Laboratory Research Officer - Znamenskiy Lab

Laboratory Research Officer

Reports to: Petr Znamenskiy, Group Leader

This is a full-time, fixed term (11 months) position on Crick terms and conditions of employment.

The Role

This Laboratory Research Officer role will support a project in the Znamenskiy lab investigating how neurons in the visual cortex represent the three-dimensional location of visual cues. Distinguishing nearby and far visual cues is an essential computation that animals must carry out to use vision when navigating in a three-dimensional world. The role will support and carry out experiments investigating how depth of visual cues is represented in the mouse visual system.  

The Research Group

The Znamenskiy lab studies the relationships between gene expression, connectivity, and function of cortical neurons. Using primary visual cortex as a model, the lab aims to understand how the activity of specialized classes of cortical neurons enables animals to see, how it emerges from the structure of their connections, and how these connections are established during development. To answer these questions, we combine the approaches of molecular and systems neuroscience and develop new tools to study the relationships between gene expression and connectivity of neurons at scale.

To use vision to guide behaviour, the visual system transforms the visual inputs arriving from the retinae into different coordinate frames. These transformations maintain a persistent representation of the visual scene during shifts in the direction of gaze and movement of the observer. One of the goals of the lab is to identify how these coordinate transformations are carried out by neurons in the visual cortical hierarchy.

Among all the senses, vision is exceptionally attuned to provide detailed information about the three-dimensional structure of the environment. However, the visual signals available to the brain are limited to the two-dimensional images formed on the retinae and the visual system must infer the missing depth information. The ethological importance of these computations is illustrated by the fact that capacity for depth perception appears to be innate in many vertebrates and not dependent on visual experience. This suggests that evolution has imbued the visual system with hard-wired circuits for depth perception.

Aiming to understand the circuit basis of these computations, we are studying how neurons in the visual cortex encode the three-dimensional location of visual cues in virtual and augmented reality environments using two-photon calcium imaging and high-density electrophysiology.

Key responsibilities

Responsibilities include but are not limited to:

• Building chronic recording implants for high-density electrophysiology
• Carrying out behavioural and neurophysiological experiments
• Analysing behavioural and neuronal recording data
• Supporting lab members with other ongoing projects

Experience and Competencies

The post holder should embody and demonstrate our core Crick values:

Bold; Open; Collegial

Essential

• BSc in biology, neuroscience, or a related field
• Good organisational skills
• Ability to work collaboratively
• Ability to communicate and present experimental results
• Experience handling rodents

Desirable

• Home Office PIL training or equivalent
• Experience with chronic electrophysiology or calcium imaging

About Us

At the Crick, we conduct research at the forefront of biomedical research. We combine rigour with an open and collaborative culture, and are outward-looking, reflecting our status as a partnership of six organisations aiming to pool knowledge, ideas and resources.

We have a wide research portfolio with no divisions or departments, bringing biomedical researchers together with clinicians, physical scientists and applied scientists from our pharmaceutical partners.

We aim to attract the most talented researchers and support them to tackle innovative research questions. Our science technology platforms provide our researchers with access to state-of-the-art technology and expertise.

We provide an excellent learning environment with dedicated education programmes in public engagement with science, education and personal development, and a postdoc training programme that prepares scientists for leadership roles in science.

• If you are interested in applying for this role, please apply via our website.
• All offers of employment are subject to successful security screening and continuous eligibility to work in the United Kingdom.