"Research Specialist Lead- Dr. Kundu Laboratory"

Hiring Department

NextGen Precision Health

Job Description

The Kundu lab at the University of Missouri, Department of Neurosurgery is searching for a talented and highly motivated research specialist/staff scientist to join the lab and work closely with the PI to perform data collection, data analysis, and manuscript preparation of intracranial electrophysiological data and imaging data acquired from neurosurgical patients. Broadly the lab studies the neural bases of cognitive functions such as memory and attention and the pathological processes underlying circuit disorders such as epilepsy and Parkinson’s disease.

The research specialist is expected to function with a large amount of autonomy under the supervision of Dr. Kundu to develop protocols to acquire data, acquire data from neurosurgical patients who participate as subjects in these studies, analyze data, maintain electrophysiological instruments (Blackrock amplifier) for data collection, and maintain a lab server for data storage and analysis, as well as present findings. This is a unique opportunity for scientific discovery in an academic environment that is supportive and collegial and within a college town that is great to live in.

Duties:

• Work directly with the PI to develop and implement the research plan with patients
  o Timely consenting and testing of patients
  o Interfacing with hospital staff
  o Meticulous organizational skills to store patient data
• Perform data analyses
  o Signal processing methods
  o Machine learning pipelines
  o Statistical analysis of large datasets
  o Computational neuroscience concepts
• Maintain electrophysiological instruments (Blackrock amplifier, etc) and computers for data collection
• Maintain a lab server for data storage and analysis
• Assist in preparing data tables and figures
• Assist with writing sections of IRB protocols, manuscripts, and grants
• Help with patient recruitment protocols and manage patient data
• Help post docs, graduate students, and medical students in the lab (e.g. onboarding and orienting to the lab, helping them learn basic protocols, etc)
• Help coordinate with vendors to purchase and maintain lab equipment, submit reimbursement information for purchases
• Helping write and manage University research protocols for human subjects research
• Manage organization and scheduling of weekly lab meetings and participate in them
• Attend and present at conferences as appropriate

An ideal candidate will have:

• Expertise in scientific programming, e.g. Matlab, Python, C++
• Effective communication skills (oral and written) are essential
• Expertise with neural electrophysiological data analysis (i.e. EEG, ECog, SEEG, LFP, single unit analyses)
• Experience with implementing machine learning pipelines and other statistical analyses
• Fluent in spoken and written English
• Punctual, organized
• A passion for solving scientific problems

This is a 1-year position with opportunity to contingent upon satisfactory performance and continued funding sources.

Shift

Monday - Friday, 8:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.

Minimum Qualifications

A Bachelor's degree and at least 3 years of experience from which comparable knowledge and skills can be acquired is necessary.

Preferred Qualifications

• Master’s or PhD level of education in biomedical engineering, electrical engineering, computer science, mathematics, physics, neuroscience or related field
• Experience with computational neuroscience, modeling, large dataset analysis
• Experience with brain imaging data (i.e. MR data)
• Track record of publications in scientific journals

Anticipated Hiring Range

Salary Range: $52,915.20 - $80,000.00 per year

Grade: GGS 010

University Title: Research Specialist Lead

Application Materials

Application, CV, References