join the Brennand lab

interested in joining the Brennand lab?

The research group of Dr. Kristen Brennand is actively seeking new scientists to study the genomics of brain development and disease.  The scope of potential projects is extremely broad, and so trainees with expertise in genetics, genomics, neuroscience, stem cells, and/or CRISPR screens are strongly encouraged to apply. Trainees will have the flexibility to pursue topics within Dr. Brennand’s ongoing areas of research (cell-type-specific and context-dependent impacts of genetic risk on brain disease), or develop a project in a new research avenue with the support of an engaged co-mentor. Our scientific philosophy is in applying innovative and scalable methods to generate and test hypotheses, towards the goal of translating genetic data into clinically actionable information.

The culture of the Brennand laboratory is collaborative, supportive, flexible, team-based, and inclusive, rooted in the idea that this is the type of environment in which all of us do our best work. All team members sign a code of contact committing to take action towards ensuring that the lab is a safe and kind environment in which to conduct science. Each trainee is a person first, with career and personal goals to be balanced and supported.

Our team takes collective responsibility for training new laboratory members in relevant techniques, while maintaining the highest standards for rigor and reproducibility. All members will participate in the scientific communities of our two homes: the Division of Molecular Psychiatry at Yale and the Pamela Sklar Division of Psychiatric Genetics at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York.

Dr. Brennand is committed to increasing equity, diversity, and inclusion in science. We especially encourage applications from women, minorities, and individuals with a commitment to mentoring under-represented demographics in the sciences.

Graduate Student Positions

PhD, MSc and visiting scholar graduate student positions are available in the lab. We continually seek those students who are excited to study brain development and disease, particularly those who are willing to push the boundaries of new tools and technologies to answer long-standing questions in cortical development. We accept students from all of the Yale graduate programs. There is no requirement for relevant skillsets or publications for graduate students, and we guarantee all interested students a rotation.

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Postdoctoral Positions

We seek highly motivated individuals to join our team to pursue independent and creative projects related to stem cell models of human brain development and disease. We are a highly collaborative group, with numerous opportunities for growth by interacting with other highly motivated members of our lab and broad network of active collaborators. The successful candidate will be eager and willing to work closely with collaborators in diverse fields.

We are looking for exceptional self-motivated candidates interested in developing and applying cutting-edge genomic technologies to solve long-standing problems in neuroscience. Key requirements include proven ability in cell culture, molecular biology, neuroscience and/or genetics. Experience in next generation sequencing and data analysis a plus. Candidates will be reviewed on their track record of independent and collaborative work,  communication and mentoring skills, and understanding of the critical issues in the field of neurogenomics, more so than their publication and funding record.

I am committed to addressing the family needs of team members.  For the duration of the COVID-19 pandemic, I am willing to consider part-time and remote team members, a policy that if successful, I am willing to extend indefinitely.

Applicants should send a detailed CV and cover letter, a short half-page statement of research interests, and at least two publications. As part of the cover letter, I invite candidates to describe their experiences promoting diversity in science.

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