Post-Doctoral Fellow - Pharmacology and Toxicology

At VCU, we take pride in our deep commitment to our postdoctoral community. In 2026, the National Postdoctoral Association (NPA) named VCU as one of only 12 recipients of its inaugural

Institutional Policy Awards, in recognition of our transformative efforts to elevate quality of life and workplace equity for postdocs.

VCU postdocs are Virginia state employees, with benefits mirroring
12-month faculty. We adhere closely to the NPA’s guidelines for best practices in postdoc training. Wework closely with our local NPA chapter, the VCU Postdoc Association, to make this a welcoming and productive place to complete your training!

Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) School of Medicine is apremier academic medical center located in the heart of Richmond.

Accounting for almost half of VCU’s sponsored research, the Schoolof Medicine is internationally recognized for patient care and education. Virginia Commonwealth University is an equal opportunity employer.

The Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology of Virginia Commonwealth University is committed to an outstanding education of professional and graduate students as wellas to cutting edge research. The atmosphere of the department isone of congeniality and collaboration. Alumni of the departmenthave achieved prominent roles in academia, industry, and government. The goal of the department is to contribute to improvedhealth through a better understanding of the mechanism of action ofsafer and more effective therapies.

The education of graduate students and postdoctoral fellows who have the potential to become independent, highly regarded scientists and excellent teachers inpharmacology is a priority.

Seeking to recruit an early-stagepostdoctoral researcher with experience in electrophysiology. This individual will be expected to support R01-funded research onalcohol use disorder, with a focus on neuronal function and circuitactivity. Responsibilities will include preparing experimentalmaterials, performing and assisting with electrophysiologicalrecordings, maintaining laboratory equipment, and organizingexperimental data. Candidate should have strong technical,organizational, and communication skills, along with experience inelectrophysiology, data analysis, and general laboratory procedures.

• Preparing and maintaining brain slice or cell culture experiments,operating electrophysiology recording systems, performing and assisting with whole-cell patch clamp recording procedures.
• Responsibilities include preparing solutions and reagents,maintaining laboratory equipment, collecting and organizingexperimental data, supporting data analysis and preparation ofmanuscripts for publication.
• Responsibilities will also includeanimal (mouse) handling and general laboratory organization toensure efficient day-to-day research operations.
• The successful candidate will be expected to engage in training of graduate student and undergraduate trainees.

• Ph.D. in pharmacology or related field.
• Demonstrated experience with at least one form of electrophysiology and also with rodenthandling (including drug administration).
• Proven record of trainingothers in a research laboratory environment.

• Candidates will be expected to have familiarity with data acquisition and analysis software, such as pClamp and Clampfit.
• Prior hands-on experience with whole-cell patch clamp recordings inbrain slices or cultured neurons is not required but, if not already acquired, a clear interest in developing this skill-set is strongly preferred.
• Candidates with a demonstrated record of research related to nicotinic acetylcholine…