Postdoctoral Fellow (Brain metabolism)

Submitted: 04/23/2025
Submitted By: Chris Kuzawa
Department: Human Evolutionary Biology
Institution: Harvard University
Job type: Postdoc
Apply by: 06/01/2025
Application Email:
Application URL: https://academicpositions.harvard.edu/postings/14897

Seeking a postdoctoral research association to work on a study that will validate and implement imaging-based proxies for brain energy expenditure, to be used to characterize the energetic costs of the brain across human development (recently shown to account for 66% of resting expenditure in childhood). Eventual uses include characterizing individual and population variation in brain energy use, the experiential drivers of that variation, and possible impacts on downstream traits including growth patterns, body composition and critical periods in cognitive development. The associate will work with and liaise between collaborators in the Departments of Human Evolutionary Biology (Harvard/Cambridge), the Department of Neuroscience (Harvard/Cambridge) and the Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging (Harvard/MIT/Mass General). In parallel, there will be opportunities to analyze and publish existing data upon identifying areas of mutual interest. The position is for one year with possible renewal based upon performance. Candidates must have a PhD with background in human neuroimaging or a related field with interest in novel approaches to estimate brain metabolism.