PhD Student & Postdoctoral Position @ Taiwan

[Kuo-Hua Huang]

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I would appreciate your help in sharing the following job announcement. 

Please use the title: PhD Student & Postdoctoral Position @ Taiwan

Thank you very much.

Sincerely,

Kuo-Hua Huang

Assistant Research Fellow,

Institute of Molecular Biology, 

Academia Sinica, Taiwan

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PhD Student & Postdoctoral Position @ Taiwan

Neural Mechanisms underlying Social Behavior in Zebrafish

Project Description

The laboratory of Dr. Kuo-Hua Huang (https://kuohua7.wixsite.com/huanglab) at the Institute of Molecular Biology, Academia Sinica (Taiwan) is seeking a PhD student and a postdoctoral researcher to study how reciprocal social interactions are regulated by neural circuits in adult zebrafish.

This project employs advanced approaches including interactive virtual environments¹, virtual conspecifics², in vivo calcium imaging, neural circuit mapping, and computational modeling. We are particularly interested in:

1. The behavioral and neural algorithms that govern dyadic (pairwise) interactions.
2. How depth perception and social cues are integrated in the brain to trigger affiliative behaviors².

Research Environment at Academia Sinica

Academia Sinica (AS) is located in Taipei, a vibrant, diverse, and welcoming city. The campus encompasses 32 research institutes across biology, information science, statistics, physics, chemistry, history and humanity. More than 30 neuroscience laboratories at AS investigate the brain at molecular, cellular, and systems levels, offering rich opportunities for interdisciplinary collaboration.

• PhD students will receive a fully funded stipend sufficient to cover housing, tuition, health insurance, and living expenses (approximately USD 1,300–1,650 per month) for 5 years.
• Postdoctoral researchers are offered a decent salary relative to the local cost of living (approximately USD 28,000–33,000 per year).

The Huang Lab includes several international members, and English is the primary language used for daily communication and weekly lab meetings.

Requirements

• Keen interest in systems neuroscience and social behavior.
• Enjoy solving difficult problems
• Solid background in quantitative analysis

Application Guidelines

For both PhD and Postdoc applicants:
Please send your CV and a letter of motivation to Dr. Kuo-Hua Huang (khh...@as.edu.tw).
Your letter should address:

• What skills, talents, or experiences you possess that are relevant to the abovementioned projects.
• What you hope to learn and achieve in the lab.
• A description of your most challenging experimental project to date.

For PhD applicants only:
After contacting Dr. Huang, please also apply to one of the following PhD programs at Academia Sinica by January 31, 2026:

• Molecular and Cell Biology (TIGP-MCB): https://tigp.sinica.edu.tw/pages/2791
• Interdisciplinary Neuroscience (TIGP-INS): https://tigp.sinica.edu.tw/pages/2797

Starting Dates

• PhD position: September 2026
• Postdoc position: Flexible start date

References

1. Huang, K.-H., Rupprecht, P., Frank, T., Kawakami, K., Bouwmeester, T., & Friedrich, R.W. (2020). A virtual reality system to analyze neural activity and behavior in adult zebrafish. Nature Methods, 17, 343–351.
2. Tsao, J.-Y., Tang, C.-Y., Chen, C.-Y., Yang, C.-T., & Huang, K.-H. (2025). Integration of social and depth information during affiliative behavior in zebrafish. Current Biology, 35, 3429–3439.e4.