Postdoctoral Fellow at University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Neuroscience in Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Job Description:

NIH-funded postdoctoral fellowship available immediately in the laboratory of Dr. Karyn Frick to pinpoint in female and male mice the neural mechanisms through which 17beta-estradiol regulates proteasomal protein degradation in the hippocampus and determine the extent to which protein degradation is essential for estradiol to promote memory consolidation and hippocampal dendritic spine density. This work fits into our lab's overall goal to identify the cellular, molecular, and cell-specific mechanisms in the hippocampus, prefrontal cortex, and other cognitive brain regions through which estrogens regulate memory formation in mice of both sexes. Our research program utilizes a variety of approaches, including targeted intracranial drug infusions, behavioral testing, chemogenetics, fiber photometry, molecular techniques (e.g., western blotting, qPCR), and anatomical methods (e.g., dendritic spine analysis, RNAscope, immunohistochemistry). Ongoing collaborative projects employ RNAseq and mass spectroscopy. The lab is also actively engaged in drug discovery projects designed to develop novel therapeutics for relief of menopausal symptoms.

Candidates should have a Ph.D. in Neuroscience, Neuroendocrinology, Psychology or related discipline, should be highly motivated to conduct neuroendocrinology research full-time, and able to work both independently and as part of a team. Experience with molecular biology/biochemistry techniques, cell-specific manipulations, virus-mediated cell, circuit, or gene manipulations, calcium imaging, and/or modern gene sequencing methods is especially desirable, as is a background in memory and/or behavioral neuroendocrinology. Opportunities available to mentor undergraduate research students.