What are the responsibilities and job description for the Research Associate, Origins of Alzheimer’s Disease in Individuals of African Ancestry position at Wake Forest Baptist Health?
JOB SUMMARY
The Origins of Alzheimer’s Disease in Individuals of African Ancestry study is seeking a Research Associate for Implementation Science. This position will be integral in contributing to research aimed at improving the adoption, implementation, and sustainability of evidence-based research recruitment and retention practices in community settings. The Research Associate will support the design, execution, and evaluation of efforts focused on the dissemination and implementation of health promotions and research education, and developing policy suggestions for institutions internal and external to WFUSM. The work of this Research Associate will emphasize translating findings into actionable and reproducible strategies for recruiting and retaining underrepresented groups in research.
Non-faculty full-time employee whose appointment is contingent upon extramural funding. With investigators, directs and coordinates various aspects of the study/project directed toward planning, implementation, evaluation and dissemination. Requires the use of judgment and discretion in performing the assigned duties and responsibilities related to the project. These actions establish precedents and direction for the project.
EDUCATION/EXPERIENCE
Master's degree in Implementation Science, Statistics, Epidemiology, Health Services Research, Economics, or other closely related field. Minimum of 8 years professional experience or equivalent combination of education and experience that provide the skills and knowledge necessary to perform the job requirements. At least 7 years of experience with SAS and/or other data analysis software, mining tools, databases, and computer programming as needed. Experience with health promotion, biostatistics, and EHR data preferred. Excellent oral, written, and technical communication skills and a solid command of the English language are important to this position. Demonstrated ability to communicate complex relationships and concepts using data to drive change. Expertise is needed in statistical methodology, computation, research, health education, leadership and communication. Experience in marketing is a plus.
ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS
- Works with project Principal Investigator (PI), or Co- Principal Investigator (Co-PI), to plan and/or design study/project. Works with PI or Co-PI to translate planning and design decisions into concrete activities and tasks to be undertaken for project implementation.
- With minimal guidance, use formal dissemination and implementation science tools and advanced statistical and computational methodologies to deliver insights and strategic opportunities to improve the quality of research and community engagement.
- Establish scalable, efficient, and automated processes for large scale data analyses and model development, validation, and implementation.
- Proactively monitor and analyze complex systems to understand, diagnose, and continuously improve key performance indicators.
- Engage in the development, implementation and evaluation of strategic initiatives focused on increasing participation in research.
- Expertise in problem definition, i.e., able to translate center/research questions into analytical questions and translate analytical results into center/research solutions.
- Write statistical methodology and results for technical reports and publications.
- Manipulate, combine, and refine large databases to produce information suitable for analysis and community understanding.
- Generate progress reports for projects at indicated intervals.
- Create graphics for data visualization and information display.
- Develop metrics and scorecards.
- Partner with study team members to assess needs an define important research questions.
- Take leadership of multiple high-impact projects concurrently and accommodate interruptions and changing priorities as needed.
- Use data to inform proposal and manuscript development.
- Create timelines for successful completion of assigned tasks and projects.
- Translate advanced methodologies and complex results for non-technical audiences.
- Must be able to focus on the big picture while being prepared to take on detailed tasks that help projects succeed.
- Reviews literature and write summary of findings. Leads in the preparation of scientific papers for publication. Write proposals for the NIH and related sponsors.
- Complete work in accordance with standards and ethics.
- Performs other related duties incidental to the work described herein.
SKILLS/QUALIFICATIONS
- Demonstrates knowledge of scientific principles
- Strong computer skills
- Strong communication skills
- Public speaking experience
- Ability to prepare grant proposals with minimal supervision
- Peer reviewed publications, plus oral or poster presentations at national meetings
WORK ENVIRONMENT
- Clean, comfortable, office environment
- On occasion, requires traveling in personal car to outreach events to assist with and observe data collection. Has to be able to drive a vehicle as occasional attendance at professional networking or community events may require local travel.
