POST-DOC POSITION

[Bartlett Mel]

    -----  POST-DOCTORAL RESEARCH POSITION AVAILABLE  -----

A post-doctoral position is now available in the laboratory of
Dr. Bartlett Mel in the Biomedical Engineering Department at the
University of Southern California.  This position is for collaborative
work on an NSF-funded project involving the study of synaptic learning
in neurons with complex dendritic trees.  Applicants should have a
good background in neuroscience and strong computational and
mathematical skills.  The position is for one year, with possibility
for renewal for a second year.  Salary is around $30,000.

PROJECT OVERVIEW - A growing body of neuroanatomical, physiological, and
computational modeling work is consistent with the idea that activity-
independent synapse formation coupled with activity-dependent (Hebbian) 
synapse stabilization could lead to development of correlation-based
spatial structure of the synaptic contacts onto the dendrites of
INDIVIDUAL neurons, by analogy with correlation-induced spatial maps
formed across POPULATIONS of neurons (e.g. Miller 1994). Given the
likely capacity for nonlinear subunit processing within dendritic
trees (see Mel 1994), this additional putative "layer" of synaptic
organization is therefore likely to have profound consequences for
neurobiological function, such as for the development of complex
receptive field properties in sensory neurons, as well as for memory
capacity in the context of supervised associative learning.

WHAT THE APPLICANT WOULD DO includes at least two of the following:
(1) detailed biophysical modeling of synaptic plasticity at the
single-neuron level, (2) abstract modeling of individual dendritic
neurons and populations of neurons in both supervised and unsupervised
neurobiological learning contexts, and (3) mathematical analysis of
the computational capacities of dendritic neurons.  In addition, the
applicant would participate in a collaboration with experimental
neuroscience collegues (Drs. Nancy Desmond and William Levy at the
University of Virginia), who will be conducting experiments in rat
hippocampus that relate closely to the above issues.

OTHER PROJECTS currently ongoing in the lab include (i) the
construction of a large-scale neurally-inspired system for 3-D visual
object recognition, (ii) psychophysical experiments involving human
visual perception and memory in collaboration with Dr. Kaz Morikawa,
and (iii) biophysical-level modeling of the temporal response
characteristics of dendritic neurons, in collaboration with Dr. Ernst
Niebur at Caltech.

ELSEWHERE AT USC, the Neural, Informational, and Behavioral Sciences
(NIBS) graduate program encompasses several dozen neuroscience,
psychology, computer science and engineering faculty interested in all
aspects of brain and behavioral function.  A few of these include
Michael Arbib, Michel Beaudry, George Bekey, Ted Berger, Irving
Biederman, Christof von der Malsburg, Larry Swanson, Armand Tanguay,
and Richard Thompson.  Several excellent seminar series run throughout
the year, and a daily NIBS tea establishes a focal point for daily
interactions.

THE UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA is the oldest and largest
private research university in the western US, and is among the top 10
private universities receiving federal funds for research and
development in the country.  The University is situated in the center
of an unusually diverse metropolis (Los Angeles) surrounded by
stunning natural scenery.  Los Angeles may be the only city in the
world in which it is possible to climb a 10,000 ft. peak in the
morning, picnic on the beach for lunch, receive "aromatherapy" in
the afternoon, dine in a fabulous Santa Monica restaurant, catch the
LA Philharmonic at the Hollywood Bowl, and then drown one's late-night
existentialist thoughts at a West-Side coffeehouse.

APPLICATIONS SHOULD INCLUDE (1) a CV and cover letter detailing the
applicant's background, motivations, and qualifications, (2) at least
two letters of recommendation, and (3) a maximum of three relevant
publications, sent to

	Dr. Bartlett Mel
	Biomedical Engineering Department
	USC, 1451
	Los Angeles, CA 90089
	(213)740-0334	

Applicants should be a U.S. citizen or permanent resident.
Applications are encouraged from minorities and women. USC is an 
equal opportunity/affirmative action employer.

DEADLINE for submission is June 1, 1995.

BIBLIOGRAHPY

Mel, B.W. (1994) Information processing in dendritic trees. Neural
Computation, 6, 1031-1085.

Miller, K. (1994) A model for the development of simple-cell receptive
fields, and the ordered arrangement of orientation columns through
activity-dependent competition of on- and off-center inputs.
J. Neurosci., 14, 409-441.