The emergence of spontaneous activity during cortical development
Labs of Geoff Goodhill and Linda Richards
Washington University School of Medicine, St Louis
We are looking for a Postdoc or Graduate student to analyze and model the emergence of early patterns of spontaneous neural activity in developing cortex. We are interested in questions such as whether functionally distinct areas show common or distinct initial
activity patterns, and how these patterns relate to subsequent function.
This project is based on data from the dunnart (an Australian marsupial), an animal model which offers unique advantages over rodents for studying early activity since dunnarts are born at a much earlier stage of brain development. Our initial work on this
project is described in https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2208654120. We are now using 2-photon imaging of soma-targeted GCaMP8m which offers data with much higher resolution and detail.
The postdoc/student will work between the Goodhill and Richards labs, which are both located in a new 60,000 m^2 building dedicated entirely to neuroscience research which opened in 2023. USNews currently ranks Washington University =6th in the world for Neuroscience
and Behavior.
Applicants should have a strong math/engineering background and an interest in neuroscience, particularly spontaneous activity and the developing brain. To apply send a detailed CV including names of at least 3 referees and a cover letter explaining your interest
in the position to g.goodhill@wustl.edu.
Review of applications will begin immediately. Potential graduate students please note that there is an upcoming deadline of Aug 1st for applications to relevant Engineering graduate programs at WashU.
Professor Geoffrey J Goodhill
Departments of Developmental Biology and Neuroscience
Director, Center for Theoretical and Computational Neuroscience (ctcn.wustl.edu)
Affiliate appointments: Physics, Biomedical Engineering, Computer Science and Engineering, and Electrical and Systems Engineering
Washington University School of Medicine
4370 Duncan Ave.
St Louis, MO 63110
g.goodhill@wustl.edu
Linda J. Richards
Edison Professor and Chair, Department of Neuroscience
Director, McDonnell Center for Cellular & Molecular Neurobiology
Washington University School of Medicine