Position description: The Department of Human Evolutionary Biology at Harvard University invites applications for a Postdoctoral Fellow in the Evolutionary Neuroscience Laboratory of Dr. Erin Hecht to contribute to neuroimaging, behavioral, endocrine, and genomic analyses in domestic dog breeds. The project seeks to identify evolved change relating to behavior under artificial selection in working dogs. Experience with neuroimaging data collection and analysis, animal behavior, and/or hormone analysis is preferred. This research is non-invasive.
 
The project is a collaboration with the Kukekova Lab at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. A partnered postdoctoral position in canine behavioral genomics is also available in the Kukekova Lab, and we anticipate opportunities for cross-training and interdisciplinary collaboration.
 
This is a one-year position, expected to begin in fall 2026, with possibility of renewal dependent upon adequate funding and satisfactory performance. The postdoctoral position is funded through a 4-year grant from Mae Philanthropies.
 
Location: The research will take place in the Evolutionary Neuroscience Laboratory directed by Dr. Hecht and located in the Peabody Museum on Harvard University’s Cambridge, Massachusetts campus.  Broadly, the Evolutionary Neuroscience Laboratory studies how brains change in response to selection pressure on behavior, and how brains acquire heritable adaptations for complex, learned behaviors.  The lab's websites are: http://hechtlab.org/ and http://caninebrains.org 
 
There will be opportunities for cross-training and interaction with an interdisciplinary research team including neuroscientists, primatologists, geneticists, and animal behavior scientists. Additional projects and training opportunities can be tailored to suit the candidate’s goals and interests, and may include comparative human/nonhuman primate neuroimaging, neuroimaging and behavior studies with experimentally bred foxes, histological analyses of fixed brain tissue, and/or human neuroimaging, behavior and psychological assessments. 
 
Qualifications: A doctoral degree is required for this position. Desired qualifications include research in neuroscience, psychology, neuroimaging, and/or animal behavior.  Please submit a letter of interest, an updated CV, and the names of three references at
https://academicpositions.harvard.edu/postings/16417. Evaluation will begin at the time the advertisement is placed and will continue until the position is filled.
 
Contact Information: Professor Erin Hecht, erin_hecht@fas.harvard.edu
 
Salary Range: $67,600-$80,000
Pay offered to the selected candidate is dependent on factors such as years of experience, training or qualification, field of scholarship, and accomplishments in the field 
 
Harvard University is an equal opportunity employer and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, sexual identity, national origin, disability status, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law.

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