Research scientist position at the Univerisity of Washington and the VA Puget Sound

[Brittney Muir]

The Center for Limb Loss and MoBility (CLiMB) at the VA Puget Sound Health Care System (VAPSHCS) in Seattle, WA has an opening for a research scientist/ research coordinator. The position will start in October 2023, and this posting will remain open until a suitable candidate has been found. The Center is a mixture of engineers, clinicians, biomechanists, kinesiologists, and epidemiologists who develop and conduct research to preserve and enhance the mobility of Veterans with musculoskeletal impairment or limb loss. The appointment may be made through the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Washington or the VA. The candidate will work at the Veterans Affairs Hospital under the guidance of Dr. Brittney Muir.

Field of research: Advancement of wearable robotic systems and development of digital biomarkers in individuals with Parkinson’s Disease.

The base salary for this position is $55,000-$65,000 annually.

This position supports two funded research projects. Conducted at the University of Washington and the VA Puget Sound.

1. The first is the development and feasibility testing of a novel upper extremity robotic exoskeleton to track and target unwanted joint synergies in stroke survivors. In this project, stroke survivors will conduct rehabilitation exercises under the direction of the research occupational therapists using the Harmony Exoskeleton (which you will operate). We will be developing and evaluating two novel control systems to determine feasibility in the acute stroke rehabilitation population.
2. The second is the identification of digital biomarkers derived from wearable devices during walking and balance activities in people with Parkinson’s Disease (PD) in collaboration with the FDA. Alongside two FDA employees, VA staff, and clinicians you will collect data from up to 100 participants (50 PD, 50 healthy age-matched) in our lab at VA Puget Sound annually for quantitative gait assessment. We will collect motion capture with traditional laboratory devices, wearable devices, and video recording during a clinical evaluation, standardized assessments, and complex mobility tasks. Additionally, a subset of the participants will conduct an exploratory take-home component.

In addition, you will have the opportunity to advance our knowledge of gait and mobility by proposing, designing, and carrying out human locomotion studies.

Duties and responsibilities:

• Perform data analysis and interpretation with any of the following software packages: MATLAB, R, Labview, Vicon Nexus, Visual 3D, or MS Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. (25%)
• Participant data collection. (20%)
• Create custom software applications to support study aims (10%)
• Participant recruitment. (10%)
• Support grant and manuscript preparation. (10%)
• Identify key scientific questions that warrant investigation. (5%)
• Design experiments and protocols to answer key scientific questions. (5%)
• Determine appropriate human subject experimental study designs. (5%)
• Support IRB and R&D applications. (5%)
• Review scientific literature. (5%)

Required: Bachelor's or Master’s degree in Mechanical Engineering, Kinesiology, or related field. Research experience is a plus, but is not required.

Desired:

• Experience in Biomechanics research.
• Experience with human subjects gait lab data collection procedures.
• Experience with any of the following software applications: MATLAB, R, Aruino, OpenSim, Vicon Nexus, C++, Python, CUDA, ROS, JAVA, MS .net, or other languages.
• Knowledgeable about how to operate the following types of equipment, i) motion analysis camera system, ii) instrumented treadmill, iii) electromyography system, iv) force plate, v) load cell systems, digital multimeter, xi) voltage and current sensing.
• Expert with the following MS Office suite: Word, Excel and Power Point.
• Able to prepare and present scientific results.
• Knowledgeable and experienced with gait patterns and compensations. Knowledgeable and experienced with biomechanics, especially lower limb biomechanics and gait analysis.
• Able to perform statistical analysis and work in collaboration with a biostatistician.

• Able to interpret scientific results and draw clinical conclusions from scientific data.
• Experience designing and fabricating custom robotic orthotics, prosthetic, and assistive devices.

Qualified applicants should send a cover letter discussing the above qualifications (also briefly describing how this position supports their overall career trajectory) and curriculum vitae with contact information for 3 references:

Brittney Muir, Ph.D.

bcmuir@uw.edu

Research Health Science Specialist | Center for Limb Loss and MoBility (CLiMB)
Associate Director of Research and Development | VA Ventures
VA Puget Sound, 1660 S. Columbian Way, Seattle, WA 98108
Affiliate Professor | Department of Mechanical Engineering | University of Washington