Research Assistant II
– (3149600)
About Us:
Massachusetts Eye and Ear is an international center for treatment and home to the world’s largest vision and hearing research centers. Mass. Eye and Ear is a member of Mass General Brigham and a teaching hospital of Harvard Medical School.
Mass. Eye and Ear clinicians are driven by a mission to find cures for blindness, deafness and diseases of the head and neck. Internationally acclaimed since its founding in 1824, Mass. Eye and Ear employs full-time, board-certified physicians who offer high quality and affordable specialty care that ranges from the routine to the very complex. Learn more about our Mission, Vision and Values and Diversity, Equity and Inclusion on our site.
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Mass. Eye and Ear physicians are located at our main campus in Boston, and at our suburban locations in the greater Boston and Providence areas, across 21 locations.
Position summary
Schepens Eye Research Institute of Massachusetts Eye and Ear, an affiliate of Harvard Medical School, has an opening for a full-time research assistant to work in the lab of Dr. Alex Bowers in the Mobility Enhancement and Vision Rehabilitation Center of Excellence.
The available position is to assist in the implementation of studies to evaluate the effects of age and vision impairment on driving performance and eye and head movement behaviors in a state-of-the-art driving simulator. Studies may also address the development and evaluation of devices and training to assist visually impaired people when driving. This is a great opportunity to work on projects with strong clinical relevance!
Duties
The position involves all stages of the research process from planning experiments to assisting with manuscript writing and preparation of presentations, but mostly focuses on recruiting participants, data collection and analysis. The primary responsibilities will include:
- Assisting with development and testing of experimental protocols,
- Assisting with development and testing of driving simulator scenarios,
- Recruiting participants with normal vision and participants with vision impairment,
- Data collection, including running experimental sessions in the driving simulator,
- Processing data from driving simulator sessions
- Maintaining study databases
- Assisting with analyzing data and generation of data plots for meetings, publications and presentations
- Assisting with preparation of manuscripts and conference presentations
- Helping student interns
- Assisting with preparation of IRB documents
- Other administrative tasks, as required
Education and Experience
- A Bachelor degree is required, preferably in a field related to vision science, psychology, human factors or engineering, Masters preferred
- 2 years of prior experience of conducting research with human participants
- Enthusiastic, highly-motivated individual
- Above-average computer skills preferred
- Good problem solving skills
- Good organizational skills
- Able to work independently and with a multidisciplinary team on multiple tasks
- Strong communication and interpersonal skills
- Familiarity with MatLab and R would be a plus
- Experience with driving simulation, and eye and head tracking would be advantageous.
EEO Statement
Massachusetts Eye and Ear is proud to be an equal-opportunity employer and is committed to providing a workplace free from harassment or discrimination. All employment decisions are made without regard to race, color, age, gender, gender identification, sexual orientation, religion, marital status, sex, pregnancy or conditions related to pregnancy, national origin/ancestry, citizenship, disability, military status, genetic information, or any other basis prohibited by law. These protections extend to all management practices and decisions, including recruitment and hiring practices, appraisal systems, promotions, training, and career development programs.