Post-Doctoral Fellow

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. We work 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 a premier academic medical center located in the heart of Richmond. Accounting for almost half of VCU’s sponsored research, the School of 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 well as to cutting edge research. The atmosphere of the department is one of congeniality and collaboration. Alumni of the department have achieved prominent roles in academia, industry, and government. The goal of the department is to contribute to improved health through a better understanding of the mechanism of action of safer 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 in  pharmacology is a priority. 

Benefits: All VCU employee types are eligible for a wide array of benefits to support you during your employment at VCU. Consult the benefits website for information on benefits eligibility according to employee type.

Unit: School Of Medicine MBU

Department: Pharmacology and Toxicology

Duties & Responsibilities:

A post-doctoral position is available immediately to study the regulatory mechanisms of transporters underlying addiction, anxiety, autism, depression, OCD, and other brain disorders. The successful candidate will perform in vivo studies using knock-out and knock-in mice parallel with cell culture and brain tissue studies to investigate the contribution of GPCR-linked regulated transporter in normal behavior and the consequence of dysregulated transporter regulation in brain disorders. Techniques include: cell culture, western blots, trafficking, molecular biology, rodent survival brain surgery, intracranial infusion (pharmacological and genetic-viral reagents), DREADD-mediated manipulations of neuronal activity, microscopy, and several behavioral assays, including drug self-administration, conditioned place preference, memory, fear extinction, depression, and pain-related behaviors.

For additional information and a complete bibliography, refer to the websites:

https://pharmtox.vcu.edu/about/our-team/sammanda-ramamoorthy-phd.html and https://pharmtox.vcu.edu/about/our-team/lankupalle-d-jayanthi-phd.html.

Salary will be competitive based on experience. The applicant is also expected to work during weekends since several behavioral assays need continued attention to laboratory animals. Candidate must be able to analyze data, write publishable manuscripts, and communicate and work effectively with others in collaborative efforts.

Core Responsibilities:

• Experimental plans, conducting experiments based on the hypothesis and goals
• Data analysis and presentation, manuscript preparations
• Animal colony maintenance as needed
• Literature search

Qualifications:

Minimum Qualifications

Ph.D. in biotechnology, neuroscience, molecular biology, biological sciences, behavioral pharmacology, or the equivalent with experience in animal studies and cell biology. Verbal and written communication skills in English. Demonstrated ability to work in and foster an environment of respect, professionalism and civility with a population of faculty, staff, and students from all backgrounds and experiences, or a commitment to do so as a Post-Doctoral Fellow at VCU.

Preferred Qualifications

Research experience utilizing rodents for behavioral assays, biochemical and molecular analysis, and rodent surgery.

This is a restricted position with no set end date and continued employment is dependent upon project need, availability of funding, and performance.

Salary Range: NIH minimum starting at $63,480

FLSA Exemption Status: Exempt

ORP Eligible: Yes

This is a restricted position with no set end date; continued employment is dependent upon project need, availability of funding, and performance.

Contact Email: SOMHR@vcuhealth.org