Research Fellow/Senior Research Fellow (NIF Informatics Facility Fellow)

Centre for Microscopy, Characterisation and Analysis – National Imaging Facility

• Support pre-clinical and clinical imaging research in the WA node of the National Imaging Facility (NIF).
• Full-time, fixed term appointment until December 2024
• Salary range: Level B $102,983 – $121,864 p.a. or Level C $125,639 – $144,523 p.a plus 17% superannuation
• This role may also be offered as a professional position for suitable candidates

The University of Western Australia (UWA) is ranked amongst the top 100 universities in the world and a member of the prestigious Australian Group of Eight research-intensive universities.  With an enviable research track record, vibrant campus and working environments, supported by the freedom to ‘innovate and inspire’ there is no better time to join Western Australia’s top University. 

About the team  

The Centre for Microscopy, Characterisation and Analysis (CMCA) is a principal research infrastructure centre at UWA. CMCA comprises a team of academic, research, technical and administrative staff supporting a diverse range of instrument platforms including preclinical MRI, small animal imaging, micro-CT, a range of state-of-the-art optical, scanning probe, and electron microscopy equipment, NMR spectroscopy, mass spectrometry for proteomics and metabolomics, secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS), and flow cytometry. The CMCA’s mission is to enable research excellence by providing access to world-class scientific infrastructure and expertise in characterisation to researchers and industry.

The CMCA hosts and provides management oversight of the Western Australian node of the National Imaging Facility (NIF), Microscopy Australia (MA), and the Metabolomics and Proteomics nodes of Bioplatforms Australia (BPA). These national collaborative organisations are all funded under the federal National Collaborative Research Infrastructure Framework (NCRIS).

The WA NIF node, located at the Harry Perkins North building on the Queen Elizabeth II (QEII) campus, is currently undertaking a major expansion to provide researchers with access to research-only human 3 tesla MRI and digital PET-CT scanners. This will be the first focused human imaging facility in the state. This expansion of its facilities will be accompanied by the appointment of four additional NIF Fellows to offer academic expertise, collaboration and support to the local and national research community.

About the opportunity  

As the appointee you will, under broad direction, work collaboratively with WA NIF users, NIF Fellows and other staff in providing data management, analysis, and visualisation expertise to support the research projects making use of the WA NIF imaging facilities. You will collaborate and provide technical expertise including: providing advice to users in data management, analysis, and visualisation; designing and delivering training modules; and providing expertise in the development and support of user’s workflows.

You will facilitate access by NIF users to local and external high-performance computing facilities; promote NIF activities to the scientific community nationally, including engaging with the many national informatics activities that the NIF and Australian Research Data Commons host and develop an independent research profile in image processing or a related area.

To be considered for this role, you will demonstrate: 

• PhD in a relevant subject area or equivalent work-related experience
• Relevant experience delivering and/or developing imaging data management (eg: XNAT), analysis and visualization, support and solutions
• Experience in high-performance computing environments and associated cloud-based storage repositories and services
• Demonstrated experience in working with preclinical or clinical imaging modalities, such as MRI, CT, or PET would be highly regarded
• Demonstrated experience in the development of image analysis protocols and workflow development.
• Ability to support collaborative research with users of the imaging facilities.
• Ability to manage and advise on the informatics needs of a multi-user imaging-based research facility, train and supervise users
• Expertise in image analytics software, file formats, and packages: for example, 3D Slicer, FSL, Avizo/Amira, MRtrix is highly desirable
• Competency in MATLAB and/or python programming languages is highly desirable

Occasional after hours work or travel within the state and interstate may be required.

In your application, please outline if you wish to be considered for Level B, Level C or both, and address the selection criteria appropriate to this.

About you

If you believe you could excel in this role, but don’t meet every single criterion, please apply anyway. Tell us about yourself and what you bring to the table. We’d love to explore whether you could be a great fit.

If you have any questions or would like a confidential discussion about the opportunity, please contact Roslyn Francis on 08 6151 0912 or [email protected] .  

Full details of the position's responsibilities and the selection criteria are outlined in the position description:   PD 510228.pdf

You are required to address the selection criteria in your submission in a separate document. For information to assist you with compiling statements to answer the selection criteria, please visit Addressing the selection criteria  

Closing date: 11:55pm AWST, Tuesday 20 September 2022

Application Details:  Please apply online via the Apply Now button. 

Our commitment to inclusion and diversity 

UWA is committed to a diverse workforce. We celebrate inclusion and diversity and believe gender equity is fundamental to achieving our goal of being a top 50 university by 2050. 

• We have child friendly areas on campus, including childcare facilities. Flexible work arrangements, part-time hours and job sharing will all be considered. 
• UWA has been awarded Bronze Employer Status for being a Top Ten Employer for LGBTI Inclusion by the Australian Workplace Equity Index (AWEI -2021). 
• UWA has also been awarded Athena Swan Bronze Accreditation in 2020.    

Advertised:23 Aug 2022 W. Australia Standard Time
Applications close:20 Sep 2022 11:55 PM W. Australia Standard Time