[visionlist] Postdoctoral opportunity in retinal neurobiology at the University of Washington

[Dennis Dacey]

An NIH funded postdoctoral position in retinal neurobiology is available immediately at the University of Washington in the laboratory of Dennis Dacey. Projects in the lab are currently focused on the distinctive retinal cell types and circuits of the primate fovea and the role this circuitry plays in form, color and motion processing. Voltage clamp and pharmacological methods are being applied to characterize rod and cone signal pathways and the role that inhibitory circuits and excitatory glutamate receptor types play in the visual physiology of ganglion cells.  A new initiative includes the application of two-photon calcium imaging to explore how cone signals are integrated at the dendritic trees of single color-coding ganglion cells and how spatial and color signals are represented by the activity of ganglion cell populations. In a complimentary anatomical project serial “block-face” electron microscopic reconstruction methods – connectomics – are being used to characterize novel aspects of circuitry in the fovea of both human and non-human primate retina with the goal of building biologically realistic receptive field models. Collaborators include Qasim Zaidi, SUNY Optometry (human color vision and motion processing), Rachel Wong, Biological Structure, Univ Washington (connectomics) and Peter Detwiler, Physiology and Biophysics, Univ Washington (2-photon calcium imaging). The University of Washington, located in Seattle, is home to a large and diverse research community working broadly in vision science at the molecular, systems and behavioral levels and provides a rich environment for training in the neurobiology of vision. Candidates with a background in vision science and/or biophysics who would like to gain expertise in retinal electrophysiology and/or connectomics and work with the primate retina are encouraged to apply. Interested applicants should send CV and the names and contact information for supporting references to dmd at uw.edu <mailto:dmd at uw.edu>. Please include a cover letter outlining your current activities, research experience and training goals. Informal preliminary enquiries via email are also welcome.
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