We always welcome applications from undergraduate researchers. We strongly believe that including diverse opinions, experiences and backgrounds makes us better scientists and people. We want the lab to be a place where you can grow scientifically and have the support to be yourself. Multiple career development resources will be available in the lab, CHINJ, and Rutgers. See more detail on the lab philosophy below and feel free to email Chiara to express your interest.
Current positions:
We are currently open to recruiting two research assistants. One RA will help manage the zebrafish colony and conduct drug screening in fish models of muscle disease. One RA will help with the maintenance and study of human iPSC models of neurodevelopmental disorders. Expertise in one or more of the following is preferred: zebrafish handling, cell culture, immunocytochemistry. You are welcome to send a CV and a letter describing your research interests to Chiara (chiara[dot]manzini@rutgers[dot]edu).
Who we are and what we are looking for:
We believe in inclusive, multi-disciplinary, and question-driven science with the goal of uncovering fundamental mechanisms regulating brain development. We are looking for individuals who are creative and independent thinkers who genuinely wish to have a significant impact in furthering our understanding of the brain. A passion for research, innate curiosity, and self-motivation are important, as is the ability to work in a team and to respect others.
We like laughter and music in the lab (and plants, right now we have a lot of plants) and we foster a collegial and collaborative atmosphere. We are not a 9 to 5 lab: productivity trumps a regular schedule. I don't care of if you leave at 9pm or 3pm, as long as data is generated. However, everyone is expected to participate to lab meetings, small group meetings, and other meetings, including departmental seminars, because everyone in the lab has to be a good citizen and support others. Involvement in university-wide efforts such as graduate student or postdoctoral societies and other training programs is encouraged, as is mentoring of high-school or undergraduate students. Reading copiously and widely is important and so is being exposed to new ideas by going to conferences.
For post-docs: I expect you to be able to plan a project and write drafts of your own papers and grants. At the beginning of your post-doc we will discuss the amount and duration of guaranteed funding and you should be actively seeking additional funding to support yourself (foreign applicants should be competitive for fellowships provided by their home countries). I will do my best to help you identify appropriate grants and write strong letters for you. In the current funding climate, having your own money will help the lab, but it will also help you enormously in any career choice you may pursue. I believe in a split-approach where part of the time you work for me and the rest you work for yourself and develop your independent ideas to take away to your own lab. I will support your own research (within reason) and I will help you as much as possible to secure additional funding for your “crazier” experiments.
We like laughter and music in the lab (and plants, right now we have a lot of plants) and we foster a collegial and collaborative atmosphere. We are not a 9 to 5 lab: productivity trumps a regular schedule. I don't care of if you leave at 9pm or 3pm, as long as data is generated. However, everyone is expected to participate to lab meetings, small group meetings, and other meetings, including departmental seminars, because everyone in the lab has to be a good citizen and support others. Involvement in university-wide efforts such as graduate student or postdoctoral societies and other training programs is encouraged, as is mentoring of high-school or undergraduate students. Reading copiously and widely is important and so is being exposed to new ideas by going to conferences.
For post-docs: I expect you to be able to plan a project and write drafts of your own papers and grants. At the beginning of your post-doc we will discuss the amount and duration of guaranteed funding and you should be actively seeking additional funding to support yourself (foreign applicants should be competitive for fellowships provided by their home countries). I will do my best to help you identify appropriate grants and write strong letters for you. In the current funding climate, having your own money will help the lab, but it will also help you enormously in any career choice you may pursue. I believe in a split-approach where part of the time you work for me and the rest you work for yourself and develop your independent ideas to take away to your own lab. I will support your own research (within reason) and I will help you as much as possible to secure additional funding for your “crazier” experiments.