NCBS has faculty openings for exceptional candidates to start a research program aimed at understanding the origins of human brain disorders.

The National Centre for Biological Sciences (NCBS; established in 1991; https://www.ncbs.res.in/) is a constituent of Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, an autonomous body under the Department of Atomic Energy, Government of India. NCBS is internationally recognised for its research excellence in biological sciences. Research at NCBS covers a diverse set of subjects spanning molecules to ecosystems, and including: Biochemistry, Biophysics, Bioinformatics, Genetics and Development, Cellular Organization and Signalling, Neurobiology, Theory and Modelling of Biological Systems and Ecology and Evolution. The institute brings together researchers with a variety of backgrounds in natural sciences, mathematics and computer sciences to understand living systems and for the application of advanced knowledge to achieve larger social good.

NCBS is keen to consider applications from candidates with a proven record of excellence and who are interested in origins of human brain disorders. These faculty positions will be closely affiliated with ongoing research at the Centre For Brain and Mind (CBM) at NCBS (https://www.ncbs.res.in/cbm/home). Applications against the above advertisement may be made at any time before the end of the evaluation period.

1. Faculty positions available

We are looking to fill several new faculty positions. Candidates with 3-6 years of postdoctoral experience will be considered for an Assistant Professor position. Those with experience as tenured independent investigators will be considered for senior level appointments.

2. Research Priorities at CBM

The Rohini Nilekani Centre for Brain and Mind (RNP-CBM) is a scientific venture to understand mental illness by harnessing the power of sophisticated clinical investigations, human genetics/genomics, and stem cell technology. RNP-CBM has assembled a discovery platform based on a cohort of individuals with a strong family history of mental illness (schizophrenia, bipolar affective disorder, obsessive compulsive disorder, substance dependence and dementia). Specific resources available at RNP-CBM include clinical assessment data, structural and functional brain imaging, clinical electrophysiology along with genome sequence information and stem cell lines. Candidates will be expected to lead research programs which naturally develop from and enhance these resources.

Over the coming years, we aim to assemble a team of collaborative, interdisciplinary, scientific leaders, who will push understanding of these disorders at an international level. As a flagship program of the NCBS, science at CBM will be rooted in excellence, deep enquiry and fundamental understanding, together with an excellent clinical interface.

3. What goes into a research proposal?

The research proposal is a key part of the application. It is expected that the candidates will present a three-to-five-page plan for the research that their labs will pursue over the next five years. This proposal should describe a program, rather than a few projects/techniques. We expect proposals to be ambitious rather than safe and formulaic and aim to address important basic and medical questions in the context of disorders being studied by CBM. Candidates should specifically explain how their research program will build on CBM resources, and how they expect to further develop the capabilities of the CBM program highlighting the relevance and dependence of the proposed work to the discovery platform of RNP-CBM. Individuals with approaches involving human genetics, data science, neuroscience, physiology, cell and developmental biology, and large cohorts relating to these disorders are particularly encouraged to apply. Since this is a multi-institutional program, it is essential that the candidate be able to work in a collaborative and team science mode.

4. How to apply (NCBS is now accepting online applications- Click here)

We will need your CV with a list of publications, and a 1-2 page summary of your research accomplishments. You should upload PDFs of your recent research papers to accompany your application. In addition, please send us a 3-5 page research proposal as outlined above. When writing, please keep in mind that your application will be evaluated by biologists trained in diverse fields, potentially different from yours. You will also have to provide the names and addresses (including email) of five to eight (minimum five) referees who can comment on your application and your abilities. If you experience any difficulty in this process, please write to 'dean [at] ncbs.res.in'.

5. After you apply

Your application will undergo a preliminary screening together with others received, and we may write to your referees for their advice. If selected, you will be invited to visit NCBS. You may prompt your referees to send in their letters but ask them to wait for our letter because we ask them specific questions about you.

Your application will be considered further only after you visit and will normally be kept active until a final decision is taken.

6. When you visit

You will not have to undergo a formal interview. You may instead be invited to give a research seminar and thereafter a chalk talk. During the visit, you will also have one on one interaction with faculty members. Please plan on spending at least two days at NCBS, if you are invited.

The seminar: Give this the importance it deserves and provide some insights on relevant background in the area. We find that excellent talks are given by those who have practiced beforehand. Target your audience well; remember that it will have widely varied backgrounds and you could plan a slightly longer introduction if you feel your work is very different from what an audience at NCBS might be used to listening to. Remember that presenting too much data can be counterproductive if you lose the audience early on. Make it obvious that you have not only the ability to produce data, but also the capability to think wisely about it. You have one hour (including Q and A); make the best use of it.

Meetings with individual faculty: We will schedule a series of meetings with a section of the faculty. The meetings with individual/small groups of faculty will be informal and interactive and give you a chance to discuss your research interests in more detail. You will also have an opportunity to learn the research interests of different faculty members. Faculty members will be keen to find out how your experience and research abilities will enrich NCBS.

Faculty members will also describe their own work to you. If you have taken the trouble to find out what each one works on, so much the better.

Meetings with the Dean and/or NCBS Director: Come prepared with a list of all that you would need to get started at NCBS, if you were to be selected. Make sure you have thought about all you need to be productive in as short a time as possible in NCBS.

NCBS has been rather generous in providing start-up funds for new investigators.

7. Then what

Your application will be looked at closely by the faculty search committee and based on the recommendation, your case may be presented to and be discussed by the whole faculty. We feel it necessary that the faculty be generally enthusiastic. Upon a positive response from the faculty, your application will be steered through an internal assessment committee and the NCBS Management Board. The entire application process can take between six and nine months, but we inform you soon of the outcome of the faculty deliberations.

8. Tenure

When you join NCBS on a tenure-track position, you will be assigned a committee of mentors who will ensure that you understand the tenure process. The tenure process is initiated no later than 5.5 years after you join NCBS and its granting is dependent on your proven ability to have established a research program at NCBS.

Uma Ramakrishnan
Dean of Faculty, NCBS
dean at ncbs dot res dot in