Research Assistant - Dept. Ophthalmology, Visual and Anatomical Sciences

Wayne State University; Detroit (MI); On-site; USD 32,000 - 39,000; Full time

Job summary

Wayne State University is seeking a Research Assistant in the Dept. Ophthalmology, Visual and Anatomical Sciences at its Detroit campus.

The role supports laboratory-based research under the Principal Investigator, assisting with experiments, data collection, and manuscript preparation. Qualified candidates should hold a Bachelor's degree and have basic research technique experience, data analysis skills, and strong communication and organizational abilities.

Qualifications

• Ability to accurately follow research protocols and work independently.
• Analyze, summarize, and interpret research findings and data in reports and spreadsheets.
• Knowledge of scientific integrity principles.
• Experience in cell, molecular, biological, and biochemical techniques.

Responsibilities

• Perform laboratory-based scientific techniques and assist in designing experiments.
• Collect and log laboratory results and survey data; evaluate data with graphs and tables.
• Prepare methods, summarize data, and assist in presentations for conferences, journals, and grants.

Skills

Research techniques

Data analysis

Communication

Organizational skills

Team collaboration

Microsoft Office

Education

Bachelor's degree

Tools

Python

Jupyter

Git

PyTorch

scikit-learn

OpenCV

R

SQL

Job description

Research Assistant - Dept. Ophthalmology, Visual and AnatomicalSciences

Wayne State University is searching for an experienced ResearchAssistant - Dept. Ophthalmology, Visual and Anatomical Sciencesat its Detroit campus location.

Wayne State is a premier, public, urban research university locatedin the heart of Detroit, Michigan where students from allbackgrounds are offered a rich, high-quality education. Ourdeep-rooted commitment to excellence, collaboration, integrity,diversity and inclusion creates exceptional educationalopportunities which prepare students for success in a globalsociety.

Essential functions (job duties):

Job Purpose:

Under the direction of the PrincipalInvestigator, provide scientific and technical assistance tocomplete laboratory-based research. May assist in writing researchprotocols and preparing manuscripts autonomously or as directedthrough training in more difficult or specialized procedures tomeet the needs of the research protocol.

Essential Functions:

Perform laboratory-based scientific techniques. Assist in designingand performing experiments. Participate in implementing researchobjectives, ensuring compliance with all legal, regulatory andprotocol guidelines. Communicate with Principal Investigator andPostdoctoral scholars/fellows on the status of research.
Collect and log laboratory results and/or survey data. Evaluate andperform data analysis using graphs, charts, or tables to highlightthe key points of the research results collected in accordance withthe research protocols as stipulated. Proofread and edit researchdata and documents to ensure accuracy.
Assist Principal Investigator with writing methods andsummarizing/organizing data to be used in preparing and presentingpresentations for professional, scientific, and academicconferences, and submittal to academic and scholarly peer-reviewedjournals.
Maintain the laboratory work areas, including routine maintenanceon laboratory equipment as required. Order and organize requiredresearch supplies and records. Maintain cleanliness andorganization of workstation.
Perform other related duties as assigned.
Under the direction of the Principal Investigator, providescientific and technical assistance to complete laboratory-basedresearch. May assist in writing research protocols and preparingmanuscripts autonomously or as directed through training in moredifficult or specialized procedures to meet the needs of theresearch protocol.
Essential Functions
Perform laboratory-based scientific techniques. Assist in designingand performing experiments. Participate in implementing researchobjectives, ensuring compliance with all legal, regulatory andprotocol guidelines. Communicate with Principal Investigator andPostdoctoral scholars/fellows on the status of research.
Collect and log laboratory results and/or survey data. Evaluate andperform data analysis using graphs, charts, or tables to highlightthe key points of the research results collected in accordance withthe research protocols as stipulated. Proofread and edit researchdata and documents to ensure accuracy.
Assist Principal Investigator with writing methods andsummarizing/organizing data to be used in preparing and presentingpresentations for professional, scientific, and academicconferences, and submittal to academic and scholarly peer-reviewedjournals.
Maintain the laboratory work areas, including routine maintenanceon laboratory equipment as required. Order and organize requiredresearch supplies and records. Maintain cleanliness andorganization of workstation.
Perform other related duties as assigned.

Unique duties:

The Department of Ophthalmology, Visual and Anatomical Sciencesseeks a collaborative computational specialist to support researchand clinical projects involving image analysis, data science,machine learning, and AI. The individual will work with basicscientists, clinicians, and trainees to turn well -defineddepartmental questions into reproducible analytic tools andresearch products. Initial work will emphasize quantitative ocularimaging and research data pipelines. Depending on project needs,the role may also contribute to clinical analytics and 3Dvisualization. Key responsibilities: Develop and validateimage-analysis workflows for ocular imaging, microscopy, andhistology. Build reproducible pipelines for data cleaning, qualitycontrol, statistical analysis, visualization, and reporting. Applymachine-learning methods to clearly defined research or clinicalquestions and compare performance with appropriate baselinemethods. Work with faculty to define project scope, ground truth,success measures, and validation plans. Maintain organized code,documentation, version control, data dictionaries, and analysisrecords. Communicate results clearly to investigators and traineesand contribute to abstracts, manuscripts, presentations, and grantapplications. Support development and evaluation of AI oreducational tools when aligned with departmental priorities. Followall requirements for research integrity, privacy, data security,and regulatory approval.

Qualifications:

Education:

Bachelor's degree
Bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university in arelated field of study, preferred.
Requires advanced knowledge predominantly intellectual in characterin a field of science or learning acquired by a prolonged course ofspecialized intellectual instruction.

Experience:

Entry level (less that a year of job-relatedexperience)
Experience in performing basic research techniques preferred.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities:

Ability to accurately follow research protocols and workindependently as required.
Ability to analyze, summarize, and interpret research findings anddata in reports and spreadsheets and communicate results.
Knowledge of scientific integrity principles.
Experience in cell, molecular, biological, and biochemicaltechniques.
Excellent time management and organizational skills.
Excellent interpersonal and communication skills and demonstratedability to work with others in a collaborative environment.
Experience using Microsoft Office Suite software.

Preferred qualifications:

Bachelor's degree in a relevant computational, biomedical, orengineering field. Experience with PyTorch, torchvision,scikit-learn, OpenCV, R, SQL, or cloud-based development tools.Demonstrated programming ability in Python and experience withcommon scientific-computing or data-analysis libraries. Experienceanalyzing biomedical images, longitudinal data, clinical data, oromics datasets. Experience evaluating LLMs or other AI systems forperformance, robustness, or reliability. Experience with softwareor API development, 3D visualization, Unity, or hardwareprototyping. Evidence of scholarly productivity, includingtechnical presentations, abstracts, publications, or open - sourceprojects. Experience with machine learning, computer vision,statistical analysis, or scientific software development. Abilityto organize and document reproducible analyses using tools such asGit, Jupyter, or comparable platforms. Strong communication,problem-solving, and collaborative skills.

School/College/Division:

H06 - School of Medicine

Primary department:

H0603

Employment type:

• Regular Employee
• Job type: Full Time
• Job category: Research

Funding/salary information:

• Compensation type: Annual Salary
• Hourly rate:
• Salary minimum: TBD
• Salary hire maximum: $35,000.00

Working conditions:

Typical work environment may include a laboratory and/or officeenvironment. May require working non-standard business hoursincluding evenings and weekends. May be required to travel toscientific conferences.

Job openings:

• Number of openings: 1
• Reposted position: No
• Reposted reason: None (New Requisition)
• Prior posting/requisition number:

Background check requirements:

University policy requires certain persons who are offeredemployment to undergo a background check, including a criminalhistory check, before starting work. If you are offered employment,the university will inform you if a background check isrequired.