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Specialist – Shan Research Lab

A Specialist position is available in the Shan Lab, Department of Ophthalmology at the UCSF, School of Medicine.

We are seeking a motivated individual to participate in research in Artificial Intelligence for medicine. The role will involve building and managing multi-modal databases consisting of text, numbers and imaging data already within electronic health records at UCSF medical center and facilitate use of this database to train machine learning models towards enhancing ophthalmological disease diagnosis and management. Successful candidate will drive original research, and, if interested, present data at scientific meetings, prepare manuscripts with authorship, and collaborate with experts in academia and industry.

The ideal candidate will be comfortable cleaning data, building & interrogating databases, and analyzing & interpreting complex datasets to advise clinicians on study design and analysis. Towards this end, we are looking for candidates with experiences working in big data, fluent in SQL and/or R and at least 1 programming language (e.g. python or C++). Prior experience with inferential biostatistical approaches (e.g. regression analyses) and informatics-based machine learning approaches are preferred. Understanding of secure cloud computing infrastructure for data management of protected health information is helpful.

UCSF Department of Ophthalmology is a nationwide leader in clinical care, medical training, and research. We are one of the largest recipients of federal research grants, consistently in the top 10 of national Institute of Health (NIH) funding and currently ranks #1 among academic medical center peers in National Eye Institute (NEI) funding. Additionally, we have been the #1 recipient of the Research to Prevent Blindness (the major foundation funding organization in ophthalmology/eye disease) funding nationwide with nearly $1.2 million granted in a single year. Overall, the Department has a wide-ranging portfolio of 60 active research grants. The department is located in a brand-new state-of-the-art-institute at UCSF's Mission Bay Campus. The Wayne and Gladys Valley Center for Vision houses the Koret Vision Clinics, as well as research and teaching facilities.

Dr. Shan is a glaucoma specialist and a medical engineer whose research aims to leverage computational innovations such as artificial intelligence (AI) to broaden access to glaucoma care and vision-saving therapies. Glaucoma is a leading cause of blindness worldwide. Early diagnosis and intervention is key to preserving vision. The Shan lab thus aims to develop biomimetic AI architectures to empower accurate and scalable disease diagnosis and management. Dr. Shan is also a committed mentor and will support the successful candidate’s long term career goals, whether that be in pursuant of graduate / medical degrees or other academic / industry positions.

This search is for a Specialist at the Junior, Assistant, Associate, or Full rank.

Required Qualifications:

• Specialists appointed at the junior rank must possess (or in the process of obtaining) a baccalaureate degree (or equivalent degree) in biomedical engineering, computer science or related field or four years of research experience in a related field (example: computer science, biomedical engineering).
• Specialist appointed at the Assistant rank must possess (or in the process of obtaining) a Master’s degree in biomedical engineering, computer science or related field or a baccalaureate degree in biomedical engineering, computer science or related field with 3 or more years of research experience.
• Specialist appointed at the Associate rank must possess (or in the process of obtaining) a Master’s degree in biomedical engineering, computer science or related field or five to ten years of experience in the relevant specialization.
• Specialist appointed at the Full rank must possess (or in the process of obtaining) a terminal degree (or equivalent degree) in biomedical engineering, computer science or related field or ten or more years of experience in the relevant specialization.
• Applicant’s materials must list (pending) qualifications upon submission.
• Applicants must have obtained the degree requirement for the Specialist rank by the time of hire.
• Proficient in 1 each of database (e.g. SQL or R), statistical (e.g. SAS or STAT), and programming languages (e.g. python, C++, javascript).
• In-depth experience with database management, query, mining and reporting software.
• Good communication skills to facilitate project milestones.
• Self-motivated, organized, good attention to details.
• Experience contributing to scientific writing and presentations.
• Experience in operating deep learning models.
• Background in big data statistics and/or informatics.
• Experience with large health care-related datasets (eg, electronic medical record, insurance claims, and/or medical imaging data). Appointees in the Specialist series will be expected to engage in specialized research, professional activities and do not have teaching responsibilities. Specialists are expected to use their professional expertise to make scientific and scholarly contributions and may participate in University and Public Service.

Interested individuals should submit the following materials:

• CV
• Cover Letter
• Contact information for 3 references

Screening of applicants will begin immediately and will continue as needed throughout the recruitment period. Salary and rank will be commensurate with the applicants experience and training.

See Table 24B for the salary range for this position. A reasonable estimate for this position is $51,300 - $181,800.

Please direct any questions to Dr. Shan: jing.shan@ucsf.edu

Please apply online at https://aprecruit.ucsf.edu/JPF04991.

As a University employee, you will be required to comply with all applicable University policies and/or collective bargaining agreements, as may be amended from time to time. Federal, state, or local government directives may impose additional requirements.

UC San Francisco seeks candidates whose experience, teaching, research, or community service has prepared them to contribute to our commitment to diversity and excellence. The University of California is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, age or protected veteran status.