PhD Student (m/f/div) - Neural Information Flow

The Max-Planck-Institute for Neurobiology of Behaviour caesar (MPINB) is a neuroethology institute located in Bonn that studies how the collective activity of the vast numbers of interconnected neurons in the brain gives rise to the plethora of animal behaviors.

Our research spans a large range of scales from the nano-scale imaging of brain circuitry, to large-scale functional imaging of brain circuitry during behavior, to the quantification of natural animal behaviors.

The Research Group Neural Information Flow is doing research on the general principles of signal compression, attention and context-dependency in neural systems.

To do this we concentrate on the foraging behavior of the roundworm C. elegans.

To support our research we are looking for a

PhD Student (m / f / div)

Neural Information Flow

to join us as soon as possible.

The Project

Our lab is broadly interested in understanding how two behaviors (feeding and locomotion) are coupled and the neural circuits involved in this coupling.

For a newly funded project, we are looking for a student interested in working on creating a 'virtual reality' setup for worms to investigate collective foraging behavior.

This project involves a combination of setup development and programming, behavioral assays and image analysis.

Your qualifications

• A masters degree in neuroscience, biophysics, physics, physical chemistry, engineering, computer science or related fields
• Good knowledge of at least one programming language for data analysis (Python preferred) and a strong interest in quantitative approaches for describing behavior and neural circuits
• Interest in the analysis of large data sets, as well as in using modern methods for data analysis, for example machine learning
• Interest in building and developing customized scientific instruments

What we offer :

• A cutting-egde research environment
• Pleasant working atmosphere and a multidisciplinary, international team
• Salary in line with the Max Planck regulations
• Employee benefits (additional to 30 days of holiday two more days off at christmas eve and new year's eve, subsidised job ticket), a family-friendly culture, and flexible working hours

MPINB is committed promoting equal opportunities and diversity. We welcome applications from all backgrounds, regardless of gender, ethnicity, disability or sexual orientation.

We are aiming to increase the percentage of women in areas where they are under-represented. We therefore explicitly encourage women to apply.

Handicapped persons with comparable qualifications receive preferential status.