Postdoctoral Fellow

Classification: Academic Level A
Salary package: $80,914 – $101,560 per annum plus 17% superannuation
Term: 2 x Full time, Fixed term (for up to 1 year)

• Fantastic entry level opportunity to grow your academic career.
• An outstanding research environment with access to expert colleagues and the latest techniques in cellular and systems neuroscience
• Excellent remuneration and benefits packages including 17% superannuation contributions and generous leave entitlements.
• On campus childcare facilities
• Support network and mentoring program for early career academics

The Environment
ANU is the top-ranked university in Australia and among the top 30 in the world (QS World Rankings 2023).  The John Curtin School of Medical Research (JCSMR), located on the ANU campus, is Australia’s national medical research institute.  The Eccles Institute of Neuroscience, based at JCSMR, honours the name of Sir John Eccles, whose Nobel Prize-winning work at JCSMR elucidated the physiology of synapses.  Eccles’ legacy lives on in the form of present-day excellence in cellular and systems neuroscience at ANU.  Research in the Eccles Institute uses the full range of modern techniques to address fundamental questions about synaptic transmission, synaptic integration, neuronal development, and the processing of sensory information.  Translational work encompasses a variety of disorders, including epilepsy, autism and eye diseases. There are ample opportunities for cross-campus collaborations with psychologists, computer scientists, physicists, chemists and philosophers, generating a rich and vibrant environment for advanced research in the brain sciences.

Position overview
The positions are in the laboratory of Professor John Bekkers, in the Division of Neuroscience and the Eccles Institute of Neuroscience, JCSMR.  Both positions are generously funded by grants from the Australian Research Council (ARC) and the National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia (NHMRC).  The successful appointees will work on fundamental questions about how the brain processes and remembers sensory information, using the primary olfactory (piriform) cortex as a model system.  Projects include the use of a miniature endoscope to image olfactory plasticity in behaving mice, and the application of ‘in vivo’ patch clamping and 2-photon microscopy to study dendritic electrognesis.  The Bekkers laboratory is well equipped with ‘in vivo’ and ‘in vitro’ electrophysiology and imaging rigs, viral injection setups, a cell culture facility, and free access to multiphoton and confocal microscopes as well as a behavioral suite.  JCSMR provides core facilities for services that include animal breeding, generation of transgenic mice, sequencing, protein synthesis, flow cytometry, electron microscopy and bioinformatics.

For further information about this position please contact John Bekkers on [email protected]  

The University actively encourages applications from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. For more information on employment opportunities, contact our Indigenous Employment Consultant via: [email protected]   

ANU values diversity and inclusion and is committed to providing equal employment opportunities to those of all backgrounds and identities. For more information about staff equity at ANU, visit https://services.anu.edu.au/human-resources/respect-inclusion

About You
Our ideal candidate will be a motivated individual with a passion for understanding how the brain works. You will thrive on performing challenging experiments, developing critical hypotheses, and testing your ideas with rigorous analysis.

To be successful in the role, it is essential to demonstrate that you have:

• A PhD in neuroscience, preferably in the area of cellular or systems neuroscience
• A strong track record of research achievement, evidenced by papers published in peer review journals.
• Demonstrated experience in the key concepts and techniques of cellular and/or systems neuroscience, ideally with skills in some or all of the following areas: electrophysiology, functional imaging, animal surgery, computer programming.
• Excellent written and oral communication skills.
• Ability to work effectively with people from diverse backgrounds.

If you have a desire to conduct world-leading neuroscience research, enjoy working in a collaborative team environment and are a creative thinker, then we would welcome an application from you.

Application information
In order to apply for this role please make sure that you upload the following documents:

• A statement addressing the selection criteria.
• A current curriculum vitae (CV) which includes the names and contact details of at least three referees (preferably including a current or previous supervisor). If your CV does not include referees, you can complete these online when prompted in the application form.
• Other documents, if required.

Applications which do not address the selection criteria may not be considered for the position.
Please note: The successful candidate will be required to undergo a background check during the recruitment process.  An offer of employment is conditional on satisfactory results.