Date: December 2021
Title: Senior Research Associate
Department: Center for Computational Imaging and Personalized Diagnostics
School: Engineering
Location: Wickenden Building
Supervisor Name and Title: Christina Buzzy, PhD Director of Research Operations
POSITION OBJECTIVE
The Senior Research Associate (SRA) will be responsible for coordinating efficient and streamlined centralized data logging throughout the development of novel machine learning and deep learning tools for ongoing and future digital pathology projects in the Center. The RA will have expertise in pathology, preferably at the graduate level, as he/she will serve as the project management lead for the digital pathology projects ongoing in the Center. This will include becoming familiar with the goals of the funded research projects/grants and serving as a liaison among the various research subteams composed of computational imaging scientists, clinicians annotating digital pathology images, and external personnel/institutional counterparts involving data use agreement (DUA)/material transfer agreement (MTA) and institutional review board (IRB) coordination to support the funded projects. The SRA will be the gatekeeper regarding organizational data structure of digital pathology projects including slide scanning, clinical data management, digital pathology database maintenance, and periodic digital pathology grant-focused meetings. The SRA will communicate regularly with the research administrative team comprised of research coordinators and report to the CWRU Director of Research Operations for coordination of processes related to acquisition of de-identified medical images and clinical data as well as submission of grant-funded projects, progress reports, and regulatory affairs.
ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS
1. Work closely with research associates, junior faculty, and graduate students in the lab on
coordinating annotation of biological primitives of interest on digitized histopathology images
and implement a systematic nomenclature/ centralized storage for efficient AI tool development
of novel hand-crafted histopathologic features. (30%)
2. Maintain a centralized database of scanned slide archives for different projects along with their relevant clinical information on the Center’s High Performance Computing Cluster as well as enforce periodic computer code upload to the CCIPD GitHub site. (20%)
3. Shepherd selection of diagnostic pathology tissue slides and corresponding de-identified clinical data with institutional collaborators according to inclusion/exclusion criteria for funded projects. (10%)
4. Coalesce progress reports for funded grants and play a supportive role in the submission of new grant proposals. (10%)
5. Lead initiation of DUAs, MTAs, and IRBs to support the Center’s digital pathology-focused
projects. (10%)
6. Place requests for scanning/digitizing whole mount and biopsy pathology slides with local
collaborative hospitals and CWRU Core Services. (5%)
7. Facilitate manuscript editing on digital pathology research projects generated by the Center. (5%)
8. Work with the CCIPD research administrative team to request access to completed clinical trial data/images from cooperative groups including but not limited to the National Clinical Trial Navigator (NCTN). (5%)
9. Participate in strategy and planning meetings with the CCIPD director/principal investigator and the research team to ascertain research project needs and associated research goals. Must
have an understanding of the domain of the research and be acutely aware of the research
projects and the research goals. (5%)
NON-ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS
Perform other duties as assigned.
CONTACTS
Department: Daily interaction with the director, director of research operations, research coordinators, research faculty, other team members, and CCIPD external collaborators University: Occasional to frequent interaction with other departments
External: Occasional to frequent contact with collaborators at University Hospitals, Cleveland Clinic, and with collaborators at collaborating institutions
Students: Contact with graduate and undergraduate students within the Center
SUPERVISORY RESPONSIBILITY
Support graduate and undergraduate students in the lab in their academic endeavors.
QUALIFICATIONS
Experience: 3 to 5 years of related experience required.
Education/Licensing: PhD in Biomedical Engineering or related field or MD degree required. Graduate level experience in pathology preferred.
REQUIRED SKILLS
1. Domain knowledge in basic or translational pathology.
2. Professional and effective oral and written communications skills. Must be able to clearly relay
information to the Center Director, other researchers, collaborators, consultants, and prepare
written research progress reports as needed.
3. Effective management skills; ability to lead, train, work with, and elicit cooperation from team
members and staff.
4. Ability to problem solve effectively; ability to develop and implement alternative solutions as
needed.
5. Ability to learn and apply new ideas, techniques, processes, policies, functions, etc. Must be
highly motivated and a self-starter.
6. A willingness to acquire further skills and to train research team members (including students)
on these skills.
WORKING CONDITIONS
The working conditions are typical of an office environment and computer rooms. There will be little to no exposure to hazards. The work requires negligible physical exertion, however, limited manual dexterity is required.
DIVERSITY STATEMENT
In employment, as in education, Case Western Reserve University is committed to Equal Opportunity and Diversity. Women, veterans, members of underrepresented minority groups, and individuals with disabilities are encouraged to apply.
TO APPLY
Please send curriculum vitae, a cover letter, and names of 3 references to Katherine Gullett,
kpg11@case.edu