Research Technician

We are seeking a full-time research technician to start in late 2024 or early 2025. The technician would help manage essential lab tasks and conduct independent research, which may include behavioral experiments, optogenetic manipulations of neuronal activity, dissections and immunostaining of fly brains, and in vivo calcium imaging. Depending on your interests and skills, you may also assist in building experimental hardware or writing software. You will be listed as an author on any publications that contain work you contribute to. (Nearly all technicians who previously worked with Dr. Devineni have been co-authors on papers, including all who stayed for at least 1 year.)

Applicants should have a Bachelor’s degree, previous research experience, and a background in a STEM field such as neuroscience, biology, engineering, or computer science. Experience working with Drosophila, using neuroscience techniques, and/or programming will be viewed favorably. We welcome applications from candidates seeking a long-term position as well as recent college graduates who want to gain more research experience before applying to graduate school, medical school, or embarking on other career paths. A one-year commitment is required; two years is strongly preferred. To apply, please submit an application here and also email Dr. Devineni with a resume/CV and a cover letter. The cover letter should describe your scientific background, career goals, why you are interested in our lab, and when you can start / how long you plan to stay.

Postdocs

We are accepting applications for postdoctoral scientists. You may already have an idea for your own project or we can develop a project together. My goal is for you to build your CV, learn new skills, and develop further as a scientist as you formulate your future career goals, whether you choose to work within or outside of academia.

You should have completed or be nearing completion of a Ph.D. in a STEM field and have some background in neuroscience or biology. We are especially interested in candidates with experience in performing in vivo functional imaging, developing and running behavioral assays, building and programming hardware, analyzing large datasets, and/or working with Drosophila. Please email Dr. Devineni with a CV, cover letter, and contact information for three references. Your cover letter should include your scientific background, research interests, why you are specifically interested in our research, and what potential projects/areas you’d like to work on. It is best if you contact us several months to a year in advance of your desired start date.

Graduate students

We are currently recruiting new Ph.D. students (we do not take M.S. students). We do not directly admit Ph.D. students — you must be accepted into a graduate program at Emory to join our lab. We accept Ph.D. students from the Neuroscience, Genetics and Molecular Biology, and Biomedical Engineering programs. Please note that most programs can waive the application fee if this is a barrier to your application. Find more information here and do not hesitate to contact the relevant graduate program if you cannot afford the fee but do not meet the listed qualifications for a waiver.

If you are a student in one of those programs and are interested in joining or rotating in the lab, please email Dr. Devineni to set up a meeting. Feel free to also reach out if you are a prospective student interested in applying to one of those programs and have questions. (Prospective students who email asking to join the lab directly, without mention of the relevant graduate programs, are unlikely to receive a response.)

Undergraduate students

We periodically have openings for undergraduates to do research in our lab. We are interested in students with a biology, neuroscience, engineering, or computer science background. Undergraduate projects could include conducting experiments with fruit flies or doing programming and data analysis, depending on your interests and skills.

During the school year, most of our students receive course credit for doing research (e.g. BIO499 or NBB499; info for Biology majors here), but students who are eligible for work-study may also get paid for research. During the summer, students typically work in the lab full time and are paid hourly or through a summer program. Students interested in summer research are encouraged to apply for SURE; note that the deadline is typically in January and you must write a full research proposal with Dr. Devineni.

Undergraduate students are expected to commit at least 12-15 hours/week during the school year, and a 1 year commitment is strongly preferred. Please email Dr. Devineni if you are interested and you will be sent a short application to fill out. It is best if you contact us at least 1-2 months before you want to start.

Update (December 2024): We are seeking undergraduate students to join the lab starting in summer or fall 2025. New students would be encouraged to start attending lab meetings and learning about our research in the spring 2025 semester, so feel free to contact Dr. Devineni now.

High school students

Unfortunately, we are not accepting high school students at this time.