The UCSF Department of Anesthesia and Perioperative Care is recruiting an outstanding early-career neuroscientist investigating the neural circuit mechanisms of general anesthesia and pain perception. The candidate should have a strong background in performing basic neuroscience research to probe how the brain encodes the perception of pain, and how general anesthetics and analgesics alter neural circuit function to provide pain relief. Further qualifications include research experience in novel drug discovery and screening, and a strong candidate will be able to integrate expertise in neural circuit analysis and behavioral testing in preclinical animal models to identify novel general anesthetics and analgesics with reduced liabilities. Exceptional technical strength in systems neuroscience and advanced data science tools is preferred, including in vivo neural circuit recording, computational image processing and analysis, and the development and deployment of machine learning-based tools for use in the automated behavioral phenotyping. Basic responsibilities include research on the mechanisms of clinically used and/or novel anesthetics, pain perception and related topics. It is expected that the candidate will collaborate in these areas with researchers in the Department of Anesthesia, the Pain and Addiction Research Center (PARC) and the Department of Anatomy.
Faculty in the Department of Anesthesia and Perioperative Care work as a part of a team that includes over 250 faculty members, 25 staff physicians, 68 CRNAs, 18 fellows, 84 residents, 21 academic researchers, and 178 staff members. The Department provides considerable support and structure for research and research training programs, highlighted by the innovative Pathway to Scientific Independence (PSI). Our mission to advance scientific discovery and innovation in anesthesia, perioperative medicine, pain management, and critical care medicine is driven by the strength of our faculty, which features some of the most internationally-respected names in anesthesia research. Major research programs in our department focus on anesthetic mechanisms, cognitive outcomes, hypoxia and ischemia, pain, vascular disease, cerebrovascular malformations and stroke, lung injury, sepsis, antibody engineering, data science and bioinformatics, and health equity. Our department has long been a national leader in driving this research to ultimately improve the quality of patient care. We are among the top departments for NIH research funding in anesthesia in the United States.
Our department philosophy is also aligned with UCSF campus leadership in the areas of recruiting, retaining, and celebrating individuals traditionally under-represented in the health sciences, LGBTQ+, and individuals with disabilities, to better reflect the diversity of the population we serve in the San Francisco Bay Area. We further recognize that successfully recruiting people to join our team is not the end of the story. It is also critical that we provide an environment in which all individuals in our workforce and trainee programs experience a professional, supportive, collaborative, and open environment and have the opportunity to thrive. We are dedicated to the ongoing pursuit of these goals.
Come join us in reshaping the future of anesthesia and perioperative care!
The successful candidate must meet the following qualifications by time of hire:
A PhD degree (or equivalent degree) in Cellular Biology or related field with 5 years post-doctoral research experience focused on cortical circuit mechanisms of anesthesia / analgesia, neurobiology of pain and non-evoked measures of pain and analgesia. Should have a proven record of extramural funding and scientific publication. Applicants’ materials must list current and/or pending qualifications upon submission.
Salary and academic rank will be commensurate with experience and achievements.
See Table 2 for the salary range for this position. A reasonable estimate for this position is $86,500 - $112,800.
