I have now started the process of advertising for two positions in our lab (lab-site under construction; see also my publications). We have funds for 3 (maybe 5) years for a full-time technician and a graduate student. We are a small group of about 4-6 undergraduate students, a postdoc and me. We work in invertebrate neuroscience, in particular on the neurobiology of spontaneous behaviors, decision-making and operant learning in the fruit fly Drosophila. These topics not only fall within neuroscience, but also touch more general areas such as free will or the interactions of genes and environment. All of our experiments are computer-controlled, the data are digital and we try to use the latest social tools for communicating and organizing the lab. Therefore. an affinity towards using computers on a regular basis is definitely well-received in our lab.
The lab is located in Berlin, a vibrant city in the heart of Europe with a consumer price index below any other western metropolis. Close to our lab are other neuroscience institutes and we collaborate with other groups not only in our but also the other universities in Berlin.

• The main job of the technician would be to take care of the fly stocks, prepare (and maybe conduct and evaluate) behavioral experiments, order consumables, prepare fly food and deliver corporal punishment to every member of the lab who doesn't clean up after him/herself (just kidding ). There may be one or the other standard method to be used, such as histology, immuno-assays, various blots or in situ hybridizations.
• The project of the graduate student is to localize the neuronal circuitry necessary for spontaneous behavior in the fruit fly. The student would learn all the tricks of the trade of modern Drosophila neurogenetics. Specifically, he/she will be crossing flies to express various manipulators of neuronal function in various areas of the brain and then evaluate the behavior of the flies. There is the opportunity to learn programming for the evaluation (in MatLab) as well as for setting up the computer-controlled experiments, but candidates with pre-existing proficiency in programming will of course have an advantage.