Research Assistant - Department of Ophthalmology

Position: Research Assistant I - Department of Ophthalmology
The Department of Ophthalmology at West Virginia University is currently accepting applications for a Research Assistant I position.

About the Opportunity

Dr. Joel Palko is an assistant professor in the department of ophthalmology at the West Virginia University School of Medicine. He is a fellowship trained glaucoma surgeon with a wide range of research interests. Dr. Palko's basic science lab focuses on the role of ocular blood flow and ocular biomechanics in diseases such as glaucoma. To this end, Dr. Palko's lab utilizes the latest in high-frequency ultrasound technology (Vevo F2 system) and custom ultrasound localization microscopy and elastography methods to measure ocular blood flow and scleral biomechanics, respectively.

The lab is currently NIH funded and is primarily focused on how manipulations of scleral biomechanics and ocular blood flow influence glaucoma disease progression. Dr. Palko also performs research in iris registration, investigating the role ocular diseases and iris shape alter this common identification technique.

We strongly believe in work-life balance and keeping time for things we love outside our work. WVU offers generous benefits, including:

* 37.5-hour work week

* 13 paid holidays (staff holiday calendar)

* 15 annual leave (vacation) days per year or more based on years of service (employee leave)

* 18 sick days per year (for when you're ill, for when you need time to care for sick family, for your own, or your family's, regularly scheduled medical appointments. Who is family for the purpose of this leave? A lot of people in your life including immediate relatives and in-laws as well as others considered to be members of your household living under the same roof)

* WVU offers a range of health insurance and other benefits

* 401(a) retirement savings with 6% employee contribution match, eligibility to continue health insurance, and other retiree perks. Looking for more retirement benefits information? Check out retirement health insurance benefits, retirement income, and FAQ's.

* Wellness programs

What You'll Do

* Iris image collection using the TD-100 camera

* Clinical data collection and organization. Each patient enrolled in the study will have demographic (age, sex, race) and clinical ocular information.

* Baseline image analysis and annotation:
Iris color, pupil size, light exposure/brightness for all images will be collected.

* Assistance with iris coding/filtering and calculation of Hamming distance before and after iris interventions

* Experimentation using high-frequency ultrasound

* Use and further development of custom Matlab code

* Opportunity for clinical/translational research if desired.

* Preparation of manuscripts

* Document, analyze and present experimental results and discuss findings.

Pay Grade: 15

* Bachelor's degree in engineering or medical related field

* A minimum of 0-6 months of experience in the following:

* Publication writing experience

* Any equivalent combination of related education and/or experience will be considered.

* All qualifications must be met by the time of employment.

Knowledge,

Skills and Abilities

* Strong skills with Matlab

* Ability to take initiative on projects and problem-solve

* Attention to detail, strong organization skills

* Ability to write manuscripts for publication

* Ability to manage junior researchers