Research Assistant 1-Dermatology Clinical Trials

Vanderbilt University Medical Center•Nashville, TN

About The Position

The Vanderbilt Dermatology Translational Research Clinic (VDTRC) is seeking a motivated, meticulous, and technically-skilled patient-oriented clinical study coordinator / data manager to help advance skin imaging and artificial intelligence projects related to ongoing multicenter clinical trials in dermatology, oncology, and infectious disease. These innovative projects involve experts from the Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center, Bioinformatics, Dermatology, Medicine, Computer Science and Biomedical Engineering Departments. This environment brings together clinicians, basic scientists, engineers and statisticians in close collaboration due to its interdisciplinary research and close physical proximity of the School of Medicine to the School of Engineering. The new team member will be responsible for all aspects of managing clinical studies including recruitment strategies and implementation, IRB considerations, coordinating multiple clinical sites, patient consent, clinical data collection and entry. Additionally, under supervision, the team member will assist with database design and statistical analysis. This is seen an entry-level career position with significant growth potential as the candidate's productivity grows. This is an ideal opportunity for individuals considering a career in medical technology research leadership.

Requirements

Excellent organization and record-keeping skills
Interest in clinical impact
Attention to detail
At least basic computing skills (ideally with scripting experience)
Concise written communications

Responsibilities

Under supervision, run experiments, assays, and record results
Read and follow experimental protocols (May include animal handling, tissue culture, etc.)
Compile and communicate results to supervisor
Follow University safety protocols (may include use of combustibles, radioactivity, toxic material, and/or carcinogenics)
Perform calculations involving molarity, % solutions, and serial dilutions
Prepare and operate equipment in experimental procedures
May include blood gas analyzer, centrifuge, pH meter, spectrophotometer, autoclave, scintillation counter, electrophoresis unit, analytical balance, etc.
Maintain and repair equipment according to manufacturer and university guidelines.
Ensure Laboratory is prepared for experiments
Maintain inventories
Maintain sterile conditions as required
Prepare reagents
Clean equipment
Leading correspondences with collaborators across centers
Keeping track of progress on NIH grant deliverables
Keeping research data (including IRB documents, consents, and clinical data) organized
Analyzing research data in collaboration with biostatisticians
Refining and enforcing team data management guidelines and data QA
Developing and performing optimal clinical and smartphone photography protocols
Creating REDCAP databases
Self-initiated investigations of medical center resources to support research
Developing image privacy and information security protocols with respective offices in the medical center
Managing projects and supervising research assistants
Preparing scientific publications (depending on written communication aptitude and academic interest)