Research responsibilities relate to the Cognitive Biomarkers in Pediatric Brain Tumor Patients project. This is a project studying changes in resting state MRI and cognition in pediatric brain tumor patients. Research responsibilities will include patient recruitment and enrollment, image acquisition, image processing, and preliminary data analysis. Patient recruitment and enrollment will entail meeting with patients and families in neuro-oncology clinic as well as meeting with families in the hospital to explain the study and obtain informed consent for enrollment for those interested. Following enrollment, duties will include providing consent forms and eligibility checklists to the PI and research associates, updating the patient spreadsheet and coordinating study scans and neuro-cognitive testing with the neuro-oncology coordinator. The job will also require presence at MRI scan to aid in the scan acquisition. Additionally, job duties include overseeing a study of sleep quality in pediatric brain tumor survivors. The department will provide training in NIH Toolbox cognitive domain administration so that cognitive testing is able to be completed after patient enrollment. There will be several aspects of data analysis for the project. These duties will include downloading cognitive test results and maintaining the data spreadsheet, obtaining and entering radiation dosimetry data into the database, processing resting state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rsfMRI) data and organizing control data for analysis. Training will be provided to gain the ability to perform brain volumetric analysis on patients using the FreeSurfer platform through CNDA. Throughout the course of the project there will be lab meetings with Drs. Perkins, Marek, Barbour and others on both the medical school and Danforth campus. Plans include analyzing correlations with cognitive performance, rsfMRI data, radiation dosimetry, brain volumetrics, and other patient variables such as sex, age, and poverty. Duties will also include preparing preliminary data for lab meetings as well as assisting in preparation of abstracts to present at national meetings.
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Job Type
Full-time
Career Level
Entry Level
Education Level
High school or GED