Career Center

Department: Med-DevSci
Salary/Grade: NEX/11

Job Summary:

The Developmental Mechanisms program (DevMech) in the Department of Medical Social Sciences and the Institute for Innovations in Developmental Sciences (DevSci) conducts research at the intersection of clinical and developmental science that aims to characterize early developmental patterns marking emergent mental health and other neurodevelopmental risk as well as prenatal influences on these pathways, and application to prevention.

This new study coordinator role will work primarily on Northwesterns site for the national NIH-funded Healthy Brain and Child Development (HBCD) study in close collaboration with scientific project director Dr. Renee Edwards as well as PIs Drs. Laurie Wakschlag and Elizabeth Norton. HBCD is a longitudinal study of child development beginning before birth, and involves engaging pregnant individuals, young children, and families with various demographic backgrounds and adversity experiences. 

A primary responsibility of this coordinator will be to manage institutional review board (IRB) processes for HBCD and related DevMech studies, working closely with the research team, Northwestern IRB, and the central/single IRB(s) to ensure compliance with regulatory requirements. This individual will submit protocols and modifications, maintain accurate records, communicate and collaborate with IRB staff, and draft IRB documents for external submissions. Additionally, the coordinator will provide administrative support to the HBCD scientific project director and team, coordinating scientific meetings (invites, agendas, follow-up and action items); drafting and proofreading documents and slides; and organizing project materials. This includes support for the national workgroups on child and caregiver-child assessment. Depending on expertise, this coordinator may also assist in family navigation and/or conducting developmental and behavioral assessments of infants and young children, and administer parent-child interaction protocols for the HBCD study.

IRB coordination experience as well as excellent organizational skills, attention to detail, and English writing skills are essential for this role. Strong communication and interpersonal skills are also critical, as this individual will collaborate with researchers, institutional staff, external partners, and study families. Research experience with children and families is strongly preferred.

This position is an ideal opportunity for individuals interested in learning more about real-world research with children and families and developmental team science and may have opportunities for scientific products (presentations, publications) in preparation for future graduate studies.  The coordinator will join a diverse DevMech team of more than three dozen scientists, research staff, and students.

Coordinates collection, analysis, processing & reporting of data & assists Principal Investigator (PI) in judging the validity of test data obtained in regard to biomedical &/or social-behavioral research study(ies) of limited complexity involving co-investigators, multiple campuses &/or universities.  Completes all activities by strictly following Good Clinical Practices (GCP) & all relevant current local, state, & federal laws, regulations, guidance, policy & procedure developed by the NU Institutional Review Board (IRB), Food & Drug Administration (FDA) Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), & the International Conference on Harmonization (ICH).

Please note: This position will require occasional evening and weekend work. A cover letter is required for consideration.

Specific Responsibilities:

Technical

�       Participates in the planning & conduct of research study including participant recruitment and retention.

�       Obtains informed consent

�       Administers tests &/or questionnaires following protocols.

�       Collects, compiles, tabulates & processes responses.

�       Gathers information. 

�       Extracts & analyzes data from medical charts. 

�       Completes basic clinical procedures such as drawing blood & obtaining blood pressure.  

Administration

�       Collects, records, reviews & summarizes research data.

�       Collates relevant mathematical results & prepares tables, charts & graphs reflecting relationships of multiple tests.  

�       Prepares reports for investigators and sponsors on recruitment status and other pertinent study data.

�       Writes portions of grant applications & co-author scientific papers. 

�       Completes documents associated with current local, state, & federal regulatory guidelines, requirements, laws & research protocols.

Finance

�       May process payments for research participants per study protocol. 

�       Works with industry representatives to negotiate tentative grant funding. 

�       Coordinates reimbursements for expert panel travel, consultant pay, additional gift card orders, etc. & ensure costs remain within allotted grant budget. 

Supervision

�       May provide work direction &/or train other research staff to interview/test participants.

�       May act as a mentor in regard to education of junior coordinators.

Miscellaneous

�       Performs other duties as assigned.

Minimum Qualifications:

�       Successful completion of a full 4-year course of study in an accredited college or university leading to a bachelor's or higher degree in a major such as social or health science or related; OR appropriate combination of education and experience and 2 years' research study or other relevant experience required; OR

�       Successful completion of a full course of study in an accredited college or university leading to a master's or higher degree in a major such as social or health science or related; OR appropriate combination of education and experience.

�       Must complete NU's IRB CITI training before interacting with any participants & must re-certify every 3 years.

�       Experience developing and submitting IRB protocols and modifications

Minimum Competencies: (Skills, knowledge, and abilities.)

�       Strong knowledge of IRB procedures, federal regulations, and ethical guidelines pertaining to human subjects research

�       Excellent written and verbal communication skills

�       Experience working with young children and families

�       Strong proficiency with word processing, excel and powerpoint

Preferred Qualifications:

�       Experience conducting developmental assessments of children

Target hiring range for this position will be between $19.31-$26.34  per hour. Offered salary will be determined by the applicants education, experience, knowledge, skills and abilities, as well as internal equity and alignment with market data

Benefits:
At Northwe

About Northwestern University

Northwestern University is a major private research university with 12 academic divisions located on three campuses in Evanston, Chicago, and Education City in Doha, Qatar. We have approximately 2,500 full-time faculty members, 17,000 graduate and undergraduate students, and over 5,700 full and part-time staff. Northwestern University combines innovative teaching and pioneering research in a highly collaborative environment. It provides students and faculty exceptional opportunities for intellectual, personal and professional growth.

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