Research Officer - Behavioural Neuroscientist

The Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health•Parkville, MD

10d•$98,850 - $102,353•Onsite

About The Position

The Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health is seeking a highly motivated Research Officer – Behavioural Neuroscientist to join the Synapse Biology and Cognition Laboratory within the Mental Health Research Priority Area. This is an exciting opportunity to independently lead complex in vivo behavioural neuroscience experiments, integrating rodent behaviour with cutting-edge neural imaging techniques to advance our understanding of cognition and mental health disorders. The position will take a leading role in the design and execution of longitudinal in vivo experiments combining rodent behavioural paradigms with miniscope calcium imaging and/or fibre photometry. You will manage experiments end-to-end — from stereotaxic surgery and behavioural testing through to neural data acquisition, validation, and analysis — while contributing to publications, grant applications, and the supervision of junior researchers.

Requirements

PhD in neuroscience, physiology, biomedical science, or a related field
Strong track record of peer-reviewed research publications as lead contributor
Strong expertise in rodent behavioural neuroscience and in vivo neural recording
Proven experience in small animal stereotaxic surgery and cranial implants
Solid understanding of neural circuits underlying cognition and behaviour
Experience with histology, immunostaining, and fluorescence microscopy

Nice To Haves

Hands-on experience with miniscope calcium imaging and/or fibre photometry
Programming and data analysis skills (e.g. MATLAB, Python)

Responsibilities

Lead and execute in vivo experiments integrating neural recording with behavioural paradigms
Independently perform stereotaxic surgeries, including viral delivery and GRIN lens or fibre implantation
Design and implement complex behavioural assays, including touchscreen-based cognitive testing
Coordinate simultaneous neural and behavioural data acquisition with high reproducibility and quality
Operate, maintain, and optimise miniscope and fibre photometry systems
Conduct histology and validation (immunohistochemistry, fluorescence microscopy, image analysis)
Contribute to manuscript preparation, grants, and research reporting
Supervise and mentor students and research assistants
Collaborate with clinical and translational partners (e.g. Psychiatry, University of Melbourne)
Ensure compliance with animal ethics, data governance, and institutional guidelines