Imaging Research Specialist

Job Summary

The Imaging Research Specialist will serve as the technical lead for a Canada's Drug Agency-funded initiative to build an automated imaging research pipeline for the Canadian Registry for Pulmonary Fibrosis (CARE-PF). This is a senior role for an experienced individual who can independently take on the large majority of the technical and coordination work, apply existing expertise directly to the project, and deliver against a milestone-based funding timeline over one year with minimal supervision.

The initiative must reach its major deliverables within a fixed funding window, with funds released only as milestones are met. There is no room to learn the fundamentals on the job: the successful candidate is expected to arrive already fluent in medical imaging data (DICOM/PACS), health-research ethics and privacy, and research computing infrastructure, and to translate that expertise readily into a working pipeline. The role demands someone who can set direction, solve problems independently, and drive the work forward at pace.

The incumbent will design, build, and operate an automated workflow for retrieving, de-identifying, and securely storing CT imaging for consented registry patients, and will establish and administer a central imaging platform built on XNAT to support quantitative image analysis and multi-site research collaboration. A manual proof-of-concept has already been developed and tested at UBC; the incumbent will independently automate and scale it, and lead the technical work required to replicate the pipeline at CARE-PF sites across Canada ( Calgary, Saskatoon, Hamilton, Toronto, Montreal).

A defining feature of this role is coordination across many stakeholders. The incumbent will act as the central point of contact linking radiology, hospital and university IT, medical imaging, hospital and research administration, privacy and ethics offices, patient partners, and co-investigators at sites in multiple provinces. Prior experience leading projects and coordinating across departments or institutions is therefore essential. The person in this role must be able to move a technically complex initiative forward through many separate groups, each with its own priorities and approval processes, largely on their own initiative.

The successful candidate will help shape a new imaging research program from the ground up, and there is potential for the role to grow in scope and responsibility over time as the program develops and as additional funding is secured, which the incumbent will actively help to pursue.

Organizational Status
Reporting to Dr. Daniel Marinescu, PI and Clinical Assistant Professor, this position is based in the Division of Respiratory Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, and affiliated with the Vancouver Coastal Health Research Institute (VCHRI). The role supports CARE-PF is Canada's national pulmonary fibrosis registry, with more than 8,000 patients enrolled across sites in Vancouver, Calgary, Saskatoon, Hamilton, Toronto, and Montreal.

Operating with a high degree of independence under the Principal Investigator's direction, the incumbent serves as the primary technical point of contact for the imaging pipeline and platform, and works directly with hospital and university information technology (IT) services, radiology and medical imaging departments, hospital administration, patient partners, and research co-investigators and coordinators at CARE-PF sites across the country. Because the work requires access to hospital imaging systems (PACS) and institutional servers, the position is primarily based on site in Vancouver; some tasks may be performed remotely by arrangement, but regular in-person presence at the UBC/Vancouver General Hospital site is required.

Work Performed

• Provides technical consultation and advice to the PI, co-investigators, and site teams on imaging infrastructure, data flows, and feasibility, and implementation strategies.
• Independently designs, develops, tests, and operates an automated workflow for retrieving CT imaging studies for consented patients from hospital PACS, building on an existing manual, Python-based proof-of-concept.
• Develops and maintains robust software (primarily in Python) for DICOM tag de-identification and replacement, folder reorganization, and automated data quality control and management of edge cases including inconsistent tags and potential burned-in pixel-data identifiers.
• Configures, deploys, administers, and secures an XNAT-based imaging platform serving as the central repository for image storage, de-identification, project- and user-level access control, and downstream analysis, including associated server, database, and integration with imaging sources.Establishes,maintains, and supports imaging analysis environment, including a GPU-equipped workstation for quantitative CT (qCT) analyses such as lung segmentation, and installs, configures, and manages related analysis and machine-learning software.Establishes and maintains standards, standard operating procedures (SOPs), and technical protocols for pipeline use, de-identification rules, data backup, security, and platform access, and keeps abreast of relevant developments in imaging informatics and de-identification best practice.
• Serves as the technical lead in engaging local IT, radiology, medical imaging, and administrative departments at UBC/VGH and across the BC health authorities (VCH, PHC, PHSA) to assess infrastructure and design solutions for building and operating the pipeline locally.
• Designs and conducts a systematic survey of CARE-PF sites to define site-specific technical needs and constraints (e.g., differences in PACS systems, data governance, and local approval processes), and develops the technical plan for replicating the pipeline at each centre.
• Leads the technical work of extending the pipeline to other CARE-PF sites, providing guidance and specifications to local IT and radiology contacts and coordinating implementation across institutions.
• Manages the technical workplan against project milestones and timelines, anticipates and resolves risks or delays, and ensures deliverables are met within the funded period.
• Prepares technical reports and progress updates for the PI and the funder, and contributes to manuscripts, presentations, and dissemination, including potential joint authorship where appropriate.
• Writes and contributes to ethics submissions, grant applications, and other funding proposals to support the continuation and expansion of the imaging program, including drafting technical sections, developing budgets and infrastructure plans, and assembling supporting materials.
• Oversees project-related equipment procurement and assists with budget tracking in coordination with the PI and UBC research administration.
• Supports the establishment and operation of a Patient Advisory Committee (PAC) representative of the CARE-PF patient population, contributing technical and data-governance perspective to discussions of data collection, privacy, and risk mitigation.
• Prepares and leads research ethics board (REB) amendment submissions at CARE-PF sites to enable local imaging data collection, using the UBC ethics amendment as a basis and adapting it to site-specific requirements around secure sharing and central storage.
• Ensures all handling, transfer, and storage of identifiable and de-identified imaging data complies with applicable privacy legislation and institutional data governance policies, and independently identifies and resolves data-security and privacy considerations, escalating to the PI as appropriate.
• Carries out other related duties as required in keeping with the qualifications and requirements of the classification.
  
  

Consequence of Error/Judgement
This position exercises wide latitude for independent initiative and judgment and carries significant responsibility for the technical success of the initiative. The incumbent handles confidential patient imaging data, and errors in de-identification, data transfer, or data security could result in a breach of patient privacy with serious legal, regulatory, and reputational consequences for the registry and the University. The incumbent is expected to design and maintain rigorous, defensible data-stewardship and security practices and to exercise sound independent judgment in identifying and resolving problems. Because the project operates on a fixed timeline with milestone-based funding over one year, any errors, delays, or poorly designed infrastructure could jeopardize the release of funds and the achievement of deliverables. As the primary technical representative of the project to IT, imaging, and site partners, the incumbent's professionalism and judgment directly affect the institutional relationships and trust on which the initiative depends.

Supervision Received
Works independently under the administrative direction of the Principal Investigator, Dr. Daniel Marinescu. The incumbent is expected to plan, prioritize, and execute the technical work of the project with minimal day-to-day supervision, exercising considerable independent judgment and consulting the PI on strategic direction, major decisions, and unusual problems.

Supervision Given
May direct and oversee the work of research assistants, students, co-op students, or volunteers assigned to the project, and may provide technical guidance and instruction to site staff and trainees. Responsible for the quality and accuracy of work performed under their direction.

Minimum Qualifications
Undergraduate degree in a relevant discipline. Minimum of two years of related experience, or the equivalent combination of education and experience.

- Willingness to respect diverse perspectives, including perspectives in conflict with one’s own

- Demonstrates a commitment to enhancing one’s own awareness, knowledge, and skills related to equity, diversity, and inclusion

Preferred Qualifications

• Graduate degree (Master's or PhD) in a relevant discipline such as biomedical or software engineering, computer science, health/bioinformatics, medical physics, or a health science.
• Graduate-level work involving medical imaging, health data, or research computing is strongly preferred.

The following are required or strongly expected, given the seniority of the role and the project timeline:

• Demonstrated experience leading or coordinating technical projects, including coordinating work across multiple departments, teams, or institutions and driving deliverables to completion largely independently.
• Demonstrated experience working in a healthcare or clinical research environment, with a working understanding of how clinical systems, imaging departments, health-research ethics, and data governance operate in practice.
• Hands-on experience working with medical imaging data (DICOM) and familiarity with PACS and clinical imaging workflows.
• Demonstrated ability to write and maintain code (primarily Python) for data processing and automation, at a level sufficient to build and maintain a production data pipeline independently.
• Experience deploying, configuring, or administering server-based research or imaging software in a Linux environment.

The following are considered strong assets:

• Direct experience with XNAT or comparable imaging informatics platforms.
• Experience with image de-identification / anonymization workflows (e.g., DicomEdit, RSNA Clinical Trial Processor, or similar).
• Experience preparing research ethics submissions and contributing to grant or funding applications.
• Experience with quantitative image analysis, medical image segmentation, or machine-learning / GPU-based computing.
• Experience mentoring or directing the work of junior staff, students, or trainees.

Technical Skills:

• Proficiency in Python for data processing, automation, and pipeline development (required); familiarity with DICOM libraries such as pydicom is expected.
• Strong command of the Linux environment and command-line tools, and the ability to independently install, configure, secure, and maintain server-based software and databases.
• Solid understanding of networking, secure data transfer, authentication/access control, and database concepts as they apply to sensitive health data.
• Familiarity with version control (e.g., Git) and good software and documentation practices.
• Proficiency with standard research and office tools (e.g., REDCap, MS Office).

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities:

• Ability to work independently and take ownership of a complex technical program with minimal supervision, exercising sound judgment and initiative.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills, including the ability to explain technical matters clearly to clinicians, administrators, IT staff, and patients.
• Demonstrated ability to coordinate and drive a complex initiative across many separate stakeholder groups (radiology, IT, imaging, administration, ethics/privacy, patient partners, and multi-site investigators), building trust and moving work forward through groups with differing priorities and approval processes.
• Rigorous attention to detail and a careful, methodical, well-documented approach to sensitive-data handling.
• Strong organizational and planning skills, with the ability to manage competing priorities and deliver to deadlines.
• Understanding of, and commitment to, patient privacy and responsible handling of sensitive health data (e.g., BC PIPA / FIPPA and institutional privacy requirements).

This position is located within a health-care facility and involves access to confidential patient information and hospital systems. The successful candidate will be required to complete institutional privacy and information-security training, and to sign applicable confidentiality and data-access agreements, prior to being granted access to clinical imaging systems.