Research Associate 1

University of Miami•Coral Gables, FL

About The Position

The Research Associate I will be responsible for supporting and assisting the study activities of the School of Nursing and Health Studies, primarily with the Miami Environmental Influences on Child Health Outcomes (ECHO) Program. The Miami-ECHO study aims to understand the effects of early social and environmental influences (i.e., discrimination, social support) on child health and development. The Research Associate I will work closely with the Miami-ECHO study leadership to recruit, enroll, and retain a cohort of 1,250 racially and ethnically diverse pregnant women, their offspring, and the conceiving fathers. While this role will primarily work with the ECHO Program, the candidate may work on other studies at the School of Nursing and Health Studies as requested.

Requirements

High School diploma or equivalent required
Minimum 1 year of relevant experience
Ability to process and handle confidential information with discretion.
Ability to communicate effectively in both oral and written form.
Ability to work evenings and weekends as necessary.
Commitment to the University’s core values.
Ability to work independently and/or in a collaborative environment.
Ability to understand and follow instructions.
Minimum 1-year relevant community engagement and recruitment or other experience required
Ability to maintain effective interpersonal relationships.
Ability to uphold university values by treating study participants with the utmost respect.
Ability to process and handle confidential information with discretion, reliability, and integrity.
Ability to work successfully both independently and on a team of fellow research associates.
Must be fully bilingual in English and Spanish
Incumbent must have reliable transportation as recruitment involves traveling to the various study sites – School of Nursing and Health Studies, Miller School of Medicine, collaborating Miami-Dade County organizations, and study participants’ homes.

Nice To Haves

Bachelor’s degree preferred
Phlebotomy preferred, not required once hired but MUST be obtained within 3 months of hire.

Responsibilities

Recruit, consent, and retain study participants.
Collect, organize, and analyze research data while assuring adherence to study protocols.
Maintain accurate and up-to-date research research records, ensuring data integrity and confidentiality.
Meets weekly recruitment and data entry requirements.
Completes in hospital and home-based as well as online data collection visits with study participants.
Schedule appointments and provides participant reminders of upcoming data collection appointments and acts as liaison between participants and the study coordinators and Principal Investigator (PI).
Maintains current knowledge of community health, welfare resources, and any other programs available to participants.
Adheres to University and unit-level policies and procedures and safeguards University assets.
Maintain training certificates needed for the study, which includes but is not limited to human subject protection and collection of biospecimens.
Participates in recruitment of participants at various study sites including UHealth clinics, Jackson Health System clinics, and established community partners across Miami-Dade County.
Attends all weekly and monthly required meetings with the Project Coordinator and research team, and reports to the Project Coordinator in a timely manner.
Successfully obtains informed consent by assuring that the participant fully understands their responsibilities and involvement in the study.
Conducts participant data collection appointments via hospital-visits, home-visits or online. Some visits will involve the collection of biospecimen including but not limited to saliva and blood.
Ensures that the data packet is properly completed by the participant and entered into RedCap in a timely and accurate manner.
Attends community outreach and study advertising events, as needed, with the research teams within Miami-Dade County.
Completes study required trainings including but not limited to CITI Training, internal team training, doula certifications, and collection of biospecimens.
Incumbent follows-up with study participants regularly via phone and email and other IRB approved retention strategies to assure that participants complete all study follow-up appointments.
Incumbent will facilitate the scheduling of study visits and will arrange transportation for participants.