Robert C. Coghill, PhD
About the Lab
People
Facilities
Currently, all functional imaging studies are performed at the MRI Center of Wake Forest Univerity/Baptist Medical Center. A number of 1.5T and one 3T MRI scanners are available for functional imaging studies. Positron emission tomography scanners are also located in the MRI Center. To date, scanner access has been excellent. Recent imaging studies have been completed with only several days of data acquisition, with multiple subjects examined on each day.
Both subject training and data analysis is performed in Dr. Coghill's laboratory. Multiple, MRI compatable, thermal stimulators, and physiological and psychophysical response monitoring devices are located in the laboratory and have been approved for human research.
All data analyses are performed on a set of Macintosh computers, using both unix/X11 and OS X interfaces. FSL is the software package of choice for analysis of functional imaging data. Custom-written IDL code is used in the processing of physiological and psychophysical data, and for visualization of imaging data.
Joining the Laboratory
To date, a number of highly qualified individuals have directly inquired about the possibility of joining the laboratory. Thus, positions are typically filled without the need for advertisements. Post-doctoral candidates are encouraged to apply for fellowships from a variety of sources.
Individuals who are successful in the laboratory are self-motivated, rapid and independent learners, and have excellent inter-personal skills. They come from a variety of medical and basic science backgrounds and typically learn the technical skills needed for their position after they have joined the laboratory.
The majority of the actual work in the laboratory involves long hours of data analysis, so prospective candidates need to be comfortable with the prospect of spending the majority of their day on a computer using a number of both unix and Macintosh based software packages.