Postdoctoral Fellow-Clinical Evaluation Of Wearable Robotics

Job Title: Postdoctoral Fellow-Clinical Evaluation of Wearable Robotics
Location: Atlanta, Georgia
Regular/Temporary: Regular
Full/Part Time: Full-Time
Job ID: 266986
About Us

Overview

Georgia Tech prides itself on its technological resources, collaborations, high-quality student body, and its commitment to building an outstanding and diverse community of learning, discovery, and creation. We strongly encourage applicants whose values align with our institutional values, as outlined in our Strategic Plan. These values include academic excellence, diversity of thought and experience, inquiry and innovation, collaboration and community, and ethical behavior and stewardship. Georgia Tech has policies to promote a healthy work-life balance and is aware that attracting faculty may require meeting the needs of two careers.

About Georgia Tech

Georgia Tech is a top-ranked public research university situated in the heart of Atlanta, a diverse and vibrant city with numerous economic and cultural strengths. The Institute serves more than 45,000 students through top-ranked undergraduate, graduate, and executive programs in engineering, computing, science, business, design, and liberal arts. Georgia Tech's faculty attracted more than $1.4 billion in research awards this past year in fields ranging from biomedical technology to artificial intelligence, energy, sustainability, semiconductors, neuroscience, and national security. Georgia Tech ranks among the nation's top 20 universities for research and development spending and No. 1 among institutions without a medical school.

Georgia Tech's Mission and Values

Georgia Tech's mission is to develop leaders who advance technology and improve the human condition. The Institute has nine key values that are foundational to everything we do:

1. Students are our top priority.

2. We strive for excellence.

3. We thrive on diversity.

4. We celebrate collaboration.

5. We champion innovation.

6. We safeguard freedom of inquiry and expression.

7. We nurture the wellbeing of our community.

8. We act ethically.

9. We are responsible stewards.

Over the next decade, Georgia Tech will become an example of inclusive innovation, a leading technological research university of unmatched scale, relentlessly committed to serving the public good; breaking new ground in addressing the biggest local, national, and global challenges and opportunities of our time; making technology broadly accessible; and developing exceptional, principled leaders from all backgrounds ready to produce novel ideas and create solutions with real human impact.

About the George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology

The Woodruff School graduates high caliber mechanical engineers for a demanding profession. Mechanical engineers are the foundation of today's technological world. To do so, we provide enhanced facilities and laboratories to create the best learning environment and we attract outstanding faculty and students. In this period of rapid technological change, the Woodruff School produces mechanical engineers who are vital to our future. With approximately 3,000 students,100 faculty members, and 70 staff members, we are one of the largest mechanical engineering programs in the country. We are consistently ranked as one of the top 10 mechanical engineering programs in the U.S. at both the graduate and undergraduate levels and continuously innovate to keep our school at the forefront of engineering education. Our size and resources allow us to offer a diversity of educational and research opportunities that enable us to produce highly sought after engineering professionals.

Location

Atlanta, GA

Job Summary

POST-DOCTORAL RESEARCH ASSOCIATES AT GEORGIA TECH AND EMORY

The EPIC lab at Georgia Tech, led by Dr. Aaron Young, the PoWeR lab at Georgia Tech, led by Dr. Greg Sawicki, and the Emory Rehab Hospital Motion Analysis Lab, led by Dr. Trisha Kesar are jointly recruiting for two postdoctoral research positions available until filled.

The postdoc will work together on an NIH-funded project to develop autonomous wearable robotic systems to enhance mobility post-stroke. The PRAs will join a multi-disciplinary team of scientists with expertise in engineering, prosthetics, orthotics, and physical therapy split between Georgia Tech and Emory campuses. The research will leverage novel, self-adaptive AI systems to optimize both hip and ankle exoskeleton performance and includes biofeedback to enhance motor learning during post-stroke gait.

A key philosophy of our mentorship style is to provide the PRAs guidance and support to develop new avenues of independent research in line with our project's objectives and their future goals. In the post-doctoral training period the PIs will help the PRAs establish the skills necessary to launch an independent scientific career (e.g., advising, grant writing, project management). The PRAs will also gain experience mentoring junior graduate and undergraduate students on various projects in the lab. Training will emphasize: Concept ideation, protocol design, and implementation of rigorous hypothesis-driven experimental research to test human performance during walking with wearable robots.

Responsibilities

The clinical post-doctoral research associate (PRA) will join an existing multi-disciplinary team focused on stroke rehabilitation with assistive technology and will be jointly based at Georgia Tech and Emory. A core theme of this individual's work will be developing training and biofeedback systems to improve gait mobility in stroke using assistive devices. The PRA will have the ability to expand the project in new and interesting ways based on their expertise and interest. Examples include (but are not limited to) bi-directional assistive technology communications, haptic feedback combined with exos, sensory augmentation, incorporation of neurophysiology outcomes in context of exoskeleton-assisted feedback, and development of new clinical outcome measures.

Required Qualifications

Ph.D in Engineering or related fields

Preferred Qualifications

Ph.D. degree in biomedical engineering, kinesiology, biomechanics, movement science, applied physiology or other related disciplines. Individuals with a DPT-PhD dual-degree would be a great fit for this position. The candidate should bring expertise and background knowledge in areas that are relevant for the position including: research with human study participants, biomechanics, haptics, biofeedback, human physiology, clinical rehabilitation, stroke pathophysiology and/or wearable robots for walking disability.

Knowledge, Skills, & Abilities

• Strong publication track record

• Clinical and/or human subjects research experience

• Strong desire to develop independent scientific trajectory, such as knowledge of experimental design, hypothesis testing and statistics

• Good communication and teamwork skills

• Capability to use advanced human outcome measures to assess clinical performance

• Ability to collect high quality human subject gait data in a biomechanics laboratory

• Inverse dynamics computations (e.g., in the OpenSim environment)

• Clinical and/or stroke gait analysis

• Capability of running biomechanics equipment (motion capture, force plates, EMG, metabolics)

• PT degree in combination with the PhD (or in-depth clinical experience) would be an excellent fit for this position

Contact Information

Please reach out to shinae.cho@me.gatech.edu for more information.

Equal Employment Opportunity

The Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech) is an Equal Employment Opportunity Employer. The University is committed to maintaining a fair and respectful environment for all. To that end, and in accordance with federal and state law, Board of Regents policy, and University policy, Georgia Tech provides equal opportunity to all faculty, staff, students, and all other members of the Georgia Tech community, including applicants for admission and/or employment, contractors, volunteers, and participants in institutional programs, activities, or services. Georgia Tech complies with all applicable laws and regulations governing equal opportunity in the workplace and in educational activities.

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All members of the USG community must adhere to the USG Statement of Core Values, which consists of Integrity, Excellence, Accountability, and Respect. These values shape and fundamentally support our University's work. Additionally, all faculty, staff, and administrators must also be aware of and comply with the Board of Regents and Georgia Institute of Technology's policies on Freedom of Expression and Academic Freedom. More information on these policies can be found here: Board of Regents Policy Manual | University System of Georgia (usg.edu).

Other Information

• Starting salary will be set according to the current NIH guidelines based on previous experience. The initial appointment will be made for 1 year, with additional years possible following a positive annual review. However, we strongly prefer candidates who are willing to commit to a minimum 2-year training period.

• This position will be paid 100% by sponsored funds.