Postdoctoral positions in neurobiology of pain and addiction 

We have 1-2 postdoctoral openings to use novel tools for functional and molecular profiling of the brain engaged by pain or drug addiction.  We are interested in identifying and characterizing cellular ensembles and cell types that produce and/or respond to opioids or that are engaged during chronic pain and opioid use.  With collaborators developing behavior models, the Gu lab uses next generation tools to analyze rodent brains: 1) large-scale neurophysiological recording called Neuropixels (ref 1; new generation probes with 5-µm resolution or integrated optical control are available by collaboration); 2) newly engineered CID sensors (refs 2) for opioid drugs and peptides to acquire subcellular distributions in the brain; 3) newly developed single-cell spatial transcriptomics called Pixel-seq (refs 3) for spatial mapping of cell types and global gene expression changes between different conditions.  We are integrating these tools to generate multimodal spatial data from the same tissue.  Successful candidates will have opportunities to learn cutting-edge technologies, generate novel biological data, and lead assay development and/or data analysis in an interdisciplinary team comprising multiple labs from the UW NAPE center (http://depts.washington.edu/uwnape/).

References:

1.     Neuropixels 2.0: A miniaturized high-density probe for stable, long-term brain recordings. Science, 2021, eabf4588

2.     2a) COMBINES-CID: An Efficient Method for De Novo Engineering of Highly Specific Chemically Induced Protein Dimerization Systems. Journal of the American Chemical Society, 2019, 141, 10948; 2b) Defining Molecular Glues with A Dual-Nanobody Cannabidiol Sensor. Nature Communications, 2022, 815, 13

3.     3a) Polony gels enable amplifiable DNA stamping and spatial transcriptomics of chronic pain. Cell, 2022, 185, 4621; 3b) A diverse network of pericoerulear neurons control arousal states (https://doi.org/10.1101/2022.06.30.498327). Nature (under revision)

Requirements:

Applicants should have a Ph.D. degree in related fields including, but not limited to neuroscience, biochemistry, genetics, pharmacology, bioinformatics, physiology, and biophysics.  Desirable backgrounds/skills include:

i)                spatial transcriptomics

ii)               electrophysiological recording

iii)              bioinformatics

iv)              protein engineering using high-throughput screening such as phage display

v)               IHC and FISH

vi)              mass spectrometry

Applicants should have a strong publication record, good spoken and written communication skills.  Interested applicants should send i) a cover letter briefly describing your previous experience and future research interests/plans, ii) a curriculum vitae, and iii) contact information of three references to Dr. Liangcai Gu (gulc@uw.edu).

Salary:

The postdoctoral base salary is $65,508 effective on January 1, 2023, and will increase to $68,460 on January 1, 2024.  Employees will receive no less than a 2% increase on the anniversary date of their appointment.  UW provides an outstanding, comprehensive benefits package (https://hr.uw.edu/benefits/benefits-orientation/post-doctoral-scholars-and-fellows/).

Equal Employment Opportunity Statement:

University of Washington is an affirmative action and equal opportunity employer.  All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, national origin, age, protected veteran or disabled status, or genetic information.