Research Coordinator

University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine • Philadelphia, PA

2d • $45,278 - $58,506 • Onsite

About The Position

We are seeking a Research Coordinator to support collaborative neuroinformatics research between the laboratories of Drs. Nishant Sinha and Erin Conrad. This position is embedded within a highly data-intensive, multi-investigator research environment at the Center for Neuroengineering & Therapeutics (CNT) and the Division of Informatics in the Department of Biostatistics, Epidemiology, and Informatics. The Research Coordinator will be jointly mentored by Dr. Sinha and Dr. Conrad and will contribute to building reproducible data infrastructure for multimodal neuroinformatics research. This is a challenging position that requires exceptional organization, precision, and follow-through. The coordinator will provide day-to-day operational support for datasets spanning EEG/iEEG, MRI, DWI, fMRI, and associated clinical metadata collected across multiple institutions and neurological disease populations, with a primary focus on epilepsy. The role involves helping organize heterogeneous datasets across servers, cloud platforms, and institutional systems; tracking data derivatives; maintaining detailed documentation; and supporting regulatory compliance under multiple IRB protocols and data use agreements. The position requires a high level of accountability, organization, communication, and teamwork. The coordinator will assist in maintaining a comprehensive master inventory of datasets, documenting where data reside, how they are backed up, which processing pipelines have been executed, and what derivatives have been generated. They will coordinate data transfers from external institutions, follow up persistently to obtain missing or incomplete data, and help verify that incoming datasets meet required structural and metadata standards before integration into research workflows. In addition to data organization and compliance tracking, the coordinator will run and monitor standardized computational pipelines (e.g., iEEG-recon, FreeSurfer, diffusion reconstruction, fMRI preprocessing), and document outputs in a reproducible manner. Some comfort with Linux environments, command-line tools, and basic scripting in Python or MATLAB is desirable. This role operates at the interface of clinicians, engineers, trainees, and external collaborators. It requires strong communication skills, the ability to work across teams, and comfort engaging external institutions to ensure timely data sharing and compliance documentation. The coordinator will also contribute to the development and maintenance of standard operating procedures (SOPs), support data preparation for manuscripts and grant submissions, and help maintain high standards of data integrity across projects. The ideal candidate is highly structured, proactive, detail-oriented, technically comfortable, and able to manage multiple parallel projects without loss of rigor or documentation quality. This position is particularly well suited for highly motivated post-baccalaureate or master’s-level candidates seeking immersive research experience prior to pursuing advanced training (e.g., Master’s, PhD, MD, or MD-PhD programs). Research Coordinators are expected to engage actively in the scientific mission of the laboratories, including participation in weekly lab meetings; presentation of project updates and findings; assistance with manuscript and grant preparation; and direct contribution to scientific research efforts, where appropriate. We anticipate a minimum commitment of two years, subject to satisfactory performance and annual renewal. This duration is important to ensure continuity, mastery of complex neurological data systems, and meaningful scientific contribution.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in neuroscience, biomedical engineering, computer science, data science, or a related field, and 1–2 years of experience or an equivalent combination of education and experience.
• Demonstrate strong organizational skills with the ability to manage complex, multi-project workflows and maintain structured documentation.
• Basic proficiency working in Linux environments (e.g., file systems, ssh, command line tools).
• Basic programming experience in Python and/or Matlab
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• High attention to detail and ability to maintain data integrity and confidentiality.
• Ability to work independently, prioritize tasks effectively, and meet deadlines in a fast-paced research environment.

Nice To Haves

• Prior experience in signal processing, neuroimaging, electrophysiology (EEG/iEEG), or data science.
• Experience running or managing computational pipelines (e.g., FreeSurfer, diffusion reconstruction tools, EEG preprocessing workflows).
• Familiarity with research data management platforms (e.g., Pennsieve, Box, BIDS-formatted datasets).
• Experience coordinating multi-site research collaborations.
• Experience with IRB protocols, regulatory compliance, or Data Use Agreements.
• Interest in translational neuroinformatics and team-based biomedical research.

Responsibilities

• Maintain a comprehensive inventory of multimodal neuroscience datasets (EEG/iEEG, MRI, DWI, fMRI) across institutional servers, cloud platforms, and collaborative data systems.
• Coordinate data acquisition and transfers from collaborating institutions; track data completeness, verify structure and metadata standards, and ensure proper documentation and organization.
• Track dataset versions, processing status, and derived outputs; maintain detailed documentation of data locations, processing pipelines, and backups to support reproducible research practices.
• Run and monitor standardized neuroinformatics pipelines (e.g., iEEG-recon, FreeSurfer, diffusion reconstruction, fMRI preprocessing) and document outputs in reproducible workflows.
• Support regulatory and compliance activities including tracking IRB protocols, data use agreements, and data-sharing documentation.
• Coordinate communication with investigators, trainees, clinicians, and external collaborators to facilitate timely data sharing and project progress.
• Contribute to development and maintenance of standard operating procedures (SOPs) for data management, processing, and documentation.
• Assist with preparation of datasets, figures, and documentation for manuscripts, grant submissions, and research presentations.
• Participate in laboratory meetings and contribute to ongoing scientific activities within the research groups.

Benefits

• excellent healthcare
• tuition benefits for employees and their families
• generous retirement benefits
• a wide variety of professional development opportunities
• supportive work and family benefits
• a wealth of health and wellness programs and resources
• Health, Life, and Flexible Spending Accounts
• Tuition assistance here at Penn for employee, spouse, and dependent children
• Retirement plans (Basic, Matching, and Supplemental)
• Time Away from Work
• Long-Term Care Insurance
• Wellness and Work-life Resources
• Professional and Personal Development
• University Resources (libraries, athletic facilities, arboretum, art galleries)
• Discounts and Special Services (arts and entertainment, transportation, mortgages, new cars, cellular phone service, movie tickets, theme parks)
• Flexible Work Hours
• Penn Home Ownership Services
• Adoption Assistance

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Entry Level