Director of Pediatric Research

MAJOR DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Ensure the ongoing development of pediatric research will be patient-centered, efficient, effective, equitable, integrated, and safe.
• Develop and sustain a durable pediatric research-training program for clinicians and learners.
• Guide and mentor faculty and learners within the Department in the development of their research portfolios.
• Facilitate collaboration between the Department of Pediatrics, Janet Weis Children’s Hospital, Graduate Medical Education, and the Geisinger College of Health Sciences to promote interdisciplinary research.
• Strengthen partnerships with the Pediatrics and Medicine-Pediatrics and Pediatric Neurology residency programs, as well as evolving fellowship programs, to foster opportunities for trainees to engage in research and to promote original research and other scholarly projects among residents.
• Leverage existing core lectures in research methods and biostatistics, and where necessary develop additional courses and programs to ensure opportunities for the development of research skills and literacy for all pediatric staff (e.g., physicians, advanced practitioners, nurses, therapists, residents, and fellows).
• Collaborate with medical directors of pediatric services to develop, implement, and foster programs, and processes to achieve excellence in pediatric research, including, but not limited to general pediatrics, preventative care, pediatric specialty care, and pediatric surgical care. With the medical directors and residency program directors, explore opportunities for research in focused areas such as health maintenance and disease prevention, genomics, rural trauma, and child abuse.
• Partner with Research Administration, to ensure compliance with ethical standards, contractual and regulatory requirements for clinical research.
• Oversee the evaluation and prioritization of potential research projects. Identify ways to streamline internal research procedures and establish and support a process-improvement program to improve the quality of pediatric research.
• Oversee and guide the design of pediatric research projects, including clinical trials and translational studies. Coordinate the efforts of clinician researchers to ensure appropriate patient selection, study design, and the execution of clinical trials.
• Identify and secure external funding opportunities for research, including grants, philanthropic organizations, federal agencies, and industry partnerships.
• Support faculty and researchers in developing research proposals, protocols, and manuscripts for publication in high-impact journals.
• Collaborate closely with researchers in the Research Department to enhance the quality of life of children through research, education, and clinical care innovation.
• Collaborates with Quality Improvement on evaluating and analyzing data and metrics to seek to improve patient outcomes.
• The Director will provide guidance for the assessment and integration of emerging technologies that optimize care for children.
• Chair regularly scheduled Pediatric Research meetings that will provide guidance and updates to new and active pediatric clinical research initiatives.
• Participate in key educational conferences held within the Department of Pediatrics.
• Develop an annual Geisinger’s JWCH research portfolio report to enumerate and promote important accomplishments in pediatric research. Regularly review research progress, providing reports to leadership and recommending adjustments as needed.
• Collaborate with hospital administration and research leaders to ensure the efficient use of resources and alignment with institutional priorities.

Qualifications:

SKILLS AND ABILITIES:

• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to build relationships across disciplines and departments.
• A strong record of securing research funding and publishing in peer-reviewed journals.
• Commitment to fostering a diverse and inclusive research environment.
• Experience and understanding of working with Institutional Review Boards, Compliance, Office of Sponsored Projects, and Finance and navigating regulatory or other research requirements.
• Experience collaborating with residency training programs and mentorship of early-career researchers.
• Demonstrated strong leadership and decision-making skills.

REQUIREMENTS:

• PhD, MD or DO or other relevant terminal doctorate degree from a U.S. accredited institution and completed residency or post-doctoral education. Formal research training must be documented by transcript.
• Minimum of 5 years of research experience following completion of terminal degree with a record of successful external funding.
• Demonstrated success in building collaborative research programs within a healthcare or academic institution.
• Minimum 2 years teaching and training experience including faculty mentoring and research training.
• Candidate should have a successful record of peer-reviewed publications as first and/or senior author and within a team of authors, as well as a record of presentations at national conferences.
• Proven ability to assist co-authors and/or students in achieving publishing and presentation success.
• Proven ability to engage, work effectively with, and lead diverse faculty, students, and staff.