The Neuromuscular Mechanics lab at University of California, Irvine is seeking two Postdoctoral Scientists to engage in research in the areas of muscle physiology, neuromuscular function, locomotor biomechanics and/or sensorimotor control of movement. The Neuromuscular Mechanics lab is led by Professor Monica Daley (https://neuromechanics.bio.uci.edu) and Professor Manny Azizi (https://azizi.bio.uci.edu), with shared lab facilities and resources for muscle physiology, comparative neuromuscular biomechanics of animal locomotion, and human biomechanics and motor control. Each postdoctoral scientists will have a primary affiliation with either Daley or Azizi and will interact extensively with members of both labs. Our research uses a range of experimental, analytical, and computational approaches to understand fundamental mechanisms of movement, integrating understanding of movement across organizational scales from tissue to whole-body motion.
The postdoctoral scholar will benefit from affiliation with the UCI Center for Integrative Movement Sciences (https://cims.uci.edu/), Directed by Professor Daley, and will have opportunities to engage with an outstanding network of collaborating scientists across campus and around the world, supported by the NSF-funded Integrative Movement Sciences Institute (IMSI) grant award (see https://rb.gy/dfi5y0 ). IMSI will provide extensive opportunities for mentorship, networking and opportunity to visit and collaborate with affiliated research laboratories, including the Functional Biomechanics Lab (PI: Anne Silverman) at the Colorado School of Mines, the Agile Systems lab (PI Simon Sponberg) and the PoWeR lab (PI Greg Sawicki) at Georgia Tech, the Neuromechanics lab at Emory (PI Lena Ting) the Locomotor Control lab at USC (PI James Finley), the Seethapathi Motor Control group at MIT (PI Nidhi Seethapathi), and the Nishikawa Biomechanics lab at Northern Arizona University (PI Kiisa Nishikawa), among others.
The IMSI collaborative network focuses on muscular control of movement across scales, integrating from molecular to whole-body and ecological levels of organization. Understanding how muscle controls movement is essential for maintaining human health throughout life, understanding limits to athletic performance, and understanding diversity and evolution of animal musculoskeletal systems. Current understanding of dynamic muscle function is limited by isolation among fields, resulting in knowledge gaps between “bottom-up” reductionist approaches that characterize molecules and tissues and “top down” approaches that focus on whole body movement and behavior. We aim to bridge between these approaches to integrate the contributions of mechanical, neural, and sensory systems to movement control. Understanding the muscular control of agile movement has wide-reaching applications in biotechnology through design of movement therapies, rehabilitation programs and mobility assistance devices.
Qualifications: Suitable applicants will have:
1) Expertise in neuromuscular physiology, musculoskeletal biomechanics, sensorimotor control and/or modeling and simulation of locomotion.
2) A PhD in a relevant field such as biology, engineering, kinesiology, physics, or mathematics by the start date.
3) A peer-reviewed publication record that is appropriate for career stage,
4) Strong technical knowledge of biomechanics, statistics and coding skills in Matlab, Python or another suitable language,
5) Strong trouble-shooting and problem-solving skills
6) Ability to work and communicate effectively in a collaborative team environment.
7) Good organizational skills, time management and attention to detail, to ensure smooth running of research activities.
8) A keen interest in effective science communication, mentoring junior scientists, and community engagement.
The appointment is for two years at 100% time, with a comprehensive benefits package. Continuation beyond the initial contract will be based on performance and availability of funding. The salary is based on UCI’s salary scales and dependent on qualifications and experience.
Applicants should submit:
1) Cover letter describing your qualifications, accomplishments, and research interests,
2) A current curriculum vitae,
3) Contact information (including names, email addresses, and telephone numbers) for three references.
Please submit application materials through the UC Recruit portal (https://recruit.ap.uci.edu/JPF08994). References will be contacted before an offer is made. For questions about the position or to discuss specific projects of interest, please contact Prof. Monica Daley at madaley@uci.edu.
We are especially interested in candidates who can contribute to promoting diversity and inclusive excellence in the academic community. Recruitment fellowships may be available to competitive candidates from backgrounds that are underrepresented in biomedical sciences (https://inclusion.bio.uci.edu/funding/diversity-postdoctoral-fellowships ). The UCI School of Biological Sciences is a national leader in programs designed to increase the participation of underrepresented groups in the biomedical sciences and is firmly committed to the ideals of equity, diversity, and inclusion (https://inclusion.bio.uci.edu/ ). UCI is an HSI, an AANAPISI, and a charter member of the AAAS SEA-Change initiative that supports institutional efforts to increase access and success for students, faculty and staff from groups that have been marginalized in STEM (https://inclusion.uci.edu/action-plan/msi/uci-sea-change ).
