Postdoctoral Research Associate / Fellow In Behavioural Neuroscience And Psychopharmacology

• Full time, 2 years fixed term. Located on the Camperdown Campus at the School of Psychology

• Opportunity to conduct cutting-edge Behavioural Neuroscience research to impact a translational drug discovery program

• Base Salary, Level A/B $105,350- $118,390 p.a + 17% superannuation

About the opportunity

The School of Psychology are welcoming applications for a Postdoctoral Research Associate / Research Fellow in Behavioural Neuroscience and Psychopharmacologyto join the Translational Psychopharmacology Team at the Brain and Mind Centre, to conduct preclinical research into the neurobiology and pharmacology of social behaviour. The successful applicant will be supervised by and work closely with Dr Nick Everett, within a larger translational program led by Professor Michael Bowen which currently has ~15 active staff and student researchers. This overarching goal of this program is to develop and translate novel pharmacotherapies for currently untreatable psychiatric diseases, particularly within domains of social behaviour and addictive disorders.

You will be expected to lead your own research activities, design new research protocols, analyse and interpret their findings, and contribute to the generation of new research strategies and ideas. Your research focus will be to understand the neurobiology of social behaviour and its dysfunction, to validate the role of oxytocin receptors in these neural pathways, and to use this knowledge to characterise novel small molecule oxytocin receptor agonists which are in development for the transdiagnostic treatment of social deficits. This will involve a variety of rat social behaviour tests, concurrently with contemporary neuroscience techniques including fibre photometry (calcium and neurotransmitter sensors), drug microinfusions and/or CRISPR or antisense tools to knockdown receptors. You will be expected to contribute to, or lead the design of new behavioural and neuroscience methods.

This research is expected to produce high impact Behavioural Neuroscience and Psychopharmacology publications and will directly influence a major industry-partnered translational drug discovery program which is focused on identifying a clinical candidate compound and progressing into clinical trials in the next few years. You will have opportunities to interact with industry partners and to learn about translational drug development, including interacting with experts in clinical experiments, drug metabolism and pharmacokinetics, and medicinal chemistry.  

You will work within a team of professional and academic research staff and students, and be expected to work collaboratively on other projects as needed, related to novel pharmacotherapies, social behaviour, oxytocin neurobiology, or substance use disorders. There will be opportunities to mentor junior researchers, depending on the experience and career goals of the applicant. You will also be encouraged to identify a grant application strategy to work towards, leveraging your research history and the successes you will have in this program.

The School of Psychology at the University of Sydney is currently ranked 27th in the world for psychology and is the first School of Psychology in Australia. We are proud of our history and reputation and believe in pursuing continuous innovation and excellence in our research and teaching.

Your key responsibilities will be to:

• conduct and lead collaborative research with Dr Everett and Professor Bowen and their teams, including the generation of new ideas and research designs, and the execution of these experiments

• conduct fibre photometry experiments during social behaviour tests in rats, and the associated methods required for this, including but not limited to: stereotaxic surgery, animal welfare, drug preparation and intraperitoneal injection, perfusion, histology, data analysis including programming (Python), data reporting

• provide research support to others in the team as needed, including training junior staff and students in stereotaxic surgeries and histology

• management of animal ethics protocols, adhere to protocols, monitor and report as outlined in the approved protocols

• contribute to the existing culture of collaboration and ‘paying it forward'.

About you

The University values courage and creativity; openness and engagement; inclusion and diversity; and respect and integrity. As such, we see the importance of recruiting talent aligned to these values and are looking a Postdoctoral Research Associate / Research Fellow in Behavioural Neuroscience and Psychopharmacologywho has:

• a PhD (or near completion) in Behavioural Neuroscience with rats and/or mice

• a demonstrated interest or track-record in the neurobiology of social behaviour, the transdiagnostic relevance of social dysfunction, and the development of novel pharmacotherapies

• a desire to work collaboratively within a research focused team

• extensive experience with stereotaxic intracranial surgeries for brain microinjections (AAV and/or drug) and cannula placements (fibre optic and/or drug infusion cannula)

• experience conducting and analysing in vivo neural recordings during behavioural and/or pharmacological tests, preferably with fibre photometry, but may include electrophysiology or miniscope imaging. This includes creation and troubleshooting of data analysis pipelines using programming languages like Python, R, or MatLab.

• experience conducting microinjections via implanted cannula for neuropharmacology experiments (e.g. agonists, antagonists, or other molecules to brain regions or ventricles)

• experience conducting rat behavioural experiments, preferably social behaviour and/or pavlovian/operant conditioning experiments

• experience handling and using adeno-associated viruses (AAVs)

• experience conducting perfusions, immunohistochemistry, and fluorescent microscopy for analysis of protein location and express in the rat brain (including location of AAV and cannula placements).

• An articulated vision for how this research area could benefit their career trajectory and growth, including identifying grant opportunities or development of new research areas.

The applicant should nominate whether they are applying at Level A or Level B, based on their experience, leadership, and skillset which they will bring to the team.

To keep our community safe, please be aware of our COVID safety precautions which form our conditions of entry for all staff, students and visitors coming to campus.

Sponsorship / work rights forAustralia

Please note: Visa sponsorship is not available for this position. For a continuing position, you must be an Australian or New Zealand citizen or an Australian Permanent Resident.

Australian Temporary Residents currently employed at the University of Sydney may be considered for a fixed term contract for the length of their visa, depending on the requirements of the hiring area and the reasons for the position.

Pre-employment checks

Your employment is conditional upon the completion of all role required pre-employment or background checks in terms satisfactory to the University. Similarly, your ongoing employment is conditional upon the satisfactory maintenance of all relevant clearances and background check requirements. If you do not meet these conditions, the University may take any necessary step, including the termination of your employment.

EEO statement 

At the University of Sydney, our shared values include diversity and inclusion and we strive to be a place where everyone can thrive. We are committed to creating a University community which reflects the wider community that we serve. We deliver on this commitment through our people and culture programs, as well as key strategies to increase participation and support the careers of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People, women, people living with a disability, people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds, and those who identify as LGBTIQ. We welcome applications from candidates from all backgrounds. 

How to apply

Applications (including a cover letter, CV, and any additional supporting documentation) can be submitted via the Apply button at the top of the page. 

For employees of the University or contingent workers, please login into your Workday account and navigate to the Career icon on your Dashboard.  Click on USYD Find Jobs and apply.

For a confidential discussion about the role, or if you require reasonable adjustment or any documents in alternate formats, please contact Nicholas Everett on ***************@sydney.edu.au, or Simon Drew, Recruitment Operations, Human Resources on ***************@sydney.edu.au

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The University reserves the right not to proceed with any appointment.

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