Postdoctoral Research Scientist

We have an exciting opportunity for a **Postdoctoral Research Scientist ** has
arisen from The Wellcome Trust grant entitled “Sensitising brain MRI to cell
type and shape” awarded to a team of investigators including Professors Jason
Lerch, Karla Miller, Saad Jbabdi, Alan Jasanoff (MIT), and Stamatios
Sotiropoulos (Nottingham) and the NIH grant entitled “Analyzing brain-wide
bases of neuroplastic change using new imaging tools” tentatively awarded to
Alan Jasanoff (MIT) and Jason Lerch. This post will be based at the Wellcome
Centre for Integrative Neuroimaging, Oxford.





In these proposals we seek to sensitise MRI to cell type and shape and use
these tools to explore brain plasticity and inter-individual variation. We
will do so by (1) developing novel molecular MRI contrasts that provide cell
or molecule specific signatures read out through the widely used BOLD signal
and combining high resolution diffusion and quantitative MRI with 2D and 3D
histology and transcriptomics to generate models that can predict cell
distribution and optimise mesoscopic brain connectivity. We will then use
these tools to address several paradigmatic questions about brain-wide
plasticity (1) What are the spatiotemporal relationships between neural
activity and plasticity gene induction? (2) How are experience-dependent
changes in the physical structure of the brain driven by molecular and
cellular processes? (3) How does repeated exposure to a stimulus or behavior
affect characteristics of plasticity phenomena throughout the brain? (4) What
features of neuroplasticity are predictive of individual behavioral
variability? All work will be carried out in mice.





The post holder will be a member of the Preclinical Imaging Group led by Jason
Lerch, and will be responsible for carrying out research as outlined in the
project in a close collaboration with the groups of Professors Alan Jasanoff
(MIT), Karla Miller and Saad Jbabdi (Oxford), and Stamatios Sotiropoulos
(Nottingham). The post holder will also provide guidance to less experienced
members of the research groups, including postdocs, research assistants,
technicians, and PhD and project students.





Please see the below 'Job Description' for further details on the role,
responsibilities, and selection criteria, as well as further information about
the university and how to apply.





**This post is full time and fixed term for 2 years.**





**Only applications received before midday 12:00 on Friday 4th October 2024
will be considered. **





**Interviews will be held as soon as possible thereafter.**