George Mason University, Krasnow Institute for
Advanced
Study in Fairfax, VA (USA), invites applications for a full-time
doctoral
student graduate research assistant position available immediately
in the
Center for Neural Informatics, Structures, and Plasticity
(krasnow1.gmu.edu/cn3) headed by Prof. Giorgio Ascoli. To be
considered for
this position, applicants must apply to the PhD program in
Bioengineering at
George Mason University (http://volgenau.gmu.edu/doctoral-degrees)
following the instructions below.
The successful applicant will join a
collaborative
multidisciplinary team at the cutting edge of the development and
dissemination
of digital tools and resources for neuroscience. The Ascoli Lab is
funded by
the National Institutes of Health, the National Science
Foundation, the Office
of Naval Research, the Air Force Office of Scientific Research,
the Intelligence
Advanced Research Projects Activity, and Keck. This position is
particularly
suited for computationally minded researchers seeking exposure to
the
burgeoning field of big data in neuroinformatics.
The candidate will join the NeuroMorpho.Org
project -- a
free, public, centralized repository of neuronal digital
reconstructions.
NeuroMorpho.Org has firmly established itself as a powerful
resource for the
neuroscience community, with millions of downloads and data usage
in over 200
publications by other labs since its 2006 public release. Its
version 5.7
contains over 148,000 internal data files pertaining to more than
11,000
neuronal reconstructions contributed by 144 laboratories worldwide
from 24
species and 95 brain regions.
The pre-doctoral fellow will work within the
CN3 research
group and will be tasked with a variety of activities including
design of new
Information Technology (IT) solutions to enhance the performance
of existing
software and hardware infrastructure. Due to the growing pace of
the field, the
recipient will be also responsible for tuning and implementing the
next
generation support for Big Data handling of digital neuronal
reconstructions.
Desired qualifications include:
1.
proficiency in C/C++, Java
and Python;
2.
experience in Unix/Linux
server administration;
MySQL design and
administration;
web technologies
and API web
services;
content management
systems; and
3.
a BS/MS in Computer
Science,
Information/Systems/Software Engineering or a similar field.
Knowledge in task analysis automation and
interest in
neuroscience are a plus.
The position includes a $22,000/year 12
months-stipend (20
hours/week during academic year, 40 hours/week during summer) in
addition to
health insurance and up to 18 credits per year of tuition coverage
in the
Volgenau school of Engineering.