Researcher

Position Summary

The University of Alabama at Birmingham, Neurobiology, is in search of a Researcher to join their team.

General Responsibilities

As a Researcher, you will play a key role in driving scientific discovery by independently leading and executing research projects. This professional-level position demands a high degree of expertise and judgement in designing studies, analyzing data, and may involve assistants in publishing findings. You will collaborate with cross-functional teams, manage project timelines, and contribute to grant writing and securing funding for future research. Depending on the research focus, this position may involve research collaborator contact, research animal contact, and/or specimens.

Key Duties & Responsibilities

• In Vivo Animal Work Project Assistance (approx. 30%) Direct Animal Handling: Work directly and daily with laboratory mice, including handling and monitoring animal health and welfare.

• Colony Management: Oversee the mouse breeding colony, coordinate weaning, interface with outsourced genotyping services, and maintain genotyping and health records.

• Surgical Behavioral Support: Learn, perform, or assist with stereotaxic surgeries (e.g., viral injections, intracranial implantations for two-photon imaging) and assist with mouse operant drug-seeking behavioral tasks.

• Lead Researcher Collaboration: Actively step in to assist with postdocs' and graduate students' ongoing projects as necessary, helping with data collection whenever available.

• Lab Management Operations (approx. 30%) Regulatory Compliance: Ensure strict adherence to institutional animal care (IACUC), biosafety (IBC), and environmental health and safety (EHS) protocols.

• Procurement Inventory: Oversee purchasing of equipment, reagents, and surgical supplies.

• Lab Organization: Coordinate regular maintenance of lab equipment (e.g., stereotaxic setups, behavioral rigs) and help maintain general lab cleanliness and organization.

• Personnel Coordination: Serve as the primary point of contact for lab onboarding, safety training, and scheduling as necessary

• Two-Photon Pipeline Data Analysis (approx. 35%) Data Pipeline Processing: Develop, optimize, and maintain automated Python workflows to pre-process, segment (ROI extraction), motion-correct, and clean high-dimensional calcium imaging datasets.

• Neural-Behavioral Alignment: Synchronize time-locked, millisecond-resolution population neural time-series data with precise behavioral tracking from operant drug-seeking sessions.

• Computational Encoding Analyses: Implement statistical and machine learning frameworks to decode predictive neural activity patterns that precede drug-seeking behaviors and map post-behavior feedback signals.

• Hormonal and Sex-Difference Curation: Organize and analyze datasets to evaluate the modulating effects of changing hormonal baselines and directly profile variance across biological sex cohorts.

• Code Management Infrastructure: Maintain clear, well-documented code repositories using Git/GitHub to preserve data reproducibility and manage the lab's local data storage server or cloud compute clusters.

• Perform other duties as assigned.

Salary Range: $50,050- $55,000

Qualifications

Master's degree in a related field OR Bachelor's degree in related field and two (2) years of related experience OR Associate's degree in related field and four (4) years of related experience required or High School diploma or GED and six (6) years of related experience required. Work experience may NOT substitute for education requirement.

Preferences

• Bachelor's or Master's degree in Neuroscience, Biomedical Engineering, Data Science, Computer Science, or a closely related quantitative scientific discipline.

• Strong foundations in computational neuroscience, neural data science, or laboratory administration are highly encouraged to apply.

• In Vivo Experimental Experience: Prior hands-on experience handling rodents, running behavioral assays, or managing a mouse breeding colony.

• Specialized Neuro Toolkits: Direct familiarity with standard calcium imaging pipelines such as Suite2p, CaImAn, or behavior tracking packages like DeepLabCut/SLEAP.

• Endocrinology Core Concepts: Basic understanding of rodent estrous cycle phases, neuroendocrine signaling, or managing multi-factorial variables (sex and hormone tone).

• Technical Stack: Proficiency writing native Python, with strong hands-on experience using core data science libraries including NumPy, SciPy, Pandas, and Matplotlib or Seaborn.

• Signal Processing: Solid understanding of time-series analysis, handling noisy or high-dimensional biological signals, and extracting event-related data.

• Animal Research Comfort: A strong willingness and comfort level working directly with laboratory mice on a daily basis.

• Team-First Mentality: A collaborative, adaptable mindset with an eagerness to step away from the computer to support colleague projects when needed.

UAB is an Equal Employment/Equal Educational Opportunity Institution dedicated to providing equal opportunities and equal access to all individuals regardless of race, color, religion, ethnic or national origin, sex (including pregnancy), genetic information, age, disability, and veteran's status. As required by Title IX, UAB prohibits sex discrimination in any education program or activity that it operates. Individuals may report concerns or questions to UAB's Assistant Vice President and Senior Title IX Coordinator. The Title IX notice of nondiscrimination is located at uab.edu/titleix.