Postdoctoral Research Associate

University of Nebraska Medical Center • Omaha, NE

13d

About The Position

The University of Nebraska Medical Center (UNMC) and Children’s Nebraska invite applications for a Postdoctoral Research Fellow in Fetal Cardiovascular Imaging. We are seeking a highly motivated researcher with specialized training or experience in fetal ultrasound, fetal echocardiography, obstetric ultrasound, or cardiovascular imaging to join a multidisciplinary research program focused on improving prenatal detection and characterization of congenital heart disease (CHD) and other fetal conditions. The successful candidate will contribute clinical imaging expertise to research involving fetal ultrasound and echocardiography, including image review, annotation, quality assessment, quantitative analysis, and development of standardized imaging datasets. The fellow will work closely with fetal/pediatric cardiologists, maternal-fetal medicine specialists, sonographers, biomedical engineers, and artificial intelligence (AI)/data science collaborators. A major focus of the position will be translating knowledge of fetal anatomy, ultrasound imaging, and clinical workflows into high-quality imaging datasets and clinically meaningful research applications. The fellow will also participate in validation of AI-enabled fetal imaging tools but is not required to have primary expertise in AI algorithm development.

Requirements

• MD, PhD, MD/PhD, or equivalent doctoral degree in medicine, ultrasound medicine, medical imaging, biomedical sciences, cardiovascular sciences, maternal-fetal medicine, or a closely related field.
• Education, research training, or professional experience in fetal ultrasound, obstetric ultrasound, fetal echocardiography, or related clinical imaging.
• Demonstrated knowledge of fetal anatomy, ultrasound imaging principles, and image-quality assessment.
• Experience with medical image review, analysis, annotation, or quantitative imaging research.
• Ability to work effectively in a multidisciplinary research environment involving clinicians, sonographers, engineers, and data scientists.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, with an interest in scientific publication and collaborative research.

Nice To Haves

• Specialized training or experience in fetal ultrasound, fetal echocardiography, obstetric ultrasound, or cardiovascular imaging.
• Primary expertise in AI algorithm development is not required, but participation in validation of AI-enabled fetal imaging tools is expected.

Responsibilities

• Conduct research involving fetal ultrasound and fetal echocardiographic imaging, with emphasis on fetal cardiovascular anatomy, congenital heart disease, and prenatal screening.
• Review fetal ultrasound and echocardiographic studies and perform structured image annotation, cardiac view identification, image-quality assessment, and phenotypic characterization.
• Develop and implement standardized imaging annotation and quality-control protocols for fetal imaging research.
• Perform image preprocessing, quantitative measurements, and imaging feature extraction from clinical ultrasound and echocardiographic datasets.
• Assist with the development and curation of well-characterized fetal imaging datasets for clinical, translational, and AI-enabled research.
• Collaborate with AI/data science investigators by providing fetal imaging domain expertise for model development, training-data curation, validation, error analysis, and assessment of clinical relevance.
• Participate in studies evaluating AI-assisted fetal ultrasound screening and prenatal detection and classification of congenital heart disease and other fetal abnormalities.
• Work with fetal/pediatric cardiologists, maternal-fetal medicine specialists, sonographers, engineers, and data scientists on multidisciplinary research projects.
• Support management of imaging datasets, including DICOM organization, data quality assurance, de-identification, and documentation.
• Contribute to study design, IRB activities, research protocols, and data management.
• Analyze research findings and prepare abstracts, presentations, manuscripts, and grant-related materials.
• Present research at national and international scientific meetings and participate in the academic activities of the research team.
• Assist with training students and research personnel in fetal imaging review, annotation, and research methodology.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Entry Level
• Education Level: Ph.D. or professional degree