Research Assistant - Dept. Ophthalmology, Visual and Anatomical Sciences

Research Assistant - Dept. Ophthalmology, Visual and Anatomical Sciences

Wayne State University is searching for an experienced Research Assistant - Dept. Ophthalmology, Visual and Anatomical Sciences at its Detroit campus location.

Wayne State is a premier, public, urban research university located in the heart of Detroit, Michigan where students from all backgrounds are offered a rich, high-quality education. Our deep-rooted commitment to excellence, collaboration, integrity, diversity and inclusion creates exceptional educational opportunities which prepare students for success in a global society.

Essential Functions (Job Duties)

Job Purpose: Under the direction of the Principal Investigator, provide scientific and technical assistance to complete laboratory-based research. May assist in writing research protocols and preparing manuscripts autonomously or as directed through training in more difficult or specialized procedures to meet the needs of the research protocol.

Essential Functions: Perform laboratory-based scientific techniques. Assist in designing and performing experiments. Participate in implementing research objectives, ensuring compliance with all legal, regulatory and protocol guidelines. Communicate with Principal Investigator and Postdoctoral scholars/fellows on the status of research. Collect and log laboratory results and/or survey data. Evaluate and perform data analysis using graphs, charts, or tables to highlight the key points of the research results collected in accordance with the research protocols as stipulated. Proofread and edit research data and documents to ensure accuracy. Assist Principal Investigator with writing methods and summarizing/organizing data to be used in preparing and presenting presentations for professional, scientific, and academic conferences, and submittal to academic and scholarly peer-reviewed journals. Maintain the laboratory work areas, including routine maintenance on laboratory equipment as required. Order and organize required research supplies and records. Maintain cleanliness and organization of workstation. Perform other related duties as assigned.

Unique Duties

The Department of Ophthalmology, Visual and Anatomical Sciences seeks a collaborative computational specialist to support research and clinical projects involving image analysis, data science, machine learning, and AI. The individual will work with basic scientists, clinicians, and trainees to turn well-defined departmental questions into reproducible analytic tools and research products. Initial work will emphasize quantitative ocular imaging and research data pipelines. Depending on project needs, the role may also contribute to clinical analytics and 3D visualization. Key responsibilities: Develop and validate image-analysis workflows for ocular imaging, microscopy, and histology. Build reproducible pipelines for data cleaning, quality control, statistical analysis, visualization, and reporting. Apply machine-learning methods to clearly defined research or clinical questions and compare performance with appropriate baseline methods. Work with faculty to define project scope, ground truth, success measures, and validation plans. Maintain organized code, documentation, version control, data dictionaries, and analysis records. Communicate results clearly to investigators and trainees and contribute to abstracts, manuscripts, presentations, and grant applications. Support development and evaluation of AI or educational tools when aligned with departmental priorities. Follow all requirements for research integrity, privacy, data security, and regulatory approval.

Qualifications

Education: Bachelor's degree from an accredited college or university in a related field of study, preferred. Requires advanced knowledge predominantly intellectual in character in a field of science or learning acquired by a prolonged course of specialized intellectual instruction.

Experience: Entry level (less than a year of job-related experience) Experience in performing basic research techniques preferred.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities: Ability to accurately follow research protocols and work independently as required. Ability to analyze, summarize, and interpret research findings and data in reports and spreadsheets and communicate results. Knowledge of scientific integrity principles. Experience in cell, molecular, biological, and biochemical techniques. Excellent time management and organizational skills. Excellent interpersonal and communication skills and demonstrated ability to work with others in a collaborative environment. Experience using Microsoft Office Suite software.

Preferred Qualifications

Bachelor's degree in a relevant computational, biomedical, or engineering field. Experience with PyTorch, torchvision, scikit-learn, OpenCV, R, SQL, or cloud-based development tools. Demonstrated programming ability in Python and experience with common scientific-computing or data-analysis libraries. Experience analyzing biomedical images, longitudinal data, clinical data, or omics datasets. Experience evaluating LLMs or other AI systems for performance, robustness, or reliability. Experience with software or API development, 3D visualization, Unity, or hardware prototyping. Evidence of scholarly productivity, including technical presentations, abstracts, publications, or open-source projects. Experience with machine learning, computer vision, statistical analysis, or scientific software development. Ability to organize and document reproducible analyses using tools such as Git, Jupyter, or comparable platforms. Strong communication, problem-solving, and collaborative skills.

School/College/Division

H06 - School of Medicine

Primary Department

H0603

Employment Type

• Regular Employee
• Job type: Full Time
• Job category: Research

Funding/Salary Information

• Compensation type: Annual Salary
• Hourly rate:
• Salary minimum: TBD
• Salary hire maximum: $35,000.00

Working Conditions

Typical work environment may include a laboratory and/or office environment. May require working non-standard business hours including evenings and weekends. May be required to travel to scientific conferences.

Job Openings

• Number of openings: 1
• Reposted position: No
• Reposted reason: None (New Requisition)
• Prior posting/requisition number:

Background Check Requirements

University policy requires certain persons who are offered employment to undergo a background check, including a criminal history check, before starting work. If you are offered employment, the university will inform you if a background check is required.