Research Assistant - Dept. Ophthalmology, Visual and Anatomical Sciences

Research Assistant - Dept. Ophthalmology, Visual and Anatomical
Sciences

Wayne State University is searching for an experienced Research
Assistant - Dept. Ophthalmology, Visual and Anatomical Sciences
at its Detroit campus location.

Wayne State is a premier, public, urban research university located
in the heart of Detroit, Michigan where students from all
backgrounds are offered a rich, high-quality education. Our
deep-rooted commitment to excellence, collaboration, integrity,
diversity and inclusion creates exceptional educational
opportunities which prepare students for success in a global
society.

Essential functions (job duties):

Job Purpose:
Under the direction of the Principal
Investigator, provide scientific and technical assistance to
complete laboratory-based research. May assist in writing research
protocols and preparing manuscripts autonomously or as directed
through training in more difficult or specialized procedures to
meet the needs of the research protocol.

Essential Functions:

Perform laboratory-based scientific techniques. Assist in designing
and performing experiments. Participate in implementing research
objectives, ensuring compliance with all legal, regulatory and
protocol guidelines. Communicate with Principal Investigator and
Postdoctoral scholars/fellows on the status of research.

Collect and log laboratory results and/or survey data. Evaluate and
perform data analysis using graphs, charts, or tables to highlight
the key points of the research results collected in accordance with
the research protocols as stipulated. Proofread and edit research
data and documents to ensure accuracy.

Assist Principal Investigator with writing methods and
summarizing/organizing data to be used in preparing and presenting
presentations for professional, scientific, and academic
conferences, and submittal to academic and scholarly peer-reviewed
journals.

Maintain the laboratory work areas, including routine maintenance
on laboratory equipment as required. Order and organize required
research supplies and records. Maintain cleanliness and
organization of workstation.

Perform other related duties as assigned.

Under the direction of the Principal Investigator, provide
scientific and technical assistance to complete laboratory-based
research. May assist in writing research protocols and preparing
manuscripts autonomously or as directed through training in more
difficult or specialized procedures to meet the needs of the
research protocol.

Essential Functions

Perform laboratory-based scientific techniques. Assist in designing
and performing experiments. Participate in implementing research
objectives, ensuring compliance with all legal, regulatory and
protocol guidelines. Communicate with Principal Investigator and
Postdoctoral scholars/fellows on the status of research.

Collect and log laboratory results and/or survey data. Evaluate and
perform data analysis using graphs, charts, or tables to highlight
the key points of the research results collected in accordance with
the research protocols as stipulated. Proofread and edit research
data and documents to ensure accuracy.

Assist Principal Investigator with writing methods and
summarizing/organizing data to be used in preparing and presenting
presentations for professional, scientific, and academic
conferences, and submittal to academic and scholarly peer-reviewed
journals.

Maintain the laboratory work areas, including routine maintenance
on laboratory equipment as required. Order and organize required
research supplies and records. Maintain cleanliness and
organization of workstation.

Perform other related duties as assigned.

Unique duties:

The Department of Ophthalmology, Visual and Anatomical Sciences
seeks a collaborative computational specialist to support research
and clinical projects involving image analysis, data science,
machine learning, and AI. The individual will work with basic
scientists, clinicians, and trainees to turn well -defined
departmental questions into reproducible analytic tools and
research products. Initial work will emphasize quantitative ocular
imaging and research data pipelines. Depending on project needs,
the role may also contribute to clinical analytics and 3D
visualization. Key responsibilities: Develop and validate
image-analysis workflows for ocular imaging, microscopy, and
histology. Build reproducible pipelines for data cleaning, quality
control, statistical analysis, visualization, and reporting. Apply
machine-learning methods to clearly defined research or clinical
questions and compare performance with appropriate baseline
methods. Work with faculty to define project scope, ground truth,
success measures, and validation plans. Maintain organized code,
documentation, version control, data dictionaries, and analysis
records. Communicate results clearly to investigators and trainees
and contribute to abstracts, manuscripts, presentations, and grant
applications. Support development and evaluation of AI or
educational tools when aligned with departmental priorities. Follow
all 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 a
related field of study, preferred.

Requires advanced knowledge predominantly intellectual in character
in a field of science or learning acquired by a prolonged course of
specialized intellectual instruction.

Experience: Entry level (less that a year of job-related
experience)

Experience in performing basic research techniques preferred.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities:

Ability to accurately follow research protocols and work
independently as required.

Ability to analyze, summarize, and interpret research findings and
data in reports and spreadsheets and communicate results.

Knowledge of scientific integrity principles.

Experience in cell, molecular, biological, and biochemical
techniques.

Excellent time management and organizational skills.

Excellent interpersonal and communication skills and demonstrated
ability to work with others in a collaborative environment.

Experience using Microsoft Office Suite software.

Preferred qualifications:

Bachelor's degree in a relevant computational, biomedical, or
engineering field. Experience with PyTorch, torchvision,
scikit-learn, OpenCV, R, SQL, or cloud-based development tools.
Demonstrated programming ability in Python and experience with
common scientific-computing or data-analysis libraries. Experience
analyzing biomedical images, longitudinal data, clinical data, or
omics datasets. Experience evaluating LLMs or other AI systems for
performance, robustness, or reliability. Experience with software
or API development, 3D visualization, Unity, or hardware
prototyping. Evidence of scholarly productivity, including
technical presentations, abstracts, publications, or open - source
projects. Experience with machine learning, computer vision,
statistical analysis, or scientific software development. Ability
to organize and document reproducible analyses using tools such as
Git, 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 office
environment. May require working non-standard business hours
including evenings and weekends. May be required to travel to
scientific 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 offered
employment to undergo a background check, including a criminal
history check, before starting work. If you are offered employment,
the university will inform you if a background check is
required.