Clinical Research Assistant I

The Department of Psychiatry has an opening for a full-time Clinical Research Assistant I in the Neuroscience of Risk and Development (NeRD) Laboratory at Boston Children's Hospital. The NeRD lab uses a developmental framework to identify risk markers for biological mechanisms that underlie, severe psychiatric disorders.

In this position, the Clinical Research Assistant I will contribute to the day-to-day research activities as part of a NIH-funded multi-site U01 study that the Principal Investigator (Maria Jalbrzikowski, PhD) is leading with other co-investigators. Together, the study sites make up the Pediatric Precision Sleep Network, which seeks to identify clinically relevant sleep signatures that predispose youth to future mental health risks and develop predictive models based on these clinical signatures to inform screening and risk stratification in primary care settings. The Clinical Research Assistant I will also assist with running additional, ongoing studies being conducted in the laboratory.

COVER LETTER required

The Clinical Research Assistant I will be responsible for:

• Advancing ongoing research projects under the supervision of NeRD lab director.
• Actively recruiting and scheduling subjects for studies, communicating in written, telephone, and verbal formats with young people and their families, obtaining informed consent from participants/families, administering clinical interviews and questionnaires with participants/families, and conducting other study procedures, such as teaching participants to wear at-home sleep-EEG devices.
• Tracking, coordinating and preparing the necessary documentation for Institutional Review Board (IRB) submissions together with the Principal Investigator of the study and/ or other members of the research team.
• Conducting research activities at both on-site and off-site locations, guiding and advising participants/families through all phases of study participation, and serving as a liaison to participants/families enrolled in the research studies.
• Coordinating follow up visits as necessary.
• Facilitating regulatory compliance and participating in teleconference calls and weekly team meetings.
• Maintaining databases and conducting literature searches to support publication efforts.
• Monitoring and reviewing data collection, data entry, and informed consent procedures to ensure consistency of application for each study.
• Assisting with general administrative tasks, including ordering and organizing project materials and coordinating activities such as virtual & in-person meetings.
• Responsibilities are not limited to these discrete activities
• This role may require additional data-related tasks beyond the listed responsibilities, including daily collection, organization, management and analysis of research data.

To qualify, you must have:

• A Bachelor's degree in a relevant field (e.g. life sciences, psychology, public health) or a Bachelor's degree and relevant work experience.
• Excellent organizational skills and attention to detail.
• Familiarity with computers and common software packages including Word and Excel.
• Ability to prioritize among multiple tasks.
• Well-developed communication skills to provide critical information to young people and parents/families, work collaboratively on a team, and effectively deal with conflicting views or issues.
• Experience and/or familiarity communicating across multiple formats, including face-to-face, teleconference, telephone and email
• Flexible schedule, including some evenings and weekends.

Preferred Qualification:

• Experience using Redcap is desirable but not required.
• Experience coding in programs such as R or Matlab is desirable but not required.
• A 2-year commitment is highly preferred.
• Experience working with young people and parents/families is desirable.

Compensation & Benefits:
BCH offers competitive compensation and benefits.