Postdoctoral Research Associate in Glutamate Receptor Neuropharmacology

A postdoctoral fellow position is available starting immediately at Texas A&M University School of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry for an NIH-funded project on glutamate receptor in the laboratory of Dr. Shashank Dravid.

The project uses a multidisciplinary approach including genetic models, electrophysiology, ex vivo optogenetics, behavior and chemogenetic modulation of behavior and molecular biology to define the mechanisms by which neural circuits are regulated by NMDA and glutamate delta receptors. Of particular interest are basal ganglia, striatal and amygdala circuits. This knowledge can then be used to develop novel therapeutic strategies for affective and neurological disorders and addiction. Specific relevance is to diseases including autism, schizophrenia, addiction, pain and Parkinson’s disease.

The ideal candidate will have a PhD with strong background in neuroscience, pharmacology or related areas and expertise in either patch clamp electrophysiology or molecular biology, in vitro assay development, drug discovery and medicinal chemistry. Individuals with specialized imaging and biochemistry techniques are also encouraged to apply.

The selected individual will have the opportunity to learn various neurosciences techniques established in the laboratory such as electrophysiology, imaging, viral mediated in vivo manipulation and others and to collaborate with other neuroscience labs . Interested applicants should email a single pdf with cover letter, resume and names of at least three references to smdravid@tamu.edu 

Preferred Qualifications:

Ph.D. in in neuroscience, pharmacology, or related areas. Expertise in electrophysiology, neural circuit analysis, molecular biology, imaging, drug discovery, medicinal chemistry or biochemistry techniques are encouraged to apply.

Responsibilities:

Conducts experiments to address role of glutamate receptors in the central nervous system using mouse models.

Performs experiments including brain slice electrophysiology to evaluate changes in neurotransmission, in vivo manipulation to express different proteins in the neurons for optogenetics, chemogenetics and conditional deletion.

Performs duties involving confocal imaging experiments to examine changes in synaptic markers or glutamate receptors in various disease models including Parkinson’s model and chronic pain model.

Mouse model testing includes behavioral analysis in various paradigms including cognitive function, sensory and aversive behavior in chronic pain models, motor function in Parkinson’s disease model and other behaviors related to anxiety and depression.

Develops and applies assays for drug discovery for glutamate receptors, including in vitro assay as well as cell-free assay and in vivo testing.