Research Scientist/Engineer 4 (Temporary )

University of Washington Medical Center

7d•$99,444 - $164,328

About The Position

The Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences within the UW School of Medicine is the third largest clinical department within the School of Medicine with 330 full-time faculty members, 460 courtesy faculty members, and over 350 staff. Department faculty provide clinical services in 5 hospitals, 14 primary care locations, and several outpatient sites in addition to telepsychiatry consultations to more than 150 clinics in Washington and beyond. As the only academic psychiatry department serving the five state WWAMI region (Washington, Wyoming, Alaska, Montana, Idaho), the Department’s highly competitive residency training program is largely responsible for developing the mental health workforce in the Pacific Northwest. The Department’s robust research portfolio totals $67 million in grants and contracts per year for projects ranging from clinical neurosciences to treatment development to health policy and population health. The Department is recognized as an international leader in developing, testing, and implementing Collaborative Care, an integrated care model increasingly seen as a solution for population-based mental health care. Other areas of excellence include Addictions, Autism, High Risk Youth, Neurosciences, and Trauma, and the Department is developing innovative new programs in Technology and Mental Health, Global Mental Health, Maternal and Child Mental Health, and Targeted Intervention Development. Psychiatry is the third largest department in the School of Medicine and the largest non-divisioned department. The overall annual operations funding from all sources is over $130 million. The Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences within the UW School of Medicine currently has an outstanding opportunity for a Full-time, Temporary Research Scientist/Engineer 4. Seven Directions at the University of Washington is the first national public health institute in the United States to focus solely on improving Indigenous health and wellness. We are committed to cultivating and sharing knowledge, connecting communities and resources, and working to achieve shared goals for future generations. Seven Directions partners to support tribal communities to increase the capacity of tribal health systems designed to prevent and respond to the opioid overdose epidemic and address other health disparities, as well as conducting community-driven and community-designed health research. Our work includes culturally tailored technical assistance, community-engaged culture-centered research, evaluation, training, Indigenizing and decolonizing research, Indigenous data sovereignty, policy translation, convenings, and dissemination strategies. These services aim to improve Indigenous-serving organizations’ and systems’ data collection and epidemiologic surveillance capacity; increase implementation of evidence-based prevention strategies grounded in values respecting tribal sovereignty and cultural traditions; showcase models of tribal promising practices; utilize Indigenous evaluation approaches, and contribute to the Indigenous knowledge, Indigenous research methods and public health literature. This position (Pro Staff Temp Position (E S)) is in the field of public health research. The position will focus on better understanding and improving Indigenous public health and prevention in the areas of opioid overdose, substance use, and mental health using epidemiological and social science frameworks and data. The Research Scientist (RS) is a key member of the Seven Directions team, works alongside senior team members and guides junior team members in implementing a variety of research, evaluation and training activities, including contributing to project design, grant writing, implementation and management of multiple research projects, IRB submission and modification, data management and data analysis, manuscript development and dissemination, and technical assistance on data and implementation science. The RS will lead and provide collaborative support in deliverables related to overdose prevention Technical Assistance (TA), Indigenous evaluation, urban Indian pilot data analysis, data modernization and broad capacity building and system strengthening in partnership with Indigenous communities. The RS will be focused on updating our AI/AN substance use and mental health environmental scan (from 2019), Tribal Promising Practices (from 2020), Gathering Grounds peer-reviewed manuscript (from 2019) for dissemination, and drafting Seven Directions Indigenous TA models for both peer-reviewed journal and communities, and other related manuscripts. The RS will develop and update data governance policies and protocols as well as research operations protocols for Seven Direction materials. The RS will draft a scope of Indigenous evaluation training materials including peer reviewed literature sources and community data and research, interfacing with CDC partners and executing Indigenous evaluation training. The ideal candidate will bring doctoral level experience working in research, evaluation or training with AI/AN communities as well as an understanding of and humility toward AI/AN historical, contemporary, and cultural contexts.

Requirements

A Master's Degree in Public Health, Epidemiology, Psychology, Social Work, Sociology, Information School, American Indian Studies, or related fields, and a minimum of four years working in the field. Equivalent education and/or experience may substitute for minimum qualifications except when there are legal requirements, such as a license, certification, and/or registration.
Familiarity with or work experience with Indigenous or other underserved populations and settings.
Familiarity with issues affecting American Indian and Alaska Native Indigenous health, healing, cultural diversity and strengths.
Familiarity with public health evaluation including Indigenous evaluation.
Demonstrated fluency in Quantitative and/or Qualitative and/or Mixed Methods research methodology.
Ability to design interview guides, conduct one-on-one interviews and facilitation of focus groups, organize and analyze and summarize qualitative data (interviews, stories etc.).
Ability to develop survey instruments, collect, analyze, interpret and summarize quantitative data.
Experience in community engagement or community based participatory research (CBPR).
Knowledgeable about substance use and disorder in general and among AI/AN communities.
Experience designing and implementing research studies, including identifying and appropriate research instruments and methodologies.
Experience leading the successful publication of grey and scientific literature.
Knowledge and experience with the grant writing process.
Knowledge and prior experience with human subjects institutional review process.
Baseline knowledge of appropriately indicated statistical design based on desired analysis.
Familiarity with literature management software packages, e.g., EndNote, Zotero, etc. and qualitative software management and analysis software packages, e.g., Dedoose, Atlas.ti etc.
Experience working closely as a trusted resource with communities to identify needs, define strategy, develop action plans, identify deliverables, present results, measure outcomes, and provide recommendations.
Knowledgeable about public health communication best practices and effective communication for different populations.
Experience developing and facilitating trainings for adult learners.
Experience facilitating meetings and discussions for internal and external (i.e., community, funders) partners.

Nice To Haves

A Doctoral Degree in Public Health, Epidemiology, Psychology, Social Work, Sociology, Information School, American Indian Studies, or related fields.
Four or more years working in or on behalf of tribal nations and American Indian or Alaska Native (AI/AN) communities in both urban and rural settings.
Advanced statistical analysis and program software knowledge.
Knowledge or prior experience with mixed methods data collection and analysis.
Familiarity with project management tools and/or software packages, e.g., MS Project, Smartsheet, etc.
Indigenous research methods.

Responsibilities

Research study design, grant preparation, data analysis and scientific writing/publication (40%) The RS will work with Seven Directions team to plan and design opioid, substance use, mental health, or other Indigenous culture-centered research or technical assistance projects related to Indigenous evaluation, Indigenous health and wellbeing and more. They will take a significant part in project design and operations, including designing project phases; conducting scientific and grey literature reviews, environmental scans; developing interview scripts, project protocols, quantitative surveys; writing grey and scientific manuscripts. In collaboration with other team members. they will analyze data, formulate conclusions, and present research results in publishable formats, including written documents, presentations, or online modules. They will work with PIs and faculty to identify external federal, state, local and private grant opportunities.
Research and Project Management (30%) Lead and assist with project management activities, including developing and monitoring project timelines, ensuring work is successfully executed and completed within time frames to meet research objectives and communicate with diverse academic, practice and community partners. Develop research operations protocols and train staff in implementing the research activities. Develop technical assistance, training, workshop plans or training materials and participate in delivering or facilitating these interactions with partners. Lead project- related communications, logistics, and technical support. Engage in occasional travel to conferences and partner sites.
Dissemination of Findings (20%) The RS will support the dissemination of findings to variety of audiences and in a variety of formats, including academic publications, online forums, webinars and virtual and in-person presentations. They will contribute to manuscript development and report writing. They will prepare meeting summaries, progress reports, study deliverables, journal articles and other written materials, and present study findings at meetings as needed.
Administration and operations (10%) Work with PI and senior staff with auxiliary project management duties as requested and anticipate additional areas for support. Serve on 1-2 Seven Directions internal committees. Support developing Seven Directions TA model with Implementation Science. Support TA provision. Regularly update AIAN substance use, mental health and public health data for dissemination. Co-develop manuscripts on 7D TA models and implementation, Gathering Grounds principles v2.0, presentations abstracts and other dissemination materials for scientific and community gatherings. Update Environmental Scan. Oversee development and implementation and updating of all data governance policies and procedures.

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