Postdoctoral and PhD student positions in Neurophysics

The Bernstein Center for Computational Neuroscience Göttingen invites applications for Postdoctoral and PhD student positions in Neurophysics.
Research will experimentally probe and control the dynamics of living neural networks using innovative optical stimulation methods and will be part of an integrated project of the Max Planck Institutes for Dynamics and Self-Organization, for Experimental Medicine, and for Biophysics (Frankfurt) and will be an integral part of the activities of Göttingen University’s Bernstein Center for Computational Neuroscience.

The successful candidate will play a key role in the design and construction of optical stimulation systems, in which cultured neuronal cells are stimulated using light sensitive ion channels and pumps and in which their activity is monitored through multielectrode arrays. PhD students will work towards their doctorate in Göttingen University’s newly established Graduate School, GGNB. We are looking for young researchers with a background in Physics, Engineering, or Computer Science and a keen interest in interdisciplinary research at the border of Neuroscience and the Physics of Complex Systems. The ideal candidate will have the ability and desire to establish experimental paradigms and innovative instrumentation for the analysis and control of living neural networks. Prior experience in experimental Biophysics, Electrophysiology, or Optics would be advantageous. Prior knowledge of neurobiology is desirable but not required.
Göttingen is a center of neuroscience in Europe hosting numerous internationally recognized neuroscience research institutions, including three Max Planck Institutes, the European Neuroscience Institute, the German Primate Research Center, and Göttingen University’s Centers for Systems Neuroscience (ZNV) and for the Molecular Physiology of the Brain(CMPB). The BCCN integrates theoretical and experimental research groups from these institutions to foster interdisciplinary research in computational neuroscience specifically supporting close collaboration between theorists and experimental researchers.
Please submit your application preferably in one single PDF-document, including cover letter, CV, list of publications, names of possible referees, relevant certificates until June 15, 2008, to:
jobs@bccn-goettingen.de (Subject: NPhysChop2)
While e-mail is preferred, applications may also be submitted in hardcopy to the following address:
Dr. Fred Wolf
Subject: NPhysChop2
Bernstein Center for Computational Neuroscience (BCCN) Göttingen
Max-Planck-Institute for Dynamics and Self-Organization
Bunsenstrasse 10
D – 37073 Göttingen, Germany
http://www.ds.mpg.de
The MPIDS is an equal opportunity employer.