Postdoctoral Fellow-MSH-21015-019

Postdoctoral Research Fellowship

The BioMedical Engineering and Imaging Institute (BMEII) at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai is seeking an outstanding physician-scientist or quantitative scientist for a minimum two-year NIH-funded Postdoctoral Research Fellowship supported by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (R01HL166720). The successful candidate will join a multidisciplinary research team investigating the mechanisms and imaging predictors of malignant ventricular arrhythmias in patients with mitral valve prolapse.

This unique position combines cutting-edge translational cardiovascular imaging research with formal clinical training in multimodality cardiovascular imaging, offering an exceptional opportunity for candidates pursuing careers in academic cardiovascular medicine, cardiac imaging, electrophysiology, biomedical engineering, or translational imaging science.

During the fellowship, approximately three days per week will be devoted to NIH-funded research activities, while two days per week will be dedicated to supervised clinical training in multimodality cardiovascular imaging under the leadership of Dr. Stamatios Lerakis. For eligible physician trainees, this integrated clinical experience fulfills the requirements of an Advanced Cardiac Imaging Fellowship, providing a unique pathway toward academic careers that combine clinical expertise with independent research.

Responsibilities

Research Responsibilities

The fellow will play a central role in an NIH-funded multidisciplinary research program integrating advanced cardiovascular imaging, clinical phenotyping, and quantitative image analysis to identify novel imaging biomarkers associated with ventricular arrhythmias and sudden cardiac death in mitral valve prolapse.

Primary responsibilities include:

• Lead quantitative analysis and interpretation of multimodality cardiovascular imaging studies, including cardiac MRI, PET, echocardiography, and cardiac CT.
• Develop and optimize image processing and quantitative analysis pipelines using commercially available and proprietary software.
• Integrate multimodality imaging, clinical, electrophysiologic, biomarker, and longitudinal outcomes data into secure HIPAA-compliant research databases.
• Develop and maintain centralized research databases while facilitating data access for multidisciplinary collaborators.
• Collaborate closely with cardiologists, biomedical engineers, imaging scientists, statisticians, and data scientists to develop innovative analytical approaches.
• Participate in image registration, segmentation, radiomic analyses, and advanced quantitative image processing.
• Lead preparation of first-author manuscripts for publication in leading cardiovascular journals.
• Present research findings at national and international scientific meetings.
• Participate in NIH grant preparation, annual progress reports, and future funding applications.
• Mentor medical students, graduate students, and junior research trainees.

Clinical Cardiac Imaging Training

In addition to research activities, fellows will spend approximately two days per week participating in structured clinical training within the Mount Sinai Cardiac Imaging Program under the leadership of Dr. Stamatios Lerakis.

Clinical responsibilities include supervised interpretation of:

• Cardiac Magnetic Resonance Imaging (CMR)
• Cardiac Computed Tomography (CCT)
• Transthoracic and Transesophageal Echocardiography
• Nuclear Cardiology and Cardiac PET Imaging

The clinical component is fully integrated with the research program and provides comprehensive exposure to multimodality cardiovascular imaging. For eligible physician trainees, this experience fulfills the requirements for an Advanced Cardiac Imaging Fellowship, while maintaining protected time for NIH-funded translational research.

Research Environment

The fellow will become an integral member of the BioMedical Engineering and Imaging Institute (BMEII), one of the nation's premier cardiovascular imaging research centers.

The research environment includes access to:

• State-of-the-art PET/MR, cardiac MRI, cardiac CT, echocardiography, and nuclear cardiology facilities
• Large prospective cardiovascular imaging registries
• Advanced quantitative image analysis software and computational resources
• Artificial intelligence and machine learning collaborations
• Biomedical engineering expertise
• NIH-funded multidisciplinary translational research programs

The fellow will collaborate closely with investigators in Cardiovascular Medicine, Biomedical Engineering, Electrophysiology, Artificial Intelligence, Data Science, and Biostatistics within the Mount Sinai Health System.

Qualifications

Applicants should possess one of the following:

• MD or MD/PhD with training or strong interest in cardiovascular medicine, cardiac imaging, electrophysiology, heart failure, or related disciplines
• PhD in biomedical engineering, imaging sciences, biomedical physics, computer science, or another quantitative discipline with experience in cardiovascular imaging

Preferred qualifications include:

• Prior experience in cardiac MRI, PET, echocardiography, cardiac CT, or multimodality cardiovascular imaging
• Experience with quantitative image analysis and image processing
• Familiarity with Python, MATLAB, R, FSL, SPM, or similar computational software
• Strong scientific writing and communication skills
• Demonstrated ability to work independently and collaboratively within multidisciplinary research teams

Career Development

This fellowship is specifically designed to prepare fellows for careers as independent academic investigators and leaders in cardiovascular imaging.

Fellows will benefit from:

• Protected research time within an NIH-funded laboratory
• Structured mentorship from internationally recognized faculty in cardiovascular imaging and translational research
• Clinical training in multimodality cardiovascular imaging under the leadership of Dr. Stamatios Lerakis
• Opportunities to publish first-author manuscripts in leading cardiovascular journals
• Participation in NIH grant development and career development award applications
• Presentation of research at national and international scientific meetings
• Mentoring experience with medical students, graduate students, and junior trainees

The initial appointment is for a minimum of two years, with the possibility of extension based on performance and available funding.

About the BioMedical Engineering and Imaging Institute

The BioMedical Engineering and Imaging Institute (BMEII) at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai is an internationally recognized center dedicated to advancing precision cardiovascular medicine through innovation in multimodality imaging, biomedical engineering, artificial intelligence, and translational research. Investigators within the Institute lead numerous NIH-funded programs spanning cardiovascular disease, inflammation, molecular imaging, structural heart disease, and computational imaging sciences.

Application Process

Interested candidates should submit:

• Curriculum vitae
• Brief statement describing research interests and long-term career goals
• Contact information for three professional references

Applications should be submitted to:

Maria Giovanna Trivieri, MD, PhD Associate Professor of Medicine BioMedical Engineering and Imaging Institute Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai

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Mount Sinai Hospital