Molecular Neuroscientist: Pain and Welfare Biomarkers Lead/Associate

Location: Remote and Partner Sites (project-dependent split)

Compensation: $60K–$120K USD, depending on experience and time commitment (ideally, full-time)

Organization Type: Nonprofit – Genetics for Animal Welfare

 

Note for prospective Associates: You will work closely with the lead and have similar responsibilities, adjusted to your experience.

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About the Lead Role:

 

Join our research nonprofit to help breeding companies improve shrimp welfare without compromising productivity. Identify molecular biomarkers of affective distress in shrimp to collaborate on and guide behavioral tests and implement effective screening. Leverage existing common and cutting-edge tools and large amounts of data from our partners when appropriate to focus on actual impact. Translate your findings to other species and publish in top journals in related fields.

 

We’re looking for a molecular neuroscientist with expertise in affective biomarkers in shrimp, or closely related Pleocyematas. You’ll work directly with shrimp breeding companies, and potentially later with chicken genetics companies, to identify biomarkers of possible affective states in shrimp for high-throughput phenotyping. Together with comparative and quantitative geneticists and an ethologist, you will design a screening program against disorders. For example, one disorder is colloquially dubbed “Man on Fire” syndrome, resulting in hypersensitivity to pain in species with shared DNA motifs.

 

Responsibilities:

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• Design, validate, and standardize molecular assays that reflect welfare-relevant traits (e.g. stress resilience, nociception, activity recovery); provide guidance on their usage

• Collaborate on trait measurement strategy (including behavioral and genetic proxies)

• Evaluate the potential use and implementation of precision farming technologies and machine learning for scalable welfare monitoring

• Discuss welfare-oriented breeding strategies with industry partners

• Track and integrate research on affective biomarkers in decapods

• Conditional on a project, publish high-quality research articles in peer-reviewed journals and present findings at conferences and workshops

• Interview or give other feedback on prescreened prospective teammates

 

Qualifications:

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• Note, these are ideal. You don’t necessarily have to have them all to be a great choice for the role.

• MSc or PhD in neuroscience, molecular biology, behavioral genetics, or a related discipline and relevant peer-reviewed publications

• Expertise in decapod or comparative neurophysiology

• Expertise in the neurobiology of nociception, stress responses, and affective behavior

• Familiarity with welfare monitoring

• Experience working in interdisciplinary teams; strong interpersonal and collaboration skills, including clear documentation

• Ability to communicate complex biological findings clearly to both scientific and commercial stakeholders

• Scientific integrity and alignment with our mission are essential

 

We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital, veteran, or disability status.

 

Apply here.​​