Human Subject Research Spec I

University of Rochester • City of Rochester, NY

21h • Hybrid

About The Position

The Human Subject Research Specialist I (HSRS I) plays a vital role in contributing to the success of large community-based pediatric asthma interventions within the city of Rochester and surrounding areas. As a core member of the team, the HSRS brings consistency, empathy, and technical expertise across all phases of study implementation, from participant recruitment and engagement through in-person and telephone interviews. The HSRS also contributes to high-quality data collection and analysis, manuscript, grant, and audit preparation in addition to supporting the broader research team through staff training and oversight. The HSRS also demonstrates initiative and adaptability in varied environments—from homes to schools to healthcare settings—while upholding ethical standards and embodying the University’s ICARE values. Some evenings and weekends are required. Must have reliable/efficient transportation to travel to schools, homes, healthcare offices and other local sites. Spanish speaking is a plus.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree with major course work in social or technical field or Associate’s degree and completion of 6 months in the Human Subject Research Coordinator Trainee Program required Or an equivalent combination of education and experience in human subject research coordination required
• Demonstrate excellent interpersonal and communication skills required.
• Must be flexible, empathetic, and able to engage effectively with diverse populations required.
• Demonstrate efficiency in prioritizing assignments, as well as skill in proactively and independently resolving problems in the field, and recommending/implementing continuous quality improvements required.
• Possess good knowledge of Microsoft Word, Excel, and Outlook required.
• Some evenings and weekends shifts required
• Must have reliable/efficient transportation to travel to schools, homes, pediatric offices and other local sites required.

Nice To Haves

• Spanish Speaking preferred
• Experience with Microsoft Access, REDCap, database development or SPSS preferred

Responsibilities

• Conduct participant screening for the research studies.
• Conduct telephone calls and in-person conversations to screen potential participants for eligibility and gage interest in a study.
• Conduct detailed screening surveys and use own judgment to determine if subject is eligible.
• Schedule home visits with family, and coordinate schedules with other staff to conduct home visits.
• Organize and maintain all screening data in a database.
• Conduct subject enrollment for the research studies.
• Travel to appropriate sites for subject recruitment, including homes, emergency departments, clinics, and schools.
• Explain study in detail and answer all participants’ questions.
• Obtain written informed consent from caregivers and verbal assent from children.
• Conduct interviews and administers surveys to participants.
• Collect breathing measurements (spirometry, eNO), height/weight, and saliva samples from child/adolescent participants.
• Work with children/adolescents to assure comfort with and accuracy of data collection.
• Maintain subject documentation, including memorandums and letters.
• Provide enrollment updates at weekly study meeting, and provide updates daily to director, senior specialists and research nurse.
• Ensure timely follow-up data collection for the research studies.
• Conduct telephone, Zoom and in-person (home, school, etc.) interviews to collect follow-up survey data with participants.
• Make sure that all follow-up surveys are conducted within a specific time frame.
• Travel to schools and homes to collect breathing measurements (spirometry, eNO), height/weight, and saliva samples from child/adolescent participants.
• Communicate with primary care, specialty care, and school nurse offices to obtain asthma-related health information.
• Conduct medical record reviews using electronic health records.
• Data collection, data entry, and data maintenance.
• Collect data from interviews and other sources from asthma studies.
• Perform on-site validity checks of data and obtains clarification as needed.
• Verify study related information and review subject records to ensure complete and accurate data.
• Enter data into database.
• Run reports from database and prepare documents for IRB, NIH and DSMB reporting.
• Oversee data cleaning procedures (reviewing and correcting other team members data collection forms).
• Oversee audit preparations for IRB/NIH (ensuring information and subject files are up to date and complete).
• Assist with database creation, edits and general maintenance
• Independently create tables and coding schematic for the databases.
• Help to hire, train and supervise research staff.
• Conduct interviews and assist with hiring of student research assistants.
• Assist with organizing and conducting training sessions for the multiple aspects of the asthma interventions including survey administration and data entry.
• Assist in supervising daily student activities including, delegating tasks, reviewing progress, and providing additional training when needed.
• Assist with interviews and training of regular full-time staff.
• Assist with compiling and disseminating information learned from research studies
• Assist with data analysis using SPSS or Excel, conduct bivariate and multivariate analysis.
• Manuscript preparation - draft abstracts and manuscripts.
• Grant support - assist in preparation of grant materials.
• Presentation preparation - independently organize and design presentations (lectures and posters).
• Conduct literature reviews on related topics using resources provided (library, Ovid Medline and other online sources), as needed.
• Communication with study participants, stakeholders, and other study-related personnel.
• Organize subject samples and mail samples to laboratory for analysis; maintain sample results.
• Create and mail study newsletters to families and nurses.
• Organize subject honoraria and mail gift cards to families.
• Communicate with school nurses, school administrators, and medical providers regarding study.
• Attend weekly study meetings and discuss study related issues and provide insightful suggestions for improvement.
• Perform other duties as assigned.

Benefits

• The referenced pay range represents the minimum and maximum compensation for this job. Individual annual salaries/hourly rates will be set within the job's compensation range, and will be determined by considering factors including, but not limited to, market data, education, experience, qualifications, expertise of the individual, and internal equity considerations.

What This Job Offers

• Career Level: Entry Level
• Education Level: Associate degree