The Paris-Saclay Neuroscience Institute is recruiting a postdoctoral fellow to use in vivo imaging and optogenetic stimulation of the brain of Drosophila melanogaster.

Project overview:

We study the fundamental principles underlying associative learning by exploring the brain of the
Drosophila larva, whose connectome has recently been entirely mapped from an EM volume (published in Winding et al. Science 2023). This ’minimalist’ brain has little to no neuronal redundancy, enabling the functional study of individual neurons. Moreover, the learning circuit has a high level of recurrence (feedback loops), an interesting feature that we are trying to probe functionally further. Using a combination of neurogenetic tools, advanced behavioral analyses, in vivo imaging and connectome mapping, the lab aims at understanding how this circuit influences memory formation and decision-making.

Ideal profile

- PhD in neuroscience or related field
- Motivated to challenge the theoretical framework of reinforcement learning
- Thrilled by multi-scale approaches (neuron -> circuit -> behavior)
- Some skills in statistics and coding