Jobs

Open Rank Associate Professor/Professor in Data Science

Posted 22 Nov 2024

Employer

Herbert and Jacqueline Krieger Klein Alzheimer’s Research Center at Rutgers University

Location

New Jersey

Principal Investigator

Michal Schnaider Beeri

Contact

adrd@bhi.rutgers.edu

Applicants representing diverse backgrounds of all sorts are encouraged to apply. Rutgers University is committed to diversity, equity and inclusion.

The AD center is actively working to ensure that our faculty composition reflects diversity. We especially welcome applications from backgrounds underrepresented in STEM (including women, Black, Latinx, Indigenous and

LGBTQ+ scientists).

 

To become a part of our vibrant research community, applicants should submit a CV and brief statement of research accomplishments and plans and other information to Dr. Michal Beeri at bhi@bhi.rutgers.edu

 

https://jobs.rutgers.edu/postings/222770

Description

The Herbert and Jacqueline Krieger Klein Alzheimer’s Research Center at the Brain Health Institute (BHI) is seeking data scientists for a tenure-track faculty position at the associate or full professor level at Robert Wood Johnson Medical School (RWJMS) and BHI within Rutgers Biomedical & Health Sciences (RBHS). We seek a faculty member with experience using advanced statistical and machine learning techniques to analyze datasets related to aging, Alzheimer’s disease, or related dementias. The successful candidate will work as part of a multidisciplinary team including neurologists, neuropsychologists, and neuropathologists. The Alzheimer’s Research Center will develop a research cohort of individuals at high risk for dementia. This cohort will be extensively phenotyped for clinical, cognitive, genetic, neuroimaging, behavioral, digital and blood biomarker measures. In addition to scientific leadership, responsibilities will include mentorship of young investigators. Applicants must have experience with large-scale longitudinal studies, and an interest in studying the earliest stages of Alzheimer’s disease. The faculty member will play a critical role in advancing the institution’s research and expertise in Alzheimer’s disease, dementia, and related neurodegenerative disorders, and will be responsible for conducting data-driven research, analyzing complex datasets, and contributing to Rutgers’ mission of understanding, preventing, and treating these disorders.

Essential duties and responsibilities include the following. Other duties may be assigned.

• Serve as a key leader in developing all data-related aspects of a well-phenotyped dementia risk cohort.
• Provide leadership in ensuring robust data analysis protocols.
• Lead a program of federally funded, data-driven research in Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias that will contribute to the development of, and leveraging of the research cohort, in order to better understand the mechanisms and risk factors associated with Alzheimer’s disease.
• Lead and collaborate on manuscripts using cohort data.
• Oversee the collection, curation, and management of clinical, genetic, imaging, digital and biomarker data.
• Develop predictive models and algorithms to identify risk factors, disease markers, and potential therapeutic targets for Alzheimer’s disease.
• Implement machine learning models to improve prediction, diagnostic accuracy, and monitoring of disease progression.
• Lead and contribute to grant proposals that support future funding of cohort data collection and address research questions of high scientific and public health importance in Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias.
• Successfully compete for extramural funding.
• Participate in mentoring, training, and professional development of staff, postdoctoral fellows, junior physicians, students, and others collaborating on the cohort study.

Requirements

Qualifying tenure-stream applicants must have an established scholarly record demonstrating ability to develop and lead a program of independent, NIH funded research. Candidates are expected to have an established federal grant portfolio that can be transferred to Rutgers. Successful applicant(s) will serve as a core member(s) within the new Herbert and Jacqueline Krieger Klein Alzheimer’s Center at BHI, with a primary appointment in the Department of Neurology at RWJMS. The Herbert and Jacqueline Krieger Klein Alzheimer’s Center is a new center within BHI at Rutgers University with the mission of establishing an interdisciplinary, integrated program to provide comprehensive research focused on prevention and treatment of Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias. This center is the first of its kind in New Jersey, and the successful applicant will be integral to its development.

Ideal candidates will bring vision and experience in modern aging and memory research and enthusiasm for collaborative team science.

• Ph.D., M.D., M.D./Ph.D., or equivalent terminal degree in data science, bioinformatics, neuroscience, or a related field.
• A research program with currently active federal funding.  Preference will be given to NIH-funded investigators at the associate professor level or above; however, superb young investigators with NIH funding and a high potential for scientific independence and success will also be considered.
• Physician-scientists are highly encouraged to apply, but clinical credentials are not a requirement for the position.
• Strong expertise in data analysis and machine learning and experience in the analysis of diverse data types (clinical, genetic, imaging, digital, blood biomarker).
• Cultural and language competency and/or experience working with one or more of the underserved communities is desirable.

To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

• Experience utilizing advanced statistical and machine learning techniques and interpreting findings to identify new Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias research directions.
• Ability to develop and lead a program of independent federally funded research including a record of leadership of, or contributions to, major successful peer-reviewed grant proposals appropriate to the applicant’s academic rank.
• Candidate must possess good understanding of informatics infrastructures to support highly innovative research within high performance computing (HPC), cloud computing, and secure computing environments.
• Experience in cross-platform and user-friendly applications development to support high volume heterogeneous data processing, structures, integration, analysis, management, and sharing.
• Knowledge in learning healthcare systems and expertise in clinical data extraction, transfer, loading, and de-identification.
• Academic credentials that qualify for appointment as an associate professor or professor at Rutgers University including a record of successful extramural funding and peer-reviewed publications addressing Alzheimer’s disease and related disorders. Superb young investigators with NIH funding and a high potential for scientific independence and success will be considered.
• Record of successful multi-disciplinary collaboration and mentorship of students and early-stage investigators.
• Strong interest and enthusiasm in helping achieve successful implementation of the new cohort and contributing to cutting-edge science.
• Excellent written and oral communication skills and the ability to communicate research findings and concepts to both academic and non-academic audiences.