Postdoctoral Fellow in Neuroscience

The Department of Human Evolutionary Biology at Harvard University invites applications for a Postdoctoral Fellow in the Evolutionary Neuroscience Laboratory of Dr. Erin Hecht. Projects can be tailored to suit the training goals and interests of applicants, and may include comparative human/nonhuman primate neuroimaging, canine neuroimaging with dogs and foxes, histological analyses of fixed brain tissue, and/or behavior assessments. Available neuroimaging datasets include both in vivo and high-field ex vivo structural MRI and diffusion MRI data from humans and great ape species. This research is non-invasive.

This is a one-year position, expected to begin in summer or fall 2023, with possibility of renewal dependent upon adequate funding and satisfactory performance. The research will take place in the Evolutionary Neuroscience Laboratory directed by Dr. Hecht and located in the Peabody Museum on Harvard University’s Cambridge, Massachusetts campus.

Broadly, the Evolutionary Neuroscience Laboratory studies how brains change in response to selection pressure on behavior, and how brains acquire heritable adaptations for complex, learned behaviors. Comparisons between modern humans and our living primate relatives provide a way to address this question in the context of our own evolutionary history. The lab uses a variety of experimental and computational tools, such as structural and functional neuroimaging, histology and digital microscopy, and behavior analysis. The lab’s websites are: http://hechtlab.org/ and http://caninebrains.org

The Evolutionary Neuroscience Lab is supported by National Science Foundation funding, including multi-site projects involving collaboration between laboratories at Harvard University, The George Washington University, Emory University, and the MD Anderson Cancer Center. There will be opportunities for cross-training and interaction with an interdisciplinary research team across the project’s laboratories representing neuroscientists, archaeologists, primatologists, geneticists, and animal behavior scientists.

Candidates should submit a letter of interest, CV, and the names of three references. Evaluation will begin at the time the advertisement is placed and will continue until the position is filled.

A doctoral degree is required for this position. Desired qualifications include research in neuroscience, psychology, neuroimaging, histology, and/or animal behavior.

Please submit a letter of interest, an updated CV, and the names of three references. Evaluation will begin at the time the advertisement is placed and will continue until the position is filled.

Professor Erin Hecht

We are an equal opportunity employer and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability status, protected veteran status, gender identity, sexual orientation, pregnancy and pregnancy-related conditions or any other characteristic protected by law.