Campus

OSU-Center for Health Sciences

Contact Name & Email

Jamie Childers, Jamie.Childers@okstate.edu

Work Schedule

Typically, Monday - Friday 8 hour shifts

Appointment Length

Regular Continuous/Until Further Notice

Hiring Range

$ - $ Salary

About this Position

The Oklahoma State University Center for Health Sciences (OSU-CHS) invites applications for a Postdoctoral Fellow to join a nationally recognized research team investigating the effects of prenatal exposure to GLP-1 receptor agonist (GLP-1RA) medications.  The position is based at the OSU Hardesty Center for Clinical Research and Neuroscience in Tulsa, Oklahoma — a growing hub for translational neuroscience and advanced biomedical imaging.

POSITION OVERVIEW

The successful candidate will play a central role in the design, leadership, collection, and analysis of prenatal/fetal and infant MRI/fMRI data. This project, which is a collaboration between the labs of Drs. Julie Croff (maternal and child health) and Kyle Simmons (neuroimaging and GLP-1RAs), integrates neuroimaging, clinical, and behavioral approaches to better understand how prenatal exposure to GLP-1RA medications may influence early neurodevelopment. Candidates must have strong, demonstrated experience in neuroimaging analysis to be considered for this position.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

• Lead and assist in MRI/fMRI data acquisition, with emphasis on prenatal and early infant imaging.
• Conduct neuroimaging data preprocessing, quality control, and statistical analyses using established pipelines (AFNI, FSL, SPM, or similar).
• Develop, optimize, and maintain analysis pipelines and shell scripts for large, complex imaging datasets.
• Contribute to manuscript preparation, conference presentations, and grant submissions.
• Collaborate closely with an interdisciplinary team of neuroscientists, clinicians, and imaging specialists at OSU and partner institutions.

Required Qualifications

• Ph.D./Ed.D.
  • Ph.D. in neuroscience, biomedical engineering, psychology, physiology, or a related field.
  (degree must be conferred on or before agreed upon start date)

Skills, Proficiencies, and/or Knowledge:

• Interest in neurodevelopment and/or early brain maturation
• Demonstrated experience with MRI/fMRI data acquisition.
• Proven ability to independently run MRI sessions, including setup, participant screening and monitoring, and adherence to safety and quality control protocols.
• Demonstrated expertise with image pre-processing and quantitative analysis of structural and functional MRI data.
• Proficiency with Unix/Linux environments, shell scripting, and relevant neuroimaging software (e.g., AFNI, FSL, SPM, etc.).
• Strong programming or data analysis skills in Python, MATLAB, or R.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including a record of scientific writing and publication.
• Ability to work independently and collaboratively in an interdisciplinary research environment.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with structural or functional MRI in prenatal, infant, or pediatric populations, including familiarity with developmental and motion-related challenges to these unique groups.
• Experience working with Siemens MRI systems, including sequence optimization, parameter adjustment, and quality assurance for neurodevelopmental imaging.

Skills, Proficiencies, and/or Knowledge:

• Demonstrated experience with motion correction strategies and other advanced preprocessing techniques to improve data quality in perinatal or infant imaging.  
• Familiarity with longitudinal neuroimaging study design and analysis, including strategies for tracking developmental trajectories and managing repeated measures data.
• Working knowledge of machine learning or advanced statistical modeling approaches for neuroimaging data.
• Evidence of publication productivity and engagement in collaborative, interdisciplinary research environments.