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Note:Applications will be accepted until 11:59 PM on the Posting End Date.

Job End Date

Job Summary

The purpose of the position is to provide leadership and management of research on new ultrasound acquisition and analysis methods for the ARPA-H Making Obstetrics Care Smart (MOCS) project. The incumbent is responsible for determining the research questions and directing the day-to-day research on novel ultrasound imaging methods to meet the objectives of the project, especially to develop biomarkers for predicting risk of stillbirth. The position will also collaborate with partnering universities in other countries and integrate research initiatives undertaken by collaborators.

Typical duties include managing a diverse team of researchers and clinicians at UBC and BC Women’s Hospital to conduct a large prospective clinical study with both engineers and clinicians; evaluating the quality of the obtained study data and determining suitability for use by the research team; determining the appropriate changes to the study protocol according to quality metrics; determining changes to the study based on the latest literature on recent advances in ultrasound transducers, quantitative ultrasound signal processing, and image-based biomarkers of diseases of pregnancy; working with clinical collaborators at partnering universities and hospitals, especially University of North Carolina; guiding the technical and ethical aspects of clinical studies on high-risk pregnancies; collaborating with the research collaborators in the ARPA-H MOCS project; assigning and reviewing work of statisticians;  advising and mentoring graduate and undergraduate students; and writing and presenting the results of research to the ARPA-H MOCS and in international conferences and journals.

Organizational Status

The position reports directly to Dr. Robert Rohling, Director of ICICS.  The Institute for Computing, Information and Cognitive Systems (CICIS) is an interdisciplinary unit at the University of British Columbia Vancouver campus.

Work Performed

• Leads and sets the technical direction the research theme of ultrasound biomarker discovery for predicting and preventing stillbirth as the main goal of the ARPA-H MOCS project at UBC
• Directs multiple ultrasound engineering research projects  by determining project priorities, allocating technical resources including optimization of high-quality ultrasound data acquisition; development and implementation of quantitative ultrasound measurements of health; verifying performance against clinical gold standards such as pathology results.
• Determining new research opportunities with the partnering universities under the ARPA-H MOCS project based on designing novel ultrasound data acquisition and processing algorithms with both the standard Clarius ultrasound system and the more advanced Sonus Microsystems research ultrasound system. This includes designing and developing new scanning protocols to span the different clinical studies at multiple sites while maintaining a common standard of data quality suitable for determining biomarkers of disease. It also includes directing the processing and assessment of data from the two ultrasound systems (standard and advanced), developing research protocols to manage and combine the data from the two ultrasound systems in order to coordinate effective joint research among the partnering universities.
• Directs, advises, and assigns tasks to the engineering team of the other engineers who are supporting a large clinical study at BC Women’s Hospital
• Manages the distribution of raw clinical data to researchers and collects and translates results from those researchers; in particular, determining how to conduct research on ultrasound signal analysis of radiofrequency echoes to extract tissue-dependent measures of health of fetal placenta, heart, lungs, brain and other organs. Also determining how to divide the data and analysis tasks among the different research teams, and how to combine the results together.
• Developing recommendations to manage the complex interplay between engineering and clinical researchers, including hosting workshops and collating reports that can be understood by both types of researchers.
• Creates and manages an up-to-date survey of the literature on ultrasound-based biomarkers of organ health, especially in the field of obstetrics; provides guidance on research based on the survey.
• Designs and develops protocols for ultrasound data acquisition with the input of sonographers, reviews the protocol during clinical study, and recommends and implements updates to the protocols.
• Consults with a broad group of stakeholders in maternal-fetal-medicine, radiology, obstetrics and pathology at BC Women’s hospital to ensure the research is aligned with the clinical goal of reducing stillbirth
• Provides training on ultrasound systems to the clinical team at BC Women’s Hospital
• Develop and maintain collaborations with engineers from the manufacturer of the ultrasound systems
• Provides advice to the research team on suitable state-of-the-art data analysis techniques
• Assigns, oversees and reviews work by consultant statisticians
• Mentors and advises graduate students in research methods, communications and teamwork
• Provide day-to-day supervision of work by undergraduate research assistants
• Authors and co-authors publications on the results of research at team meetings, ARPA-H MOCS meetings, conferences and journals

Consequence of Error/Judgement

This position is responsible for the research and testing results for the ARPA-H MOCS project.  The current project is part of a multi-center international effort across USA and Canada.  Work is expected to be at a high level of accuracy.  Error could cause serious consequences to the research team and current and future funding.  Liaising with the ICICS Director, Clinical Research Manager and other clinical researchers has to be maintained to ensure strict adherence to the goal of the overall project: reducing stillbirths worldwid.

Supervision Received

Works independently.  Position reports to Dr. Robert Rohling. Assignments are given according to project requirements and objectives.

Supervision Given

Supervises various engineers and students/staff of the ARPA-H MOCS project. While the incumbent is not directly responsible for managing all the clinicians and research collaborators, the incumbent is responsible for ensuring that various collaborators are collecting data according to standards identified.  The incumbent is also responsible for ensuring effective communication between various groups to ensure changes to protocols are clearly communicated and followed. This includes ensuring the protocols undertaken meet the standards of the country.

Minimum Qualifications

University degree in Engineering or Applied Science with advanced training in field of specialization. Minimum of ten years of related experience, or the equivalent combination of education and experience.

-Willingness to respect diverse perspectives, including perspectives in conflict with one’s own

- Demonstrates a commitment to enhancing one’s own awareness, knowledge, and skills related to equity, diversity, and inclusion

Preferred Qualifications

 Ph.D. preferred with a focus on medical imaging.  Excellent organizational, management, communication and administrative skills.  Effective interpersonal and problem solving skills.  Ability to work effectively and independently and in a team environment.  Ability to exercise judgement, take initiative and work under pressure to meet deadlines.  Ability to manage time and prioritize duties.  Musts be through, accurate, and have a high level of attention to detail.