Applications are invited for the post of Research Associate-I

Applications are invited for the post of Research Associate-I in a Science & Engineering Research Board (SERB)- Department of Science & Technology (DST)-sponsored project, entitled “Do cognitive demands affect information processing along the transverse and the longitudinal axes of area CA1 of the hippocampus?", under the supervision of Dr Sachin Deshmukh, Department of Life Sciences, School of Natural Sciences, Shiv Nadar Institution of Eminence Deemed to be University, Gautam Buddha Nagar. 

The work involves hardware design and manufacture, writing software (for experiment control and quantitative analysis) and performing actual implantation surgeries, neural recordings and behavioral experiments followed by histology to localize electrodes. People working in the lab get trained in these techniques. 

Essential qualifications:

PhD in neuroscience/life sciences/physics/engineering/other quantitative sciences. Candidates who have submitted their PhD thesis are eligible to apply.

Or

3 years research/design/development experience after ME/MTech with at least one research paper in a Science Citation Index (SCI) journal.

Desired qualifications:

Good quantitative skills. Ability to program (python/ C/ C++/ matlab or any other language). Experience with neurophysiology or animal behaviour.

Tenure:

The duration of the contract shall be for one year, to be extended up to 3 years on satisfactory assessment of progress.

Compensation:

The position offers a salary of Rs 47,000 per month + HRA of Rs 3,760 (subject to further changes as per DST norms) for the duration of the contract. 

How to apply:

Please email the following documents to Dr Sachin Deshmukh, Associate Professor, Department of Life Sciences at [email protected]

• Resume 

• Contact information for 2 references

• Any other relevant information, including summaries of projects, dissertations etc.

If you have any specific queries in relation to this position, please contact Dr Sachin Deshmukh, Associate Professor, Department of Life Sciences at [email protected]

Application Deadline: Open

Project summary:

The hippocampus, located in the Medial Temporal Lobe (MTL) of the brain, is involved in a variety of critical functions such as memory, spatial navigation, and emotion. Neuronal connections to the hippocampus from the entorhinal cortex and the intrinsic hippocampal connections are anatomically segregated. This segregation exists along both the longitudinal (septotemporal) axis and the transverse (proximodistal) axis. Such anatomical connectivity patterns are thought to cause functional gradients in the hippocampus. Along the longitudinal axis, the proposed spatial gradient goes from septal hippocampus having higher spatial resolution to temporal hippocampus showing lower spatial resolution. Along the transverse axis, proximal area CA1 of the hippocampus is considered to be involved in spatial information processing while distal area CA1 of the hippocampus is believed to process non-spatial information. While there are multiple studies supporting these functional gradients, work from our lab suggests that these functional gradients do not hold true under all conditions. This study proposes to systematically vary the cognitive demands to test whether different subregions of the hippocampus change encoding strategies with the cognitive demands. The objective of this study is to answer the following questions: - Does increasing spatial scale affect spatial differences seen along the transverse (proximodistal) axis of are CA1 of the hippocampus? - Does increasing spatial scale affect spatial differences seen along the longitudinal (septotemporal) axis of CA1? – Does increasing spatial scale affect ripple propagation along the proximodistal and septotemporal axes of CA1?

Experiments to be carried out: 

We will perform simultaneous neuronal recordings from neurons located along the septotemporal extent as well as the proximodistal extent of area CA1 of the hippocampus while the rats forage in environments with increasing spatial encoding demands. We will record neural activity of the rats foraging in a variety of environments with spatial scales ranging over 2 orders of magnitude using a state-of-the-art wireless electrophysiology system. We will track the neuronal activity in post-behaviour resting sessions to study changes in hippocampal network following changing cognitive demands.

For further details, see the following:

https://www.jneurosci.org/content/jneuro/41/47/9767.full.pdf

https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2022.03.16.484582v2.full.pdf

https://journals.physiology.org/doi/pdf/10.1152/jn.00215.2018

https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s41745-017-0053-1.pdf

https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=6eKwOWcAAAAJ&hl=en

About SNIoE:

Shiv Nadar Institution of Eminence (deemed to be University), National Capital Region (NCR)

Shiv Nadar University (www.snu.edu.in), chosen as one of the ten private Institutions of Eminence (IoE) by the Government of India, is a comprehensive, multidisciplinary, research-focused and student-centric institution that is bringing a paradigm shift in higher education in India through its innovative curriculum, cross-disciplinary thinking across a wide range of disciplines, and disciplinary and interdisciplinary research and innovation focus. The University is building an eco-system of knowledge to promote recognition of the inter-connectedness of ideas, systems and environments in the world inside the campus and those outside it. The core of the University consists of a select, world-class faculty with doctoral and postdoctoral experiences from ranked universities all over the world. The University currently has 5 Schools, 24 Departments and 7 Research Centers engaged in teaching, practice and research in disciplines as diverse as Engineering, Natural Sciences, Management & Entrepreneurship, and Humanities & Social Sciences, along with Art & Performing Arts, Design, Communication, and also Extended Education & Professional Development. The Schools offer Bachelor’s, Master’s and Doctoral degrees. The University is among a select group of green-field institutions in the country which were awarded the prestigious Atal Incubation Center grant by the NITI Aayog, Government of India, in the very first round in 2017.