Available Positions
Research Opportunities
Two Ph.D. Positions in Motor Control and Neurorehabilitation in BME at U Houston
October 29, 2018
Two funded Ph.D. positions (Research Assistantship) are available in the Department of Biomedical Engineering at the University of Houston, Houston, TX, USA. The Ph.D. student position is available to start in the Spring or Fall semester in 2019.
REIGN Lab (Rehabilitation Engineering for Improving Neuromotor Control) is currently focused on understanding the neural mechanisms of motor coordination in neurologically unimpaired and impaired individuals, especially in stroke survivors. We intend to translate scientific findings to develop novel therapeutic strategies and engineering application for improving motor function of individuals with neurological impairments. The laboratory also has opportunities to study aging and sensory/motor/cognitive functions and has an access to do research with other neurological populations (ex. Cerebral palsy, spinal cord injury, etc). The lab will adopt brain imaging and stimulation in the near future to address questions on the neural mechanisms of motor coordination following neurological injuries at the level of the EMG and kinematics/kinetics as well as the brain activation.
We welcome the application of motivated, problem-solving oriented students who have the passion to promote motor rehabilitation of people with neurological injuries through their work. The invited Ph.D. students will contribute to building a new lab as well as keep publishing papers with the already collected data in the lab. This is a rich opportunity to build a network with people in neurorehabilitation and neural engineering in the Texas area including Texas Medical Center as well as with an established international network in South Korea.
In Houston, Texas, there are 27 medical hospitals, one of which is TIRR, the #2 rehabilitation hospital in the US (http://tirr.memorialhermann.org/) where the laboratory has a network for collaboration. In addition, Neural Engineering and Neurorehabilitation is one of the three focuses in the Dept of the BME at UH (http://www.bme.uh.edu/).
The University of Houston (UH) is a Carnegie Tier One research (R1) institution. UH is situated in one of the largest cities in the US. The campus is located in downtown Houston.
Required Qualifications for Ph.D. position:
• Research interests and background in motor control, motor learning, motor neurorehabilitation, motor neuroscience, kinesiology, physical (or occupational) therapy, neural engineering, math or science required.
• BS in engineering or science
• The desire to conduct experimental neuromechanical and/or neurorehabilitation studies
• High self-motivation and persistence
• Strong critical and analytical thinking skills
• Good work ethics
Preferred Qualifications for Ph.D. position:
• MS in engineering (ME, BME, EE, or computer science)
• Peer-reviewed conference or journal publications
• Strong technical writing, presentation and communication skills
• Experience with research related to human motor neuroscience and neurorehabilitation
• Proficient in the following:
• Programming in MATLAB and/or LabView
• Experience in electromyography
• Experience in KINARM, brain stimulation (TMS) and/or imaging (EEG, fNIR, fMRI)
• Human subjects experimental design and statistical analysis
• Biomechanical experimental techniques including optical motion capture
Interested candidates can contact Dr. Jinsook Roh at jroh@uh.edu to discuss a possibility to apply for the graduate school and join the laboratory as a Ph.D. student or postdoc. Review of applicants will begin immediately and continue until the positions are filled. If graduate students can provide all required materials including GRE scores, it is possible to consider starting from Spring 2019. It is advised to contact Dr. Roh ASAP with CV, the description of interest/background in research and education, and contact information for three references.
Jinsook Roh, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Department of Biomedical Engineering
University of Houston