Postdoctoral position: Physiology and modeling in the olfactory system

[Nathan Urban]

Postdoctoral position available immediately for combined physiological
and computational studies of the neural circuitry mediating lateral
inhibition in the mammalian olfactory system.  

This position is being offered jointly by Dr. Bard Ermentrout
(Department of Mathematics, University of Pittsburgh) and Dr. Nathan
Urban (Department of Biological Sciences, Carnegie Mellon University).
The project involves the physiological study of the short term dynamics
of lateral inhibitory connections between pairs of mitral cells, and the
incorporation of these data into computational models of olfactory bulb
in order to better understand the transformation of spatiotemporal
patterns of glomerular activation by the circuitry of the olfactory
bulb.  

Candidates should have strong interest in both physiological and
computational approaches to the study of the olfactory system, but need
not have experience in both these areas.  Physiological studies will
include whole-cell recordings from pairs of connected neurons in
olfactory bulb slice preparations and optical recordings using
calcium-sensitive dyes.  Computational studies may include
multicompartmental models of mitral cells and small network models. 

This position is funded for up to 3 years, and a highly competitive
salary is available for qualified candidates.  

Pittsburgh is a medium-sized city with a relatively low cost of living
and many of the amenities and cultural opportunities of a larger city
(http://www.city.pittsburgh.pa.us/).  The Neuroscience community in
Pittsburgh is large and very diverse with more than 100 faculty members
affiliated with the Center for Neuroscience at the University of
Pittsburgh (CNUP, http://cnup.neurobio.pitt.edu/).  Successful
candidates would also have the opportunity to join the Center for the
Neural Basis of Cognition (CNBC, http://www.cnbc.cmu.edu/) which is a
joint University of Pittsburgh/CMU center that involves 70 Faculty from
the two Universities.

Interested candidates should send (preferably via e-mail) their c.v. and
the names and addresses of three references to Professor Bard
Ermentrout, Department of Mathematics, University of Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh, PA 15260 e-mail: bard+ at pitt.edu.   

For more information contact:

Dr. Bard Ermentrout
bard+ at pitt.edu
http://www.pitt.edu/~phase/

or

Dr. Nathan Urban
nurban at cmu.edu
http://www.andrew.cmu.edu/user/nurban/Lab_pages/