The successful applicant will be appointed by the University of Turin (IT) but he/she is expected to spend most of the time at the NIH in Bethesda (USA).

The project is embedded in an outstanding international and interdisciplinary context, including the KU Leuven (BE), University of Parma (IT), University of Oxford (UK), and Tilburg University (NL).

Selection process

Evaluation of candidates begins immediately.

Candidates should contact marco.tamietto@unito.it and/or leopoldd@mail.nih.gov, with a cover letter (describing research background and goals) and CV. Recommendation letters are also encouraged.

After initial feedback, candidates will be contacted directly for an online interview.

Qualifications and Requirements

Candidates should have (or expect to have by the end of 2022) a PhD in Neuroscience or related fields.

The ideal candidate should have an appropriate CV with publications in international journals that testify expertise in neurophysiology and/or neuroimaging applied to non-human primates, a keen interest in investigating the visual system and the neural correlates of awareness in non-human primates.

We value methodological skills and previous experience in: monkey neurophysiology, neuroimaging, behavioural experiments involving training of non-human primates, knowledge in scripting and scientific programming with MatLab/Python.

Tasks

The successful candidate is expected to:

- perform behavioural training of non-human primates

- actively participate in behavioural, neurophysiology and fMRI data acquisition, processing and analysis in non-human primates.

- provide daily supervision to a PhD Student dedicated to the project and also working at NIH.

- support advancements in the theoretical and methodological framework for the study of blindsight and visual system in humans and monkeys.

- publish in peer-reviewed international journals in the field of neuroscience.

What we offer

- 2 years full-time appointment starting as soon as the candidate is selected for the post.

- Gross salary of about € 50.000 per year, depending on level of experience, largely exceeding both European and NIH J-1 Visiting Fellow standards.

- 1 PhD student dedicated to the project and under direct supervision for 3 years

- The opportunity to work in a highly multidisciplinary team and to join an innovative and fascinating project on blindsight and the neural bases of visual awareness.

- Additional costs, such as travelling, conference fees, or specific equipment will be covered.

- Extensive opportunity of interactions in an outstanding and international context with leaders in the field.

- No additional teaching duties.

For further information please contact directly Prof. M. Tamietto (marco.tamietto@unito.it) and/or Prof. D. Leopold (leopoldd@mail.nih.gov).