Research Associate - DID and Toxic Drug Studies

University of British Columbia•Vancouver, BC

12d•Onsite

About The Position

The Brubacher Lab in the Department of Emergency Medicine and the UBC Road Safety and Public Health Research Group is seeking a full-time Research Associate. This role involves coordinating and managing multiple research projects, contributing to data interpretation, research development, and team collaboration in road safety and public health. The research group focuses on drug-impaired driving (especially with cannabis) and on blood toxicology testing of patients with unregulated drug overdose, including identification of emerging substances in the unregulated drug supply. The primary focus for the Research Associate is day-to-day administration and management of multiple ongoing research projects, including the National Drug Impaired Driving (DID) Study and The Toxic Drug Study. This includes supervising junior staff, assisting with interpretation and dissemination of results, preparing project deliverables, and assisting with procurement and bookkeeping. The Research Associate is expected to stay current with empirical research, provide expertise in the effects of cannabis and alcohol on driving, develop research questions, assist with planning data collection and analyses, support ongoing studies, and collaborate with team members, external researchers, and stakeholders. The role reports directly to the Principal Investigator (PI) for strategic guidance, research planning, and review of analytical results, and is expected to function independently while collaborating frequently with research team members and trainees. The incumbent will supervise research assistants and trainees, providing technical guidance, training, and performance oversight. Errors in data handling, analysis, documentation, or quality control can compromise research validity, funding, and the integrity of published findings, requiring sound scientific and professional judgment.

Requirements

PhD in experimental psychology or human factors/ergonomics, or a closely related field
Experience conducting empirical research in road safety, including experiments with human subjects, systematic reviews, scoping reviews, meta-analysis, and observational/epidemiological studies involving hospital and police-report data
Significant experience with all stages and components of empirical research projects, including conducting desk research/literature reviews, planning methods, preparing materials, recruiting human participants, collecting data, analyzing quantitative and qualitative data, preparing written manuscripts and reports for a variety of audiences and stakeholders, publishing in peer-reviewed journals, and presenting at conferences
Extensive knowledge of empirical road safety research, particularly as it relates to driver behavior while under the influence of alcohol, cannabis and/or other drugs, including findings, methodological approaches, practical applications, and theories
Extensive knowledge of human information processing, engineering psychology, human error, vision science, psychometrics, experimental and observational research methods, univariate and multivariate statistics, systematic literature searches, and study quality and risk of bias evaluations
Significant experience using REDCap and Workday
Advanced proficiency using MS Word, Access and Excel
Proficiency using MATLAB and Psychtoolbox to develop psychophysics tasks
Proficiency computing with Linux Ubuntu operating system
TCPS-2 certification

Nice To Haves

Knowledge and experience in a breadth of road safety research topics (e.g., fatigue, distraction, vulnerable road users, micromobility, speed, etc.)
Knowledge of human factors considerations in job recruitment and training
Knowledge in fundamentals of epidemiology
Experience with human-centered design and workflow optimization
Experience training and supervising research assistants, volunteers and students
Experience with procurement, inventory management, and book keeping
Experience with Adobe Illustrator
Formal project management training
Effective oral and written communications, with the ability to compose clear and grammatically correct correspondence, business documents, and administrative communications
Willingness to respect diverse perspectives, including perspectives in conflict with one’s own.
Demonstrates a commitment to enhancing one’s own awareness, knowledge, and skills related to equity, diversity, and inclusion.

Responsibilities

Develop research proposals addressing emerging road safety research priorities and advancing public health focused emergency medicine initiatives
Support with drafting and submitting grant applications
Develop study protocols and data analysis plans of new projects
Write and edit research manuscripts and project reports
Oversee the conduct of research including 1) the DUIC: Vision & Attention driving study, 2) The National Drug Driving Study, 3) the Toxic Drug Study, and other projects as required.
Prepare and coordinate research ethics applications and hospital operational approvals at VGH, other hospital sites in BC and outside BC
Conduct hospital site visits and train hospital site research staff on study protocols for the National Drug Driving Study and the Toxic Drug Study and other projects as required.
Support and oversee all technical aspects of research studies including collection of specimens and data acquisition and storage
Assist in recruiting research assistants, coordinators, Coop students, statisticians, post doc fellows and research student volunteers for multiple road safety research studies
Provide training and direct supervision to research assistants, coordinators and students
Work with statisticians and post doc fellows for new and ongoing projects
Monitor study progress for timelines and compliance with study procedures
Communicate with, and prepare regular updates for, project PI, site PIs, national stakeholders and sponsor agencies
Coordinate and oversee research budgets and expenses, and manage all research accounts and payment of research expenses
Coordinate communication between funding sponsor agencies and relevant parties including University-Industry Liaison Office, research finance and university central finance
Participate in research meetings and rounds including presentation at scientific conferences
Provide administrative supports for current and new staff (e.g., hospital computer access, orientation, etc.)
Contributing to study design, protocol development, and data analysis plans
Conducting literature reviews
Writing and editing manuscripts and technical reports
Supporting preparation and submission of grant applications, including budget development
Participating in research meetings and presenting technical updates