Associate Specialist – Hasenstaub Laboratory Full-time NEW

Associate Specialist – Hasenstaub Laboratory

The Hasenstaub Laboratory in the Department of Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery at the University of California, San Francisco seeks an Associate Specialist to support research on the anatomical and physiological organization of neural circuits involved in auditory processing.

Under the direction of the principal investigator and senior laboratory members, the Associate Specialist will perform experiments examining local and long-range neural circuits in the mouse auditory system. Responsibilities will include stereotaxic surgery and viral-vector injections; neuroanatomical tracing using adeno-associated viral vectors and monosynaptic rabies-virus approaches; tissue preparation, histology, and immunostaining; fluorescence microscopy; identification and quantification of labeled neuronal populations; and registration of histological sections to reference mouse brain atlases.

The Associate Specialist will perform quantitative analysis of anatomical tracing datasets using established laboratory protocols and analysis methods, including classification of labeled neurons by brain region and cortical layer, comparison of inputs to superficial and deep auditory cortex, organization and quality control of experimental datasets, statistical analysis, and preparation of figures for presentations and scientific publications.

The position will also involve electrophysiological experiments in mouse auditory circuits, including data acquisition and routine processing of electrophysiological recordings. The Associate Specialist will work under the guidance of the principal investigator and senior laboratory members to carry out assigned experiments, analyze and organize research data, maintain accurate experimental records, and contribute to the preparation of figures and research materials.

Required Qualifications:

• Specialist appointed at the Associate Rank must possess a Master's degree (or equivalent degree) or five to ten years of experience in the relevant specialization.
• Research experience in neuroscience, neurobiology, physiology, or a closely related field.
• Experience conducting experiments in laboratory animals.
• Experience with quantitative analysis of neuroscience or other biological data.
• Experience with scientific imaging and image analysis.
• Ability to follow established experimental protocols and carry out assigned research activities under the direction of the principal investigator and senior laboratory members.
• Strong organizational skills and ability to maintain accurate experimental and analytical records.
• Effective written and verbal communication skills.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience with mouse auditory-system or systems-neuroscience research.
• Experience with stereotaxic surgery and intracranial viral-vector injections.
• Experience with AAV-based retrograde tracing and/or monosynaptic rabies-virus tracing.
• Experience with histology, immunohistochemistry, and fluorescence microscopy.
• Experience identifying and quantifying labeled neurons across cortical and subcortical brain regions.
• Experience registering histological sections to a reference mouse brain atlas.
• Experience with Fiji/ImageJ, MATLAB, Python, or related scientific-analysis software.
• Experience with electrophysiological recording techniques.
• Experience preparing quantitative analyses, figures, and manuscripts for scientific publication.

See Table 24B for the salary range for this position. A reasonable estimate for this position is $78,300 – $91,100.