Clinical Research Assistant

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Morris Research
Position Title:
Clinical Research Assistant
Job Family Group:
Professional Staff
Job Description Summary:
The University of Kansas Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center (KU ADRC) is a National Institute of Aging P30-designated national leader in AD research with the vision to impact the lives of every patient and family dealing with Alzheimer’s in the region and across the state of Kansas through our research, education, and clinical care. We are a comprehensive center at the forefront of clinical trials, lifestyle intervention trials, drug and translational research, and basic science research. Our research enables us to also provide leading edge clinical care and support for dementia caregivers. In addition, we provide a wide variety of both public education and training opportunities for the workforce of tomorrow.
The ADRC currently has seven core groups and one component group that support conducting in Alzheimer’s disease research and outreach efforts:
• Administrative Core • Biomarker Core
• Clinical Core • Data Management & Statistical Core
• Neuroimaging Core • Neuropathology Core
• Outreach, Recruitment & Engagement Core • Research Education Component
A full-time position is available for a highly motivated research assistant. This research will join the Morris laboratory team and assist with recruitment, evaluation, scheduling, retention, and education of participants for metabolism-related clinical studies and trials. Duties will focus on evaluating physiological and cognitive outcomes of metabolic interventions in older adult populations with and without Alzheimer’s Disease; documentation per regulatory requirements; work with research team for protocol adherence and execution; data collection and data entry; contact with study participant via phone calls and in-person visits; processing of biospecimen samples; and other duties as required.
In-Person Job
This is an in-person position. You will be expected to be in-person to complete all job duties onsite at KUMC or other work locations as determined.
The KU ADRC recognizes that our Center, University, and Community are strengthened by a diverse and inclusive group of students, faculty, and staff. We are committed to welcoming diversity, to eliminating discrimination, and to creating a climate of mutual respect that values our differences and our similarities. We are invested in making employment opportunities at the KU ADRC accessible to individuals of all backgrounds and life experiences. We strongly encourage applications from applicants who will enhance us in our continuing commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion. Some actions we take to make the KU ADRC a more diverse, equitable, and inclusive workplace include:
• Supporting an employee team to advocate for justice, equity, diversity and inclusion
• Serving and empowering communities, with an important focus on the underserved
• Seeking and supporting diverse businesses with KU ADRC funds
• Leading conversations to remain progressive about our communities’ needs
• Committing to making changes to support KUMC’s goals for equity, diversity and inclusion
• Supporting a diverse trainee pool through recognizing individual needs
Job Description:

Required Qualifications

Education: Bachelor’s degree in neuroscience, biology, psychology, biomedical engineering, computer science, or related fields.

Work Experience: Experience with clinical or laboratory research.

Preferred Qualifications

Work Experience:

• Experience working directly with human participants (clinical or research setting).
• Experience with metabolic outcomes in a clinical research setting.
• Experience with quantitative biomarker analyses.
• Experience with neuroimaging measures and/or computer programing.
• Basic knowledge of statistics.

Skills

• Strong English skills and demonstrate an ability to write and communicate with a scientific audience.
• Ability to independently plan, multi-task and complete projects.
• Highly organized, be able to work independently, excel at communicating with others, be proactive in solving data problems, and exercise sound judgment in analytic decision making.
• Strong commitment to support ADRC’s goal of creating a positive and inclusive environment for all people of all identities and backgrounds.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills that extend to people of different identities and backgrounds. 
• Demonstrates strong cultural competence and ability to work with peoples of different identities, such as ethnic, socioeconomic, racial, gender, sexual orientation, disability, and cultural differences.
• Strong interpersonal skills, capacity to work collaboratively and effectively with others, some experience managing space and financial resources, and an ability to inspire colleagues and staff to achieve excellent results.
• Familiarity with challenges faced by underrepresented individuals in research and healthcare.
• Ability to engage, inspire, and motivate others. Actively encourage them to be proactive and empower them to make decisions about their health.

Job Duties Outlined

• Pre-screen potential participants’ eligibility for currently enrolling trials by working with the recruitment division. This includes educating participants about the expectations and requirements of the trials.
• Assist the study team with scheduling of study visits, including study clinical evaluation visits, cognitive testing, intervention visits, and neuroimaging scans. Communicate with all parties involved including the participant and caregiver (when applicable) as well as the entire study team.
• Work directly with research participants to execute study visits. This will include basic data collection such as demographic information, health history, but also involve assisting with heat therapy studies, human infusion trials, physical performance testing, and more.
• Collection of and entering the data into electronic database and other duties as needed.
• Perform basic biological specimen processing/sample handling. This includes centrifugation protocols, pipetting, and tracking of sample storage. Basic operation of analysis machines, such as a glucose analyzer, HbA1c analyzer, lipid analyzer.
• Perform more complex fluid biomarker analyses of biospecimens (primarily but not limited to plasma and cerebrospinal fluid) using machines such as the Simoa XD-1 analyzer and Lumipulse G1200. Perform daily maintenance on the machine. Oversee biospecimen storage and organization prior to and following these analyses.
• Use brain imaging related programs to perform neuroimaging basic neuroimage archiving, processing and analyses.
• Assist in drafting Morris Lab study-related manuals of procedures regarding processes.
• Work collaboratively and respectfully with a team to conduct study activities, including supporting other tasks as needed and within capability.
• Other tasks as directed by supervisor.

Required Documents:

Resume/CV

Cover Letter

Comprehensive Benefits Package:

Coverage begins on day one for health, dental, and vision insurance and includes health expense accounts with generous employer contributions if the employee participates in a qualifying health plan. Employer-paid life insurance, long-term disability insurance, and various additional voluntary insurance plans are available. Paid time off, including vacation and sick, begins accruing upon hire, plus nine paid holidays. One paid discretionary day is available after six months of employment, and paid time off for bereavement, jury duty, military service, and parental leave is available after 12 months of employment. A retirement program with a generous employer contribution and additional voluntary retirement programs (457 or 403b) are available. https://www.kumc.edu/human-resources/benefits.html

Employee Type:
Regular
Time Type:
Full time
Rate Type:
Hourly

Compensation Statement:

The pay range listed for this position is determined by our compensation program using market data and salary benchmarking. A combination of factors is considered in making compensation decisions including, but not limited to, education, experience and training, qualifications relative to the requirements of the position, and funding. At the University of Kansas Medical Center, a reasonable estimate for the starting pay range will be the minimum to midpoint of the posted range, taking into account the combination of factors listed above. 

Pay Range:

Minimum

Midpoint

Maximum