Senior Research Technician

The Tufts University Department of Neuroscience is home to research programs unified by the mission to uncover the neurobiological mechanisms that support excitation-inhibition balance and the orchestration of neural states and complex behaviors. The Dr. Emily Newman lab uses cutting-edge closed-loop strategies to examine the systems that either uphold or derail adaptive forms of social interaction.

The candidate will be expected to conduct a variety of routine and specialized behavioral and systems neuroscience approaches including mouse handling and colony maintenance, tissue collection and sectioning, and floating slice immunohistochemistry and associated protein quantification. The candidate will also aid in maintaining laboratory organization and documentation to ensure compliance with laboratory safety requirements. The candidate will receive specialized training in mouse social behavioral assessments, machine learning approaches for analyzing behavioral endpoints, stereotaxic surgery, optogenetics, chemogenetics, and in vivo single-cell calcium imaging.

• Conducts behavioral and wet lab experiments following appropriate protocols and procedures to achieve results
  
• Quantifies behavioral, immunolabelling, and single-cell imaging data using established pipelines
  
• Records results and maintains accurate records of experiments
• Performs limited data interpretation and assists with statistical analysis and summaries
• Maintains laboratory equipment and orders/keeps inventory of supplies
  
• Monitors animal colonies and performs husbandry, collects samples and maintains census records

Basic Requirements:

• Knowledge and skills as typically acquired through Bachelor's degree with a major in Psychology, Biopsychology, Neuroscience, Biology, Integrative Biology, or related field and at least three years of related laboratory experience.
• Experience with small rodent handling and behavioral assessments.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Advanced knowledge and experience with laboratory techniques and procedures
• Knowledge of basic statistics
• Organizational skills
• Able to communicate with others effectively