Research Opportunities (Systems Neuroscience/Neural Engineering) - Program in Physical Therapy

Washington University in St. Louis•Watervliet, MI

About The Position

The Systems Neuroscience and Rehabilitation (SNR) Lab, led by Laura McPherson, PT, DPT, PhD, has immediate openings for multiple staff research positions. In the SNR Lab, we study changes in neural control of movement after neurological injury due to multiple sclerosis or stroke. We do this primarily through analysis of motor unit population discharge, obtained non-invasively via decomposition of high-density surface electromyography. We are interested in how these changes relate to specific motor deficits and investigate how they can be targeted to improve the efficacy of neurorehabilitation interventions. We also explore various aspects of neural control of movement in the intact nervous system, such as how it differs among muscles with different biomechanical functions. Our growing lab is located within the WashU Medicine, which provides a vibrant, highly collaborative environment for neural engineering and rehabilitation research.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree or combination of education and/or experience may substitute for minimum education.

Nice To Haves

Bachelor’s, Master’s, or Doctoral degree in biomedical engineering, rehabilitation science, kinesiology, or neuroscience (or a closely related field).
Prior experience with data management and analysis and record keeping.
Experience in the following areas is highly desirable: MATLAB (running established programs, debugging existing programs, and/or programming new programs), and/or R (for use in statistical analyses and figure preparation), project management, human neurophysiology and/or rehabilitation research, analysis of biological signals (force/torque, EMG, motor unit discharge), data acquisition/instrumentation.
Excellent skills related to written and verbal communication, organization, and problem solving.
Ability to utilize these skills with all levels of personnel and for technical publications.
Ability to work both independently and as part of a team.
Past experience in human subject research, and familiarity with IRB protocol procedures and HIPAA privacy requirements.
Demonstrated ability to implement general laboratory procedures, conduct research and record findings.
Ability to prioritize tasks in a diverse environment.
Highly organized with good time management skills.
These skills are essential to be able to prioritize a multifaceted workload and handle a variety of responsibilities in a calm and flexible manner.
Strong interpersonal and customer service skills with the ability to interact professionally and courteously, in a team environment, with faculty, staff, students, clinicians, external collaborators, and participants.