Job Description

Position Summary:

The AAI-CTR lab at UW–Madison is seeking a technically strong, mission-driven Postdoctoral Research Associate with a background in Biomedical Engineering, Electrical/Computer Engineering, Medical Physics, or Computer Science to work on advanced image analysis for aortic disease. This position is ideal for someone who wants to sit at the intersection of algorithm development and clinical translation – building, refining, and validating DL/ML models on large CT/MR datasets and helping move those methods into real clinical workflows.

You will work on problems directly tied to patient care: quantitative phenotyping of thoracic aortic aneurysm/dissection, longitudinal growth analysis, and especially vascular deformation mapping (VDM) and related 3D image-registration pipelines. Prior trainees from this group have gone on to industry roles and faculty/advanced academic positions at top institutions.

Key Responsibilities:

• Algorithm & Model Development
• Develop, adapt, and optimize deep learning / machine learning models for CT and MRI of the aorta (segmentation, registration, shape/growth modeling, VDM pipelines).
• Implement and evaluate image-based pipelines for longitudinal aortic surveillance using large, multi-center datasets.
• Perform quality control, performance benchmarking, and external validation of investigational algorithms.
• Clinical & Translational Imaging Research
• Work closely with radiology, cardiac surgery, cardiology, and medical physics collaborators to define clinically meaningful outputs and performance targets.
• Translate investigational tools toward clinical use (workflow design, reliability testing, documentation) aligned with AAI-CTR lab goals.
• Apply novel analysis tools to characterize large populations of patients with aortic disease (UW and multi-center cohorts).
• Data & Project Leadership
• Help curate, organize, and manage large clinical imaging datasets (CT/MR) and associated clinical outcomes.
• Mentor and collaborate with trainees from diverse backgrounds (clinical, technical, engineering).
• Take lead roles in manuscript preparation, conference abstracts, and presentations.

Required Qualifications:

• Ph.D. (or equivalent) in Biomedical Engineering, Electrical/Computer Engineering, Computer Science, Medical Physics, or a closely related quantitative/engineering field.
• Demonstrated experience with medical image analysis on CT and/or MRI
• Strong AI/DL skill set : proficiency in Python and common ML/DL frameworks (e.g., PyTorch, TensorFlow); experience training, fine-tuning, and evaluating models on large imaging datasets.
• Experience with core medical imaging tasks such as segmentation, registration, or 3D model handling; interest in or exposure to deformation/longitudinal analysis.
• Evidence of scientific productivity (peer-reviewed publications, conference papers) and strong written/oral communication.
• Strong interest in clinical translation of imaging AI (i.e., building tools clinicians will actually use).

Preferred / Highly Desirable:

• Prior work with vascular or cardiovascular imaging (aorta, aortic aneurysm/dissection, cardiac CT/MR).
• Experience with image registration or statistical shape/deformation modeling .
• Familiarity with database tools and good data engineering practices for imaging research.
• Experience working in multi-disciplinary teams and comfort collaborating with clinicians.
• Creative, independent problem-solving mindset—able to prototype, test, and iterate quickly.

Environment & Training:

This role is embedded in a highly collaborative, multi-disciplinary research environment spanning Radiology, Surgery, Cardiology, and Medical Physics at UW–Madison. The AAI-CTR lab is specifically focused on taking innovative aortic imaging methods (like VDM) from concept to validation and multi-center application. Because of the novelty of these techniques, high-impact publications and strong visibility in the imaging/cardiovascular community are expected. Former trainees have secured competitive industry, academic, and clinical research roles.

Application Instructions

Please submit:

1. CV
2. Cover letter describing your technical background in medical imaging / DL, experience with CT/MRI, and interest in clinical translation

Send materials to: Dr. Nicholas S. Burris

nsburris@wisc.edu

Start date: ASAP to Q1 2026

Work authorization: Due to current federal requirements and processing timelines for employer-sponsored visas, this position is not eligible for new employer-sponsored work authorization (e.g., H-1B). Candidates who already possess valid U.S. work authorization — including F-1 OPT/STEM OPT — are welcome to apply.

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