Research Fellow (Biochemistry & Neurosciences) (Fixed Term) (COS653)

The University of Lincoln, UK, is looking to appoint a Postdoctoral Research Fellow to join the interdisciplinary Sensory Biology Lab, in the School of Life Sciences. The position forms part of a larger project entitled ‘The Insect cochlea: a non-invasive path towards enhanced sound detectors’ supported by an ERC Consolidator grant awarded to the Professor of Sensory Biology. This project aims to develop new technological improvements that constitute the grounds of new theoretical advances in the design of super-sensitive acoustic sensors, using the katydid (or bush-cricket) ear as primary model. 

A creative and motivated postdoctoral scientist, with experience in biochemistry or a related discipline, you will be expected to use calcium imaging techniques, laser Doppler Vibrometry (LDV), and provide insight into the function of all steps of the hearing process of the katydid tympanal organ (outer, middle, and inner ear components). 

This project has two main themes: 1) the development of a technique that allows us to map, non-invasively, the effect of mechanical waves on sensory cell activation using calcium imaging and LDV in intact hearing organs 2) the characterisation of the natural response of the ear sensory cells to multiple sound inputs and their role in directional hearing, using calcium imaging and LDV in intact hearing organs. This part of the project will involve one PhD student and requires training and close collaboration with colleagues in Cambridge.

The postholder will actively help to write and publish high quality peer-reviewed scientific papers. In addition to contributing to the development of research proposals and applications for external funding, the postholder will also contribute to the dissemination of results to the scientific community through presentations at international conferences and workshops, and to the general public through public lectures and interviews with the media where appropriate.

The selected candidate will also carry full responsibility for the practical implementation of electrophysiological and mechanical measurements, and for driving iterative exchanges with results from other group members. They will also be involved in the practical supervision of undergraduate and postgraduate students, as well as in the planning and execution of fieldwork. The postholder will preferably have lab management experience.

The sensory biology lab (http://bioacousticssensorybiology.weebly.com/) offers a dynamic research environment and facilities where the successful applicant will be a member of a multi-disciplinary group working closely together on a defined problem applying techniques from fields as diverse as acoustics, electro-physiology, hearing, material engineering, applied mathematics and biophysics. 

Informal enquiries can be addressed to Professor Fernando Montealegre-Z (fmontealegrez@lincoln.ac.uk).

Closing Date: 28 Jun 2019
Category: Research