Assistant​/Associate Project Scientist - Behavioral Neurophysiology - Helen Wills Neuroscience

Position overview

Position title: Assistant Project Scientist, Associate Project Scientist

Salary range: The UC academic salary scales set the minimum pay determined by rank and step  the following table(s) for the current salary scale(s) for this position. A reasonable full‑time estimate for this position is $76,700 - $97,700.

Percent time: 100%

Anticipated start: Winter 2026

Position duration: One year with the possibility of extension based on performance and availability of funding.

Open date: December 15, 2025

Most recent review date: Monday, Dec 29, 2025 at 11:59pm (Pacific Time)

Applications received after this date will be reviewed by the search committee if the position has not yet been filled.

Final date: Thursday, Jan 15, 2026 at 11:59pm (Pacific Time)

Applications will continue to be accepted until this date, but those received after the review date will only be considered if the position has not yet been filled.

The Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute at the University of California, Berkeley seeks applications for an Assistant/Associate Project Scientist in the Foster Lab, in the area of the behavioral neurophysiology of the hippocampal formation. The applicant will work on an ongoing project, following up the specific hypothesis that was first published earlier this year in the journal Science, that hippocampal replay is governed by continuous attractor dynamics.

We are interested in determining how hippocampal replays adapt to successive goals, and whether and how the continuous attractor framework can explain these adaptations.

The position involves recording and analyzing behavioral neurophysiology data, and creating, developing, and testing new hypotheses to explain the data. The specific duties may include and are not limited to the following:

• Experimental design
• Behavioral training of animal subjects
• Design and build of the electrophysiological implants
• Surgery
• Recording and testing of subjects
• Histology
• Data curation
• Analysis of data
• Creating and testing of new hypotheses
• Presentation of data at scientific meetings
• Writing of data for publication and completing the review process

The position may also involve lab duties, including helping with protocols, inspections, safety and other aspects of lab management.

Basic qualifications (required at time of application): PhD (or equivalent international degree)

Additional qualifications (required at time of start): At least three years post‑PhD research experience in a relevant area.

Preferred qualifications:

• PhD in Neurobiology
• Strong publication record in the top peer‑reviewed journals in the fields of awake hippocampal replay and in the application of computational models of dynamical at tractors to hippocampal replay data
• Experience in hippocampal replay experimental design, animal training, surgery, conduct of hippocampal replay experiments, histology and analysis of data from hippocampal replay experiments in rats
• Experience in testing awake hippocampal replay phenomena in linear tracks, open fields and in open field spatial memory tasks incorporating barriers
• Experience in the use of optogenetics and DREADD technologies, particularly as related to the hippocampus and/or entorhinal cortex
• Experience recording and manipulating neural activity in the entorhinal cortex of rats

Document requirements:

• Curriculum Vitae – your most recently updated C.V.
• Cover Letter

Reference requirements: 3‑5 required (contact information only)

davidfoster

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