Postdoctoral Fellow

The Kentucky Spinal Cord Injury Research Center (KSCIRC) is pleased to announce the opening of a Postdoctoral Fellow position with the laboratory of Dr. David Stirling at the University of Louisville, School of Medicine.

The Stirling laboratory uses advanced optical imaging techniques (e.g., two-photon spectral microscopy) to investigate intrinsic and extrinsic mechanisms of white matter degeneration in living tissue following trauma to the nervous system. A major thrust in the laboratory is to understand the role of microglia, the immunocompetent cells of the CNS, and blood-derived immune cells (neutrophils and monocytes) in central myelinated fiber degeneration following spinal cord injury (SCI). Utilizing two-photon intravital microscopy to image genetically encoded fluorescent proteins in these cells, his team tracks, quantifies, and interrogates the role of neuroinflammation in SCI pathophysiology as these dynamic events are unfolding in real time.

Second, his team also focuses on intrinsic mechanisms of central myelinated fiber injury following trauma utilizing a combination of in vivo and ex vivo live spinal cord preparations to visualize the dynamic response of spinal axons to injury in real time. Techniques instrumental to our research include advanced optical imaging, flow cytometry, cellular, molecular, biochemical, and behavioral analysis.

It is hoped that the new knowledge gained from these basic science studies will uncover key mediators that play a role in axon and myelin damage, and pave the way for therapeutic interventions to promote tissue sparing and improve neurological outcome following human SCI.

Qualifications

Qualified applicants must have a PhD or MD/PhD degree in Neuroscience or a related field and possess strong written, oral communication, and critical thinking skills.

Preferred Qualifications

Ability to perform murine microsurgery, in vivo imaging (two-photon microscopy experience is a strong asset), electrophysiology, calcium imaging, molecular, and cellular technique and expertise in animal models of trauma, and/or CNS disease.

Job Responsibilities

The Postdoctoral Fellow will help design and conduct experiments, present data at departmental seminars, prepare manuscripts, and contribute preliminary data for grant proposals.

Equal Employment Opportunity

The University of Louisville is an equal opportunity, affirmative action employer, and is committed to providing employment opportunities to all qualified applicants without regard to race, sex, age, color, national origin, ethnicity, creed, religion, disability, genetic information, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity and expression, marital status, pregnancy, or veteran status.