About the project:

How do we stop an action when it is no longer beneficial? This is an important question because the ability to stop an action is fundamental to executive control. Deficits in stopping are at the core of many neuropsychiatric disorders, such as Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) and Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), as well as everyday challenges, such as failing to brake at a red light and succumbing to impulsive behaviors (e.g., binge eating and gambling). It is important to understand how the brain generates and executes stop decisions by identifying key regions and characterizing their dynamic, multi-region interactions. However, despite considerable progress in our understanding of action initiation, the mechanisms underlying stopping remains relatively unexplored.

As the Research Intern, you will work primarily with Dr. Shijia Liu, a postdoctoral fellow in Dr. Bernardo Sabatini’s lab (Harvard Medical School, Boston, USA), to investigate the neural mechanisms underlying flexible stop decisions. During this process, you will be learning techniques including head-fixed mouse behavior, optogenetics, in vivo electrophysiology, and viral tracing. The Research Intern position will provide you with an excellent opportunity for scientific learning, further development of research skills, and direct mentorship from Dr. Liu in a large, diverse, collegial lab – an ideal fit for a hardworking, passionate scientist who is looking for a 10-month+ experience with the lab before beginning graduate school, medical school, or the next step of their professional journey.

 

About the lab:

Dr. Bernardo Sabatini’s research laboratory seek to uncover the mechanisms of synapse and circuit plasticity that permit new behaviors to be learned and refined. They are interested in the developmental changes that occur after birth that make learning possible as well as in the circuit changes that are triggered by the process of learning. They are also interested in studying action selection, motivation, and sensorimotor integration across a variety of motor behaviors, using mice as a model. More information about the lab and their work can be found by visiting https://sabatini.hms.harvard.edu/.

 

Brief Biography of Dr. Liu:

Dr. Shijia Liu is a Jane Coffin Childs-HHMI postdoctoral fellow (https://www.jccfund.org/fellows/class-of-2024/#modal13) in Bernardo Sabatini’s laboratory. Her research focuses on the neural underpinnings of context-dependent decision-making. Her expertise lies in systems neuroscience and neural circuits dissection, through techniques like in vivo electrophysiology and calcium imaging, optogenetics, chemogenetics, mouse behavior, and computational analysis. Dr. Liu is deeply committed to mentorship, having guided over ten students toward successful careers in graduate and medical programs, such as Yale, UCLA, and Duke.

 

What we provide:

• The opportunity to learn new techniques and expand your knowledge and skills.

• Direct daily mentorship from Dr. Liu.

• Joining the vibrant Harvard research community.

• Opportunities for professional development and growth including the opportunity to attend

seminars and contribute to research publications.

• A welcoming, collaborative team that believes in continuous learning and cultivates an

environment of trust, respect, and intellectual curiosity.

 

What you’ll do:

• Performing mouse behavioral training experiments.

• Perfusion, dissection and slicing.

• RNA in-situ hybridization and immunohistochemistry.

• Mouse colony management and husbandry.

• Imaging acquisition, data analysis and graphing.

• Analyzing data, formulating conclusions, and presenting results as needed.

• Assisting with stereotaxic surgeries for precise delivery of cells and viral vectors into the

brain.

• Actively contributing to weekly laboratory meetings and regular planning sessions.

 

What you bring:

• 6-months of previous hands-on research experience working in a laboratory is preferred.

• Comfort and willingness to work with live mice on a daily basis and to perform survival

and non-survival procedures is required.

• Experience in one or more of the following techniques is preferred: mouse stereotaxic

surgery, behavior, histological preparations, and/or mouse colony management.

• Any experience with programming in MATLAB/Python would be a big plus.

• Excellent verbal and written communication skills.

• Excellent organizational, interpersonal, and time management skills with strong attention to

detail.

• Excellent analytical and problem-solving skills.

• Proactive and self-motivated mentality with an eagerness to learn and grow.

 

Logistics:

• Preferring someone who is open to both wet lab (e.g., daily mouse training, brain histology) and dry lab (data analysis) tasks.

• Preferring someone who can start before August 2025.

• Preferring someone who can stay in Boston for 10+ months.

• Funding: it is a self-funded position, but there are some available grants you can apply for. Happy to connect you with our current visiting Masters students in the lab to talk about logistics.

 

If interested, please email shijia_liu@hms.harvard.edu with your CV and your desired timeline. Thank you!