Research Assistant - Institute

Point32Health • Boston, MA

1d • Hybrid

About The Position

Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Institute (HPHCI) is seeking a Research Assistant to join the Environmental Influences on Child Health Outcomes (ECHO) project. This is a longitudinal research study investigating the impact of prenatal nutrition, neighborhood environments, and lifestyle factors on pregnancy and childhood health. The role involves recruiting pregnant individuals and their children, conducting research visits with infants and children and their caregivers, obtaining informed consent, and performing data entry according to research protocols. The position requires evening and weekend hours, local travel, and strong communication skills for interacting with participants, investigators, and collaborators.

Requirements

• High School diploma or equivalent.
• 1 year of related experience in a health care, research, or academic environment preferred.
• Experience with Microsoft Office, Word, and Excel required.
• Capable of completing very detail-oriented tasks.
• Excellent organizational, communication, and interpersonal skills.
• Ability to handle confidential and sensitive information discreetly.
• Ability to collaborate effectively with others, prioritize work, operate under tight deadlines, and meet deadlines.
• Ability to operate independently and with good judgment.
• Resilient, collaborative, flexible, innovative.
• Must be able to work under normal office conditions and work from home as required.
• Work may require simultaneous use of a telephone/headset and PC/keyboard and sitting for extended durations.
• Some weekend and evening hours required.
• Must be comfortable around blood and needles, and comfortable performing a heel stick/finger prick blood draw on infants (no prior experience or training necessary).

Nice To Haves

• Bachelor’s degree preferred.
• Spanish fluency a plus.

Responsibilities

• Perform study visits at the office and participants’ homes.
• Obtain informed consent from study participants and follow study protocols and scripts to collect data.
• Collect biospecimen samples from research participants and transport them to the lab.
• Obtain clinical data such as body measurements.
• Administer study assessments, questionnaires, and interviews.
• Communicate with research participants for recruitment, scheduling, confirming, and rescheduling appointments, and performing research visits.
• Maintain a positive and accommodating relationship with the study team and participants.
• Collaborate with study investigators and other staff at HPHCI and other institutions.
• Enter study data into Microsoft Excel or other databases.
• Attend weekly team meetings, project meetings, and consortium-wide meetings.
• Coordinate outreach to targeted communities for specific research.
• Administer questionnaires through personal interviews and record data, following up as needed for clarification.
• Perform out-of-the-box thinking, collaborate with others, and make a difference every day.
• Perform other duties and projects as assigned.

Benefits

• Medical, dental and vision coverage
• Retirement plans
• Paid time off
• Employer-paid life and disability insurance with additional buy-up coverage options
• Tuition program
• Well-being benefits
• Full suite of benefits to support career development, individual & family health, and financial health

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Entry Level
• Education Level: High school or GED