Research Assistant, FACE Lab

Emerson College•Boston, MA

9d•$23 - $27•Onsite

About The Position

We are hiring a Research Assistant for a newly NIH-funded project at the FACE Lab at Emerson College. The project’s aims are to identify facial expressions and other non-verbal behavior that can predict conversational success and satisfaction among autistic and non-autistic adolescents. The Research Assistant will report to the FACE Lab Director and will support day-to-day operations of the project, including interactions with our partners on this grant at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP). The primary research focus at the FACE Lab will be coding and analyzing facial and other non-verbal expressions within social context, while our partners at CHOP will focus on computer-driven analyses of the same expressions. The RA will acquire expertise in several software programs, including ELAN, manage student research assistants, and support all aspects of data processing. The RA will provide a full range of administrative, logistical, and scheduling support to the Lab Director and Post-Doctoral Fellow, as well as coordinate activities and communication with our partners at CHOP. This is an important role that requires high organizational ability, strong communication and technological skills, as well as a high level of emotional intelligence. Minimum commitment is two years. The FACE Lab is a small, collegial environment dedicated to engaging in high quality, relevant, and ecologically valid research on social communication through respectful, honest, and open communication. We aim to collaborate with and be informed by the autism and autism research communities and remain accountable to all stakeholders, including providing active mentorship and growth opportunities to all lab members.

Requirements

Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology, Child Development, Cognitive Science, Communication Disorders, or a related field required
High level of emotional intelligence and the ability to work both independently and as part of a team
Self-starter with excellent interpersonal communication and organizational skills
Exceptional accuracy and attention to detail, as well as strong communication skills required
Continuous oral and written communication with co-workers and supervisors is essential.
Repetitive movements, occasional lifting of up to 10 pounds, reaching, lifting, stooping and the ability to read a computer screen, detect color-coding and read fine print will be expected.

Nice To Haves

Experience using statistical and other research software, such as R/R Studio, Redcap, and Qualtrics or QuestionPro strongly preferred
1-3 years of previous experience working with autistic individuals preferred

Responsibilities

Participate in regular meetings between FACE Lab and partner lab at CHOP to provide status updates and adjust priority list of research tasks
Implement data processing methods, priorities, and timelines established by the research team
Create online surveys, implement data processing or exporting pipelines, and create associated documentation
Lead recruitment and data collection with autistic and non-autistic individuals and their families
Organize and maintain data, IRB protocols, backup systems, and documentation
Supervise and coordinate the work of student research assistants and maintain the lab schedule
Provide general administrative support for project
Assist with logistics and scheduling
Perform other miscellaneous duties as assigned
Growth opportunities in writing abstracts and presenting research at conferences