Research Assistant Position: Artificial Intelligence in Neurosurgery (fall 2025)

Research Assistant Position: Artificial Intelligence in Neurosurgery
Advait Patil (mentor) and Dr. Kevin T. Huang (faculty PI), NeuroSurgical AI Lab (NSAIL), Department of Neurosurgery, Massachusetts General Brigham Hospital / Harvard Medical School
fall 2025

We build clinically grounded AI tools to make neurosurgical care safer, faster, and more equitable. Current projects and interests span: real-time triage and early-warning from EHR notes and imaging; automated detection, attribution, and review of perioperative complications for quality improvement and M&M; agentic retrieval-and-summarization of unstructured records for automated chart review; and predictive modeling with deep learning/radiomics for prognostication. Across projects, we fuse large-language models with multimodal data (text, labs, imaging), use human-in-the-loop evaluation, and prioritize responsible, HIPAA-compliant deployment. There are opportunities to contribute to high-impact publications, practical tools used by clinicians, and multi-center randomized clinical trials (MGB Neurosurgery, Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital, Multidisciplinary Pain Clinic). Responsibilities: Build and evaluate neurosurgical AI tools across several active projects, with opportunity to lead new studies depending on skills and interest. Work with real neurosurgical patient data (notes, labs, imaging), maintain organized datasets and documentation, run reproducible experiments (Python/R), track results, create figures/dashboards, and write manuscripts. Support focused literature reviews, draft methods/figure captions, and contribute to IRB/HIPAA-compliant workflows and study documentation. There are also roles available in clinical trial operations and to deploy and evaluate our LLM systems with patients. You can lean more towards either a Technical track (Python, ML/LLM evaluation, LangChain/Azure OpenAI, basic scikit-learn/PyTorch) or a Clinical/Writing track (chart review, literature synthesis, manuscript writing and preparation for submission). There is mentorship suitable for a ML researcher interested in making an impact in the clinical space, as well as a premedical student interested in neurosurgical research. You will work closely with researchers, medical students, neurosurgery residents, and attending neurosurgeons. Requirements and Expectations: Plan for ~8–12 hours/week during the semester, with a minimum commitment of one term (preference for the full academic year). Required competencies include either basic Python (pandas/numpy) or strong scientific writing and literature review skills. Very helpful: AI/ML research experience, Git/GitHub, Jupyter, and familiarity with LLMs, Azure OpenAI/APIs, clinical NLP, or healthcare quality improvement. HIPAA/IRB training is provided; no prior clinical experience is necessary. The most important traits are initiative, willingness to learn, and ability to execute projects from start to finish. Additional Information: Priority given to applicants who can commit for the academic year. Projects run year-round. Work is primarily remote with optional in-person meetings on the Longwood/BWH campus. Start date is Fall 2025 with rolling evaluation. You’ll join the MGB Neurosurgical AI Lab, hosted in the Brigham and Women’s Hospital, with direct mentorship from Advait Patil (HMS) and close collaboration with residents and attending neurosurgeon-scientists. To Apply: Email advaitpatil@hms.harvard.edu with subject line “Neurosurgery AI RA – [Your Name]” and include your (1) resume/CV; (2) a brief note (≤250 words) on why you’re interested, your preferred track (Technical or Clinical/Writing); and (3) availability for an initial meeting. (posted 9/25)