Job advertisements - RIKEN Center for Brain Science
Position 1: Deputy Team Leader
Position 2: Research Scientist

Position 1: Deputy Team Leader / Position 2: Research Scientist

Position 1: Deputy Team Leader

【Job title and Job description 】
Job title, available positions
Deputy Team Leader: 1 position

Job description
The successful candidate will take the lead in developing and applying/supervising application of molecular biology based techniques needed to assess cell type specific neural circuit properties (e.g. anatomical connectivity, cellular subtype identity etc.) as well as functions (e.g. through techniques used to enable recordings and optogenetic interventions of defined neural populations) in the thalamus and cortex of mice performing behavioral tasks. By applying their skills and knowledge, an effective deputy team leader would be expected to contribute to conducting the following specific tasks: 1) Development and use of approaches to identify genetically and functionally distinct thalamic populations relevant to computations that depend on thalamocortical interactions. 2) Development of new optical sensors for measurement of inhibitory or other modulatory inputs onto thalamic and cortical populations to overcome deficiencies in existing sensors I have used previously. 3) Development of mouse models in which circuit specific modification or KO of disease related genes are made in thalamic or cortical populations. 4) Training of technical staff and researchers based on expert subject knowledge.

In addition to expanding the capabilities of the laboratory, a suitable candidate would gain valuable experience to support their own career progress. More specifically, s/he should demonstrate productivity and expertise needed to obtain an independent group leader position as a leader in the field over the five-year working period.

【Qualification】
We seek a highly motivated researcher with an interest in studying cognitive function using rodent models and strong background in molecular neuroscience either approaches using cell type specific viral/transgenic mice or animal disease models. Previous experience in behavioral/optogenetic/chemogenetic methods and/or slice/in vivo electrophysiological recording techniques is also a plus. Applicants should have a Ph.D. in a relevant field (e.g., Neuroscience, Neurobiology, molecular biology). Some proficiency in programming (e.g., MATLAB, Python) is also necessary.

The Deputy Team Leader would be an individual at an intermediate career stage capable of assisting with work being conducted in the lab in a supervisory capacity and of organizing and executing additional, complementary projects. The Deputy Team Leader would be expected to publish (a) high impact paper(s) on topics in line with the major research goals of my team and to collect preliminary results for his/her own projects. The intention would be that this work would allow him/her to obtain a professorship at an internationally well-known institute outside RIKEN within 5 years. The deputy team leader recruited would therefore need to have a strong background ideally including a record of publishing high-impact papers as well as good communication skills in English. Fluency in Japanese is also critical for training stuff members.

Key qualifications include:

• Ph.D. degree (Life/Natural sciences or engineering preferred)
• Good communication in English/Japanese
• Technical skills in molecular neuroscience and an ambition to succeed.

【Application and required documents】

[Required documents]

1. Complete CV (with photo and email address)
   *Write the RIKEN job ad number “W19XXX”, indicated in the parentheses next to the job title, in the RIKEN job ad number section in the upper right corner of your CV.
2. List of achievements
3. External funding awarded
4. Summary of research experience to date
5. Reasons for applying for the post (personal strengths, motivation, future research plans, career aspirations, etc.)
6. A letter of recommendation from the current supervisor (If unavailable, a letter from a substitute reference will be acceptable.
7. Consent form for handling personal information based on GDPR
   If you are a resident of the European Economic Area (EEA), you are required to submit the document, “Consent form for handling personal information based on GDPR” with your signature.
   *You will find detailed information about General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) on the following website:
   https://ec.europa.eu/info/law/law-topic/data-protection_en

[How to apply]
Send the PDF formatted application by email to lukas.schmitt [at] riken.jp
(Recommendation letters must be emailed directly from the reference to lukas.schmitt [at] riken.jp, replace [at] with @)

Note: Application documents will not be returned.

[Deadline]　
(2) Open until the position is filled

[Handling Personal Data]
Submitted documents are strictly protected under the RIKEN Privacy Policy and will be used only for the purpose of applicant screening. Personal information will not be disclosed, transferred or loaned to a third party under any circumstances without just cause.

Position 2: Research Scientist

【Job title and Job description 】　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　
Job title, available positions
Research Scientist 1 position(s)
Postdoctoral Researcher is defined as those with a doctoral degree of 5 years or less.
Research Scientist/Contract Researcher is defined as those with a doctoral degree more than 5 years.
Please clarify the definition of each job title specifically if you write multiple job titles like (Ex. 2), (Ex. 3).

Job description
The successful candidate will take the lead in generating analytical and computational approaches to investigate neural implementations of cognitive processes such as attentional control and working memory in the context of hierarchical decision making. This work will be done in collaboration with experimentalists conducting high density neural recordings combined with optogenetic methods using new behavioral paradigms designed to assess how animals generalize based on past sensory experience. The candidate will be expected to assess neural dynamics and potentially model the circuits involved model based on physiological data as well as to participate in optimizing experimental approaches based on observations and predictions spurring from their theoretical/analytical work.

【Qualification】
We seek a highly motivated researcher with an interest in understanding complex cognitive functions like attention and sensory decision-making as well as experience applying analytical approaches and computational modeling methods to understand neural data. Applicants should have a Ph.D. in a relevant field (e.g., Neuroscience, Computational Neuroscience, Computer Science, Math, Physics). Proficiency in programming (e.g., MATLAB, Python) is necessary. Applicants must be comfortable working in an international setting where the primary language of communication is English.

A strong quantitative background is required as is the ability to self-direct and modify project goals based on observed results. Direct experience with the analysis of extracellular recordings of spiking neurons and/or with machine learning based approaches is also preferred.

【Application and required documents】

[Required documents]

1. Complete CV (with photo and email address)
   *Write the RIKEN job ad number “W19XXX”, indicated in the parentheses next to the job title, in the RIKEN job ad number section in the upper right corner of your CV.
2. List of achievements
3. External funding awarded
4. Summary of research experience to date
5. Reasons for applying for the post (personal strengths, motivation, future research plans, career aspirations, etc.)
6. A letter of recommendation from the current supervisor (If unavailable, a letter from a substitute reference will be acceptable.
7. Consent form for handling personal information based on GDPR
   If you are a resident of the European Economic Area (EEA), you are required to submit the document, “Consent form for handling personal information based on GDPR” with your signature.
   *You will find detailed information about General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) on the following website:
   https://ec.europa.eu/info/law/law-topic/data-protection_en

[How to apply]
Send the PDF formatted application by email to lukas.schmitt [at] riken.jp
(Recommendation letters must be emailed directly from the reference to lukas.schmitt [at] riken.jp, replace [at] with @)

Note: Application documents will not be returned.

[Deadline]　
(2) Open until the position is filled

[Handling Personal Data]
Submitted documents are strictly protected under the RIKEN Privacy Policy and will be used only for the purpose of applicant screening. Personal information will not be disclosed, transferred or loaned to a third party under any circumstances without just cause.