Princeton University - Princeton, NJ
posted about 2 months ago
The FlyWire Consortium, led by the Princeton Neuroscience Institute, has made significant strides in neuroscience by releasing the first neuronal wiring diagram of an adult brain. This groundbreaking achievement was made possible through the processing of electron microscopic brain images, which allowed for the reconstruction of tens of millions of synapses connecting 100,000 neurons. As neuroscience transitions into the connectomic era, the need for advanced imaging techniques has become paramount. The current method of collecting ultrathin brain slices has remained largely unchanged for over 50 years, relying on manual processes that are not only time-consuming but also limit the scalability of connectomics research. To address this challenge, we are assembling an engineering team dedicated to modernizing the collection of ultrathin brain slices using a pick-and-place robot that is guided by computer vision. The primary objective of this role is to design and build a robotic manipulator capable of picking up slices that are floating on water and placing them onto substrates that are suitable for electron microscopic imaging. This technological innovation is essential for scaling up connectomics research from fruit flies to larger mammalian brains, which are more similar to human brains. We are seeking a robotics engineer who will be responsible for the design and construction of the robot, interfacing it with a control system, and collaborating closely with a robot vision engineer to ensure precise control of the pick-and-place operations.