Post Doctoral Research Fellow

Hospital for Special Surgery • New York, NY

45d

About The Position

Post-Doctoral Fellowship Computational Knee/ACL Biomechanics Hospital for Special Surgery Biomechanics Department New York City, NY, USA Position start date: Applications will be reviewed until position is filled. Position duration: Two years, pending annual review Degree Requirement: PhD in Biomechanics, Mechanical Engineering, Computer Science, or equivalent specialty; (exceptional MS-level applicants to be considered) The mission of the Biomechanics Department at Hospital for Special Surgery (HSS) is to enable world-class orthopaedic care through innovative engineering. In this project, we are continuing to scale-up our physics-based, computational knee modeling workflow to develop a new digital-twin approach to guide anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury risk assessment, surgical decision making for ACL reconstruction, and rehabilitation after surgery. Our long-term goal is to change the paradigm of clinical care by integrating comprehensive, personalized, physics-based computational tools to augment and enhance clinical decision making in the pathway of clinical care of ACL patients. The mechanistic approach requires (a) incorporating image data from hundreds of subjects to identify anatomical factors associated with knee pathomechanics contributing to non-contact ACL injury and reinjury of ACL grafts; (b) integrating patient-specific knee kinetics obtained through motion analysis into our computational knee models; and (c) developing consensus-based recommendations for reproducibility in knee modeling. The scientific goals are two-fold: 1) to identify how both anatomical factors (i.e., joint geometry and laxity) and functional factors (e.g., knee kinetics) relate to knee kinematics and ACL loading in young athletes and 2) to ensure reproducibility in modeling and simulation of the knee through a consensus-based, NIH-funded, multi-institutional effort. This project is conducted in close collaboration with the Sports Medicine Service at HSS. It integrates physics-based computer simulation, epidemiology, clinical data, and uncertainty analysis. The work is clinical and translational necessitating a fellow with strong technical aptitude, exceptional communication skills, and the ability to work collaboratively in diverse teams. The fellow will be supervised by Carl Imhauser, PhD in the Biomechanics Department and our multidisciplinary team of orthopaedic surgeons, radiologists, bioengineers, clinical epidemiologists, and statisticians. Salary is commensurate with experience. We are looking for an individual with the following traits: Passion for musculoskeletal biomechanics focusing on the knee and the ACL Desire to rapidly learn new skills to creatively solve problems in a dynamic and fast-paced work environment Strong organizational skills Independently motivated, self-directed, and solution-driven Ability to work independently and as part of a team Strong collaborative attitude with strong Ability to set goals and adhere to timelines Attention to detail in documenting research activities Strong written and verbal communication skills with the ability to explain complex topics to a multidisciplinary group

Requirements

• Exceptional computer programming and scripting skills (MATLAB, Python, C, etc.)
• Training in multibody dynamics theory and software (MSC ADAMS, OpenSim)
• Experience with CAD and reverse engineering software. E.g., SolidWorks, ProEngineer, GEOMAGICS, and DesignX
• Experience in clinical and translational biomechanics research
• Exceptional written, spoken, and interpersonal communication skills
• Experience in project management and organization

Nice To Haves

• Knowledge of applied optimization and statistical techniques (i.e., machine learning)
• Training in computer science and software architecture
• Experience in experimental biomechanics testing
• Graduate course work in statistics including Bayesian methods
• Experience coding statistical software (for example: R)
• Extensive experience (≥3 yrs an asset) using multibody dynamics software including MSC ADAMS and associated scripting languages
• Experience in image processing methods including exposure to commercial packages for 3D reconstruction of medical image data such as MIMICS

Responsibilities

• Continue streamlining our computational knee modeling pipeline to rapidly develop and analyze populations of knee models (sample sizes ≥200)
• Use GitHub for code storage, management, and version control
• Synthesize large, diverse sets of experimental biomechanical and clinical data for model validation, injury risk modelling, and treatment planning
• Work closely with statistical experts implementing uncertainty quantification, calibration, and dimensionality reduction methods
• Maintain software, licensing, and data storage infrastructure
• Provide detailed technical documentation of workflows and findings and unify advancements with those of our knee modeling team
• Communicate results of analyses to a diverse group of engineers, surgeons, epidemiologists, statisticians, and therapists through oral presentations at weekly/monthly group meetings
• Disseminate findings thorough presentation at national and international conferences and through publication in peer-reviewed scientific journals
• Cultivate managerial and leadership skills by training and supervising engineering undergraduate and graduate students, medical students, and orthopaedic residents and fellows, who will participate in research projects

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Education Level: Ph.D. or professional degree
• Number of Employees: 5,001-10,000 employees