Keshavarzi Lab
Research
The broad goal of our research is to understand how neurons and the brain circuits in which they are embedded use incoming sensory information to generate cognitive processes and guide behaviour.
Our primary focus is on the neural underpinnings of the sense of self-motion and orientation in space. Knowing which way we are heading, how fast we are moving, and our orientation relative to a given location requires the processing and integration of various sensory signals from the body and the surrounding environment. We aim to determine how these different types of information are organised and integrated within thalamocortical and intracortical circuits involved in spatial navigation and how they contribute to orientation computations and behaviour. We investigate these questions both in the healthy adult brain and also during ageing. In doing so, we hope to gain deeper mechanistic understanding of spatial cognition and why it tends to decline with age.
Our research employs cutting-edge approaches in cellular and systems neuroscience, using the mouse model. We examine behaviour in both freely moving and restrained animals while recording neuronal activity using electrophysiology and calcium imaging. Additionally, we manipulate neuronal activity in specific cell types and circuits with the use of genetic and viral tools to investigate their contribution to behaviour. We combine these approaches with anatomical tracing and in vitro intracellular recording to understand how the functional organisation of neural circuits shapes computations and behaviour.
To learn more about our research questions and approaches, please visit our lab website.
Join the lab
Are you interested in joining our lab as a PhD student, postdoc, or research assistant? We welcome your application! Please send your CV, along with a brief description of your research background, your research interests and future goals, your reasons for wanting to join our lab, and the contact details of two referees to Sepiedeh (sk2244@cam.ac.uk). We will announce job ads on our lab website. However, we also welcome informal applications on a rolling basis throughout the year.
Students
We welcome applications from highly motivated prospective PhD students who are interested in our work and have a strong knowledge of the field. The ideal candidate will have outstanding academic performance, relevant research experience, and excellent communication and analytical skills. We encourage you to get in touch well in advance, ideally 5-6 months before the course application deadline and at least a year before your intended start date.
We also welcome applications from students who wish to pursue a Master's degree that can eventually lead to a PhD in our lab. However, due to the nature of our research and as a newly established lab, we are currently unable to accept students for short-term projects.
Postdocs
We have funded postdoctoral positions available for exceptional candidates interested in contributing to our research on the neural mechanisms underlying the sense of self-motion and spatial orientation. We are seeking highly driven and skilled candidates who hold a PhD in neuroscience, or related disciplines, and have excellent communication and problem-solving skills. The successful candidate will have previous experience in circuits and systems neuroscience methods, such as electrophysiology, calcium imaging, animal behaviour, optogenetics, and analysis of large datasets. Strong programming skills in Python and Matlab, and prior experience in designing and controlling bespoke experimental setups for behavioural studies and neural recording, are highly desirable.
We would also support fellowship applications for independent postdoctoral funding (See an overview of funding opportunities here and on our lab website) and are open to discussing projects proposed by candidates that fit within the lab's research program. If you plan to apply for postdoctoral fellowships, we encourage you to familiarise yourself with the eligibility criteria and contact us a year in advance of your intended start date.
Research Assistants
We have an opening for an experienced research assistant who would be able to assist in building and maintaining experimental setups for behavioural studies and neural recordings, support various projects in the lab, and maintain and manage general lab equipment. Programming skills in Python and Matlab, prior experience in hardware and software development for designing experimental setups, and prior laboratory skills in surgery, animal behaviour, neurophysiology, and data analysis are highly desirable.
We also accept applications from undergraduate or Master's students who wish to develop their research skills during a research assistantship, with the ultimate goal of continuing their project into a PhD in the lab.