Research Scientist All Optical Investigation of Rodent Cognition
Astera Institute is an active nonprofit research institute and foundation that operates in-house neuroscience-informed AI research and funds, operates, and supports open-science programs and public goods.
About Astera Institute
Astera operates three divisions: Neuro-AI, Radial life-sciences research, and its Foundation. Its AI work pursues neuroscience-informed approaches to artificial general intelligence, while its foundation and Radial activities support open scientific infrastructure, datasets, research programs, and residencies.
Skills
Candidate Availability
Required and preferred rules are kept separate and reflect the wording in the original posting.
About the Role
You will design rodent behavioral paradigms, run two-photon imaging and holographic photostimulation experiments, perform mouse surgeries, analyze neural population data, define expression strategies, and mentor research staff.
Requirements
- PhD or equivalent research experience in neuroscience, bioengineering, physics, or a related field
- Hands-on mouse survival surgery experience with cranial windows, headbars, and stereotaxic injections
- Experience with in vivo two-photon calcium imaging and/or holographic optogenetics in rodents
- Experience with two-photon system alignment, characterization, and in vivo use
- Scientific computing proficiency for neural-data analysis using Python and/or MATLAB
- Experience with Suite2p, CaImAn, or comparable pipelines
Responsibilities
- Define cognitive processes and experimental questions for mouse studies
- Design and iterate head-fixed behavioral paradigms
- Run two-photon imaging and holographic photostimulation experiments during behavior
- Run holographic targeting, power calibration, and closed-loop stimulation
- Lead computational analysis of large-scale neural population data
- Set viral and transgenic expression strategies
- Perform mouse survival surgeries, including stereotaxic injections, cranial-window implantation, and headbar installation
- Mentor research associates and technicians
- Contribute to publications, talks, open data, tooling releases, and scientific-community engagement