A MRC-funded Research Fellow position is available in the Koya laboratory at The School of Psychology at the University of Sussex. The lab investigates the neural mechanisms of cue-evoked appetitive behaviours in motivation and reward circuits.

The aim of this project is to investigate the role of neuronal ensembles in the medial prefrontal cortex in the suppression of cue-evoked food seeking following exposure to environmentally enriched (EE) housing conditions.

Specifically, you will examine how food-seeking is modulated by shifts in the recruitment, excitability, and encoding properties of cue-activated neuronal ensembles.

These investigations will be conducted using a combination of tools, such as in vivo fibre photometry and ex vivo electrophysiology (patch-clamp) techniques (see Brebner et al. 2020, J Neurosci; PMID: 31727794).

The successful applicant will have:

• A strong background in behavioural or systems neuroscience research including experience with programming languages, such as Python or Matlab.
• A desire to work independently and collegially in a collaborative environment.
• PhD/DPhil degree in neuroscience or a related discipline (e.g. experimental psychology).
• Experience in monitoring rodent brain activity in vivo or ex vivo electrophysiology in rodents.
• Experience in conducting behavioural experiments in appetitive learning.

Since this is a short-term position, a Home Office Personal License is required.

The laboratory is part of a vibrant multi-disciplinary ‘Sussex Neuroscience’ research community on campus, consisting of systems, behavioural, molecular, and computational neuroscientists. The University of Sussex campus is located just 10 minutes away from the famous seaside city of Brighton.

Please contact Eisuke Koya ([email protected]) for informal enquiries. Candidates are encouraged to send their CV’s (with the names of at least two references).

The University is committed to equality and valuing diversity, and applications are particularly welcomed from women and black and minority ethnic candidates, who are under-represented in academic posts in Science, Technology, Engineering, Medicine and Mathematics (STEMM) at Sussex.

The University of Sussex values the diversity of its staff and students and we welcome applicants from all backgrounds.

You can find out more about our values and our EDI Strategy, Inclusive Sussex, on our webpages.