PhD or Postdoctoral Position (m/f/d) in Honey Bee Visual Navigation (Straw Lab)

PhD or Postdoctoral Position (m/f/d) in Honey Bee Visual Navigation (Straw Lab)

NEU

Vollzeit

Forschung und Lehre

The Straw Lab, Faculty of Biology is looking for a scientist (PhD student or postdoctoral researcher, m/f/d). PhD or Postdoctoral Position (m/f/d) in Honey Bee Visual Navigation (Straw Lab)

Bewerbungsfrist: 30. September 2026

Veröffentlichungsdatum: 4. September 2026

Eintrittstermin: 1. Januar 2027

Arbeitsumfang: Fulltime position

Kennziffer: 00005148

Beschreibung

The , Faculty of Biology, University of Freiburg, Germany, investigates visual navigation in insects. Our primary scientific interest is computational neuroethology, and we also develop technical tools such as virtual reality and insect tracking systems. The research group is a multidisciplinary and multicultural working environment with a wide range of research activities including experimental neurophysiology, laboratory and outdoor behavioral experiments, computational modeling, environmental reconstruction, and design of computerized systems.

We are seeking a scientist to investigate the neural and computational mechanisms underlying visual navigation in honey bees. One position is available and will be filled either as a PhD position with a focus on computational modeling and reinforcement learning or as a postdoctoral position with a focus on experimental neurobiology, depending on the qualifications and research profile of the successful candidate. Both profiles are genuinely open: applicants should apply under a single profile, and we will select the strongest candidate across both.

Profile 1 (PhD student): Reinforcement Learning and Computational Modeling of Honey Bee Visual Navigation

The PhD project will focus on computational approaches to understanding bee visual navigation. The project builds on our theoretical framework 'Reinforcement learning as a robotics-inspired framework for insect navigation: from spatial representations to neural implementation' ( Lochner et al., 2024 ). Responsibilities will include:

Environmental reconstruction of bee habitat

Computational modeling of visual navigation in honey bees

Evaluation of the robustness and generality of honey bee visual processing for spatial navigation

Use of an insect-inspired reinforcement learning architecture based on the mushroom bodies

Collaboration with experimental researchers and other scientists

Requirements:

Masters degree in Computer Science, Informatics, Physics, Computational Neuroscience, or a related field

Experience in machine learning, including reinforcement learning, and in modeling

Experience in at least one of the following fields: computer vision, 3D reconstruction, neuroscience, or animal navigation

Profile 2 (Postdoctoral): Neurophysiology of Honey Bee Visual Navigation

The postdoctoral project will focus on the neural mechanisms underlying visual navigation in the honey bee brain. Responsibilities will include:

In vivo two-photon imaging of visual-navigation circuits in bees behaving in visual virtual reality

Collaboration with computational researchers and other scientists

Additional responsibilities include animal preparation, behavioral experiments, image and data analysis, and development of experimental methods.

Requirements:

A doctoral degree in Neuroscience or a related field

Experience in computational data analysis of neural imaging or electrophysiological data

Experience in at least one of the following fields: in vivo imaging, two-photon microscopy, calcium imagi