Profile : Applicants should be highly motivated, have a Ph.D. in Neuroscience (or in any domain of functional biology) in Drosophila with a track record of publications in leading journals. High experimental skills are crucial. An experience in student supervision and coordination will be welcome. Preference will be given to applicants possessing solid experience of behavior and genetic tools in drosophila. Knowledge of basic molecular biology techniques is also desired, but not mandatory.
Project : Drosophila melanogaster can socially learn sexual preferences from the observation of copulating conspecifics, a social observational learning called mate-copying. We found recently that that species has all the cognitive abilities to transmit mating preferences culturally across generations (Danchin et al., Science, 2018). We are now using the existing neurogenetic tools to manipulate the molecular expression in specific cells and manipulate activity of specific brain neurons and circuits in Drosophila in order to reveal the neurobiology of social learning and memory in Drosophila. This research is part of a larger ambition project including evolutionary aspect of mate-copying.
Work context : This 2 year post-doctoral research position is available between two laboratories, the Research Center on Animal Cognition (http://crca.cbi-toulouse.fr/
Applications should be received before June 15, 2019 and should include 1) a cover letter briefly describing experience, motivation and skills adapted for the position, as well as research interests; 2) complete CV and publication list; and separately, 3) two letters from professional references, providing their recommendation (these letters should not be included into the application and should be sent to us separately by the referees). Applications should be sent to both Dr. Guillaume Isabel (guillaume.isabel@univ-tlse3.