POSITION OBJECTIVE

Working under general supervision, the Engineer 1 will be responsible for collecting data using specialized experimental laboratory equipment and work with biomedical engineering faculty and staff to support an NIH funded project named Reconstructing Vagal Anatomy (REVA). This unique project is a 3-year NIH SPARC grant tasked with assisting in advancing the development of therapeutic devices that control electrical activity in nerves to improve chronic medical conditions. The REVA team¿s goal is to show how nerve tracts in the vagus map to organs. Electrical stimulation of the vagus nerve has been used to treat epilepsy, rheumatoid arthritis, and heart failure, among many other conditions. The Engineer 1 position will work and collaborate with the principal investigator, staff, postdoctoral researchers, graduate, and undergraduate students in the lab, along with off-campus collaborators. This person will participate in maintaining a strong lab culture within the research group. Regular responsibilities include generating data and text for progress reports and participating in weekly meetings. The Engineer 1 will also support the lab environment by managing ordering of supplies and maintaining updates to the group website. This position will work with animals.

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS

Perform specific aspects of a broader engineering problem, namely, in depth image analysis and characterization of vagus nerves. Operate and maintain engineering laboratory equipment and systems used for research. These include micro computerized tomography (microCT) and Microscopy with Ultraviolet Surface Excitation (MUSE) systems. Assist in developing novel staining techniques, as well as write new computer code, to enhance microCT and MUSE imaging operation and contrast in neural tissues. Develop procedures for operating custom-fabricated laboratory equipment that automates tissue sectioning and/or imaging. Provide input to the principal investigator and research staff regarding reporting milestones in the REVA project. (25%)

Support complex scientific and research programs related to area of specialization; analyze data, monitor, and oversee experimental process, and design and develop prototypes, specialized equipment, and/or systems. Examples include collecting data from imaging modalities (microCT, MUSE, ultrasound, microscopy), and performing image processing tasks as assigned. Other examples include participating in IACUC approved animal studies and dissections and developing procedures. Assist undergraduate and graduate students with the design, fabrication, instrumentation, testing, and disposal of laboratory experiments (25%)

Apply methods and techniques, adjust and correlate data, determine errors in results, and follow the operation through a series of related steps to completion. Examples include writing and executing Matlab scripts, R scripts, Minitab, Origin, and other standard data analysis tools to process and visualize data. Other examples include improved image processing methods or data analysis techniques based on literature and conducting experiments given standard operating procedures and protocols. (20%)

Exercise judgment on certain details of the work and assist in making preliminary selections and adoptions of possible alternatives. Examples include optimizing antibody assays or staining techniques on tissues for imaging and maintaining a safe laboratory environment in accordance with university procedures and policies. (10%)

May be assisted in work by a technician or student helper, including working with animals as a surgical assistant, or to perform post operative care with animals. Other examples include working with undergraduate and graduate students to facilitate their learning of new instrumentation or procedures in the lab. Other examples include stock and maintain laboratory inventory for faculty, research staff and t