Research Associate Investigating Cerebrovascular Physiology Using MRI

at  The University of Manchester

BACKGROUND

This position is suitable for a talented imaging scientist who wants to join a growing team investigating cerebrovascular physiology using MRI. The post-holder will work primarily on an ongoing longitudinal project, measuring blood-brain-barrier dysfunction in people for 3 years after ischaemic stroke, and relating this to cognitive decline. The post is funded by an award from the National Institute of Health, USA, led by Professor Marion Buckwalter from Stanford University in partnership with the University of Manchester and the University of Columbia. The project is part of a multidisciplinary collaboration in which the University of Manchester forms the ‘Imaging Hub’.
The post-holder will be based in Dr. Parkes’ neuroimaging research group, comprising PhD students and post-doctoral researchers with varied backgrounds including physicists, neuroscientists and clinicians. The group is based in the Division of Psychology, Communication and Human Neuroscience within the Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health.

The Research Associate employed in this role will have overall responsibility for the efficient analysis of MRI data acquired from three centres. They will work primarily on the dynamic contrast-enhanced MRI data to implement and deploy computer models to extract physiological parameters from the imaging data. They will work with other staff in Manchester, to analyse additional MRI data including arterial spin labelling, quantitative susceptibility mapping, diffusion-weighted, FLAIR and T1-weighted scans, and organise the imaging outputs for ease of access of the broader project team.
The team includes leading experts in stroke research and the post-holder will have the opportunity to gain knowledge of stroke physiology, neuroinflammation and cognitive neuroscience.
There will also be scope to evaluate different analysis approaches and develop alternative imaging acquisition techniques.