The main focus of the department Genes and Environment (https://www.psych.mpg.de/binder) is the investigation of molecular and cellular mechanisms underlying psychiatric disorders. For this we combine a highly interdisciplinary, integrative biology approach that utilizes human pluripotent stem cell-based 2D and 3D neural differentiation paradigms, patient specific iPSCs, (epi-)-genomic approaches (single cell omics, massively parallel reporter assays) and genome and epigenome editing with computational modelling strategies. 

We now plan to expand our focus on postmortem brain to investigate large psychiatric cohorts (disease areas include major depression, post-traumatic stress disorder and schizophrenia) focusing on the insular cortex (N > 450) as well as other brain regions (N around 100) using single cell omics and spatial transcriptomics, with access to cross species samples (rhesus and mouse). 

For the insular cortex project, we will collaborate with Nadine Gogolla (https://www.psych.mpg.de/gogolla) who will be co-supervising, to align mapping approaches in mouse and human and connect physiology assessed in animals to molecular anatomy and human disease. 

On the computational side, the projects will be co-supervised by Fabian Theis, who is also an external member of the Max Planck Institute of Psychiatry (https://www.helmholtz-munich.de/en/icb/research-groups/theis-lab).

For these projects, we are looking for motivated, dynamic and team-oriented postdoctoral scientists, skilled in molecular biology techniques, experienced in single cell omics on the wet-lab and/or computational side with a background in neuroscience or psychiatry. For the collaborative project co-supervised by Nadine Gogolla, we are looking for postdoctoral scientists a strong background in circuit neuroscience in rodents. We plan to recruit at least two postdoctoral fellows for these projects.