Research Assistant II

University of Arkansas System•Little Rock, AR

About The Position

The Research Assistant II supports the Brain Imaging Research Center’s human behavior and neuroscience research by managing data systems, maintaining open and reproducible research practices, and assisting with ongoing and future studies. The role includes working with standardized medical data analysis pipelines, coordinating with clinical departments on neuroimaging initiatives, and contributing to scientific publications. This position also assists with participant recruitment, enrollment, and assessment to ensure research goals are met, while supporting daily research operations. Additional responsibilities may include collecting data using MRI or Functional Near-Infrared Spectroscopy (fNIRS) technology and supporting regulatory compliance activities.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree in neurosciences, psychology, communication, data science, or related field plus two (2) years of research experience required.
Proficient with Microsoft Office products, technology-oriented.

Nice To Haves

Interest in acquiring skills and implementing clinical, sociodemographic, cognitive, affective, and behavioral assessments of child, adolescent, and adult study participants.
Ability to work in collaboration with clinics in Neurology and Psychology to ensure ethical practices and consistency in the collection of participant research data.
Ability to evaluate the safety of participants entering the MRI environment (e.g., researching various implants/devices, conducting thorough screening to ensure no adverse events in the scanner).
Ability to identify problems and crises that arise (angry or upset participants, participants getting lost en route to studies, etc) and resolve them or report to the supervisor.

Responsibilities

Serve as manager of the BIRC’s research practice of open and reproducible neuroimaging science.
Conduct quality assurance analyses of neuroimaging data under the mentoring of the BIRC’s scientists, and extend the behavioral analyses to model task-related changes in brain activity.
Support data analyses of structural and functional MRI data.
Enroll, screen, and assess participants for ongoing studies within the BIRC.
Screen potential participants to determine eligibility.
Schedule initial intake assessments and provide reminder phone calls and texts as needed.
Conduct informed consents to ensure participants have accurate information related to the study, participate in behavioral data collection by conducting participant clinical interviews and assisting participants on self-report measures, and ensuring compliance with all study protocols during data collection activities.
Monitor participants in follow-up portions of studies to ensure accurate and timely collection of longitudinal data on research projects.
Assist with data acquisition, including running behavioral tasks and collecting psychophysiological data (e.g., skin conductance, heart rate, electromyographic recording of facial muscle responses), MRI data, or fNIRS data.
Assist, on an ongoing basis, in achieving the targeted enrollment goals for all actively enrolling BIRC studies by engaging in recruitment strategies. Recruitment strategies include, but are not limited to, going to pre-established community partners and describing studies to patients, patrons, or members, and asking potential participants to participate in studies.
Complete research documentation to ensure accurate and up-to-date research records and participant tracking information.
Provide data management and entry, maintain RedCap electronic data capture, and establish new databases for new projects.
Serve as backup to the Research Coordinator for participant compensation using petty cash accounts and maintaining detailed compensation records.
Demonstrate the ability to work effectively in a team environment by daily interaction with BIRC faculty and staff, research participants, and administrative support.
Serve as liaison to clinical departments for the BIRC’s advanced clinical neuroimaging initiatives.
Screen and assess patients for clinical MRI scans.
Conduct post-processing of clinically acquired MRI scans and upload post-processed results to EPIC.
Assist with scheduling as needed, including reminder phone calls.
Assist with secondary analyses (i.e., chart review) of existing medical records.
Perform other duties as assigned.