Postdoctoral fellow in sensorimotor integration and movement disorders

The Hebert Wertheim College of Engineering, The McKnight Brain Institute and The Norman Fixel Institute for Neurological Disorders at the University of Florida

The Oweiss lab at the University of Florida is seeking highly-motivated candidates for two postdoctoral positions. The chosen candidate will conduct research focused on studying basic mechanisms of sensorimotor integration in healthy and pathological brain states and translate this knowledge to clinical applications of movement disorders. Current projects funded by NIH include: 1) Using two-photon microscopy and optogenetic techniques to monitor and perturb neural circuits at cellular and subcellular resolution in awake behaving mice to investigate mechanisms of neural plasticity during sensory- and memory-guided navigation in virtual reality environments. 2) Using chronic deep brain recording and deep brain stimulation (DBS) in human subjects to characterize neurophysiological signatures of motor control in thalamic nuclei and use these biomarkers to provide closed loop control of DBS therapy to alleviate pathological symptoms of Essential Tremor.     

The position will focus on carrying out experiments to record and analyze brain activity in the presence and absence of targeted stimulation. The candidate will receive training on data analysis and machine learning (ML) techniques to guide the optimization of stimulation parameters in animal (optogenetics) and human (electrical) studies. Candidates will publish peer-reviewed journal articles and help mentor graduate students carrying out experiments. Desirable skills may include any of the following: single and/or population neural recording, two-photon imaging/optogenetic control in awake behaving mice, or machine learning/computational neuroscience.

Minimum Qualifications: A PhD in Neurobiology, Biophysics, Biomedical Engineering, Computer Science, or related fields. For consideration, submit a CV and the names and contact information of three professional references as a single PDF file attachment to:

Karim G. Oweiss, Ph.D. 

Professor of Electrical & Computer Engineering, Biomedical Engineering, Neuroscience and Neurology

Herbert Wertheim College of Engineering, The McKnight Brain Institute and The Norman Fixel Institute for Neurological Disorders

University of Florida      V: (352) 294-1898       koweiss@ufl.edu

University of Florida: Over the past 10 years, the State of Florida invested over 1.5 billion dollars to advance the University of Florida. UF research expenditures averaged over $950M per year over the last 3 years (https://research.ufl.edu/). UF is home to the fastest and largest Artificial Intelligence (AI) Super Computer in Higher Education in the world. As a result, UF is now the 5^th ranked public university in America (US News & World Report). The Herbert Wertheim College of Engineering, The SHANDS Hospital, and the College of Medicine, all in close proximity, foster cross-college, highly interdisciplinary collaborations. The city of Gainesville is a university town with a relatively low cost of living, a high quality of life, and a location ~2 hours from 3 major cities (Orlando, Tampa and Jacksonville). University of Florida counts among its greatest strengths — and a major component of its excellence – that it values broad diversity in its faculty, students, and staff and creates a robust, inclusive and welcoming climate for learning, research and other work. The University of Florida is an Equal Opportunity Employer.