Postdoctoral Research Fellow in Neurobiology (Bean lab)

School: Harvard Medical School

Department/Area: Neurobiology

Position Description

We invite applicants for a postdoctoral fellow position in the Bean lab at Harvard Medical School in Boston Massachusetts. The work of the Bean lab is focused on drug discovery in the area of developing ion channel pharmacology for treating pain, epilepsy, and other neurological disorders. We welcome applications from recent PhD graduates who are interested in these or related fields, particularly those who may bring a new technology or perspective to bear on the work in the lab. The work is based on electrophysiological recordings using the patch clamp technique to characterize function of ion channels and interactions of novel compounds with ion channels in both heterologous expression systems and in native neurons.

The successful candidate will work with Dr. Bean and a team of post-doctoral researchers in the Bean lab to do early-stage drug discovery to find novel compounds to treat pain, epilepsy, and multiple sclerosis by modulating the function of particular ion channels. The work will be based on electrophysiological studies of ion channels using patch clamp electrophysiological recordings of both cloned ion channels in heterologous expression systems and of native ion channels in enzymatically isolated neurons or in brain slices. In addition to carrying out bench research using electrophysiological recording, the successful candidate will be expected to help develop data management software for managing and analyzing large volumes of electrophysiological data, work closely with medicinal chemists to use structure-activity data to design new compounds, apply for fellowship funding, contribute to the writing of grants and manuscripts, participate in teaching and mentoring of lab members as needed, and otherwise contribute to overall lab operations and collaborative environment.

Basic Qualifications

• Ph.D. or M.D./Ph.D. in Neuroscience, with expertise in cellular neurophysiology or related fields
• Experience in patch clamp-based electrophysiological recording from native neurons
• Expertise in programming with Python and R
• Experience with programming for automated data pipelines involving large data collections
• Expertise with mammalian cell culture and aseptic technique

Special Instructions

Required documents:

• CV
• Research summary of PhD work.
• Cover letter describing your interest in the lab and initial ideas for new research directions or projects you could undertake in the lab.
• A note with the names and contact information for three people who have agreed to serve as a reference.

Please submit application documents through the ARIeS portal. Applications will be considered on a rolling basis. Selected candidates will be invited for in-person interviews involving a research presentation on past work. References will be requested at final stages of the consideration process.

Expected Dates:

• Start date: The position is expected to start on or around Spring/Summer 2026 with some flexibility.
• Duration: This is a one-year term position from the date of hire, with the possibility of extension, contingent upon work performance, business need, and continued funding to support the position.

Contact Information

Bruce Bean, PhD

Contact Email: [email protected]

Salary Range

Information regarding postdoctoral fellow salary, which is determined by the number of years post PhD, can be found at