Postdoctoral Research Associate

The USC Neural Modeling and Interface Lab (https://slab.usc.edu/) directed by Prof. Dong Song seek a highly motivated postdoctoral scholar for a leading role in developing and testing cortical interfaces and prostheses in behaving animals. The goal of Song lab is to develop brain-like devices that can mimic and restore cognitive functions. To pursue this goal, we use a combined experimental and computational strategy to (1) understand how nervous systems such as the hippocampus perform higher-order cognitive functions, (2) develop next-generation modeling and neural interface methodologies to investigate brain functions during naturalistic behaviors, and (3) build cortical prostheses that can restore cognitive functions lost in diseases or injuries.

The position is with the Department of Biomedical Engineering in the Viterbi School of Engineering at the University of Southern California (USC) in Los Angeles, CA. The Viterbi School is one of the top schools of engineering in the United States. USC is one of the world’s leading private research universities and the oldest private research university in California.

This is a 12 month, fixed-term position with the possibility of additional years conditional upon performance and funding availability. Postdoctoral scholars receive a comprehensive benefits packaging including medical, dental, vision, and life insurance, among many other benefits.

Candidates should have the following qualifications: (1) PhD from a top university with demonstrated research activity in neuroscience or neural engineering; (2) prior research experience in electrophysiological recording from behaving animals. Prior research experience in computational neuroscience is highly preferred; (3) excellent communication skills that can be demonstrated through their research publications and presentations. Specific responsibilities include:

• Design and perform electrophysiological and behavioral experiments in rodents
• Design and test multi-electrode arrays for behaving animal recording and stimulation
• Mentor and train junior team members
• Create technical reports, presentations, and documentation associated with the research and meetings. Publish research articles in peer-reviewed conferences and journals and present at conferences

The annual base salary range for this position is $65,500 - $72,200. When extending an offer of employment, the University of Southern California considers factors such as (but not limited to) the scope of responsibilities of the position, the candidate’s work experience, education/training, key skills, internal peer equity, federal, state, and local laws, contractual stipulations, grant funding, as well as external market and organizational considerations.

Review of applications will be immediately and continue until the position is filled. Interested candidates should submit a CV and the names and contact information of three professional references as a single pdf file attachment to:

Dong Song, Ph.D.
Director, USC Neural Modeling and Interface Lab
Research Associate Professor
Department of Biomedical Engineering
Neuroscience Graduate Program
University of Southern California
Los Angeles, CA 90089-1451
E-mail: dsong@usc.edu