Job ID: 123121

Postdoctoral Studies in Experimental Systems Neuroscience – Stagkourakis Lab

Position: Post-doctoral Position

Deadline: 1 September 2025

Employment Start Date: 15 September 2025

Contract Length: starting contract: 1 year

City: Solna

Country: Sweden

Institution: Karolinska Institutet

Department: Neuroscience

Description:

Are you passionate about understanding how neural circuits generate behavior?

The Stagkourakis Lab at Karolinska Institutet (KI) and SciLifeLab in Stockholm is recruiting for a postdoctoral researcher in experimental systems neuroscience. We are based at the Department of Neuroscience at Karolinska Institutet and are part of SciLifeLab, Sweden’s national center for large-scale biosciences and data-driven life science. Our mission is to uncover the neural and neurohormonal mechanisms underlying instinctual and homeostatic behaviors, including aggression, fear, hunger, and thirst. We are looking for an experimental neuroscientist with strong technical skills, creative insight, and the motivation to lead complex in vivo and/or in vitro experiments using advanced tools.

 

About the Lab. Our research combines in vivo large-scale electrophysiology (Neuropixels), AAV-based circuit targeting, behavior, and imaging approaches such as miniscope and two-photon microscopy. We maintain a strong commitment to technical innovation and behavioral rigor.

What We Offer.

  • A creative, collaborative, and supportive research environment.
  • Access to state-of-the-art lab neurotechnologies and infrastructure at KI and SciLifeLab.
  • Opportunities to lead and shape independent experimental projects.
  • Mentorship in scientific development, grant writing, teaching, and supervision.
  • Active involvement in cross-disciplinary collaborations with computational, molecular, and behavioral neuroscientists.

 

Candidate Profile. We seek highly motivated individuals with a strong interest in neural circuits and behavior. The successful candidate should be:

  • Independent, yet collaborative.
  • Technically proficient in modern in vivo/in vitro
  • Eager to contribute creatively to ongoing research, as well as drive new directions.

 

Required qualifications:

  • A PhD (or equivalent) in neuroscience, biology, physics, engineering, or related field.
  • Demonstrated research productivity (e.g., publications, preprints, or thesis work).
  • Prior experience with in vivo or in vitro experimental neuroscience.

 

Essential skills (at least two of the following):

  • Experience with complex experimental setups.
  • Skilled in rodent behavior and experimental design.
  • In vivo and/or in vitro imaging or electrophysiology.
  • Proficient in data analysis.

 

Desirable (at least one of the following):

  • Two-photon or Inscopix miniscope imaging and associated analysis pipelines.
  • Patch-clamp or imaging in acute brain slices.
  • Behavioral tracking with DeepLabCut, MoSeq, or similar.
  • Circuit manipulation techniques (optogenetics or chemogenetics).
  • Familiarity with platforms like Arduino, Bonsai, or DataJoint.

 

Location. The lab is located at:

  • Biomedicum D8, Dept. of Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet, Solnavägen 9, Solna.
  • SciLifeLab Gamma 5, Tomtebodavägen 23A, Solna.
    Application Process.

    Applications must be submitted via Varbi and include, a CV, a cover letter describing your background and motivation, and two or more references.