Clinical Research Assistant - Otolaryngology

Department:

SOM KC Otolaryngology (ENT)

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Materia Lab

Position Title:

Clinical Research Assistant - Otolaryngology

Job Family Group:

Professional Staff

Job Description Summary:

The Clinical Research Assistant in the Department of Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery supports clinical, translational, and implementation science research activities under the direction of Principal Investigators and other designated research team members. A major focus of the position is supporting the organization and maintenance of a departmental sinonasal and upper airway tissue biobank, including patient recruitment, informed consent, clinical data collection, biospecimen acquisition, specimen processing, sample tracking, and linkage of biospecimens to relevant clinical data.

The Clinical Research Assistant works with departmental faculty, trainees, clinical teams, laboratory personnel, and research collaborators to support studies involving chronic rhinosinusitis, sinonasal inflammatory disease, environmental exposure-related airway disease, mucociliary dysfunction, epithelial and cellular biology, mucus and tissue specimens, and inflammatory or molecular biomarker research. The position may also support departmental research activities related to healthcare implementation science, digital health interventions, community- and clinic-based recruitment, and patient-centered outcomes research.

Job Description:

Job Responsibilities:

• Assist with development, organization, and maintenance of a departmental sinonasal and upper airway tissue biobank.
• Assist with biospecimen collection, processing, labeling, storage, shipment, and inventory management
• Maintain sample inventories, freezer maps, reagent logs, laboratory supplies, and equipment-use records.
• Perform basic wet-laboratory procedures as training allows, including pipetting, buffer/reagent preparation, aliquoting, centrifugation, sample processing.
• Maintain laboratory notebooks and standard operating procedures.
• Assist with cell and tissue culture, sample preparation, nucleic acid or protein extraction, ELISA, qPCR, microscopy, and other laboratory assays, as applicable.
• Assist with participant identification, recruitment, informed consent, and enrollment in clinic and operative settings.
• Support community-based participant recruitment procedures for implementation science and health equity studies.
• Collect, enter, maintain, and assist with analysis of research data using Excel, REDCap, SPSS, or similar software.
• Assist with IRB materials, protocol amendments, continuing reviews, and study documentation.
• Communicate with clinical, laboratory, community, and research teams regarding study activities.
• Assist Principal Investigators in the preparation and grant materials, manuscripts, abstracts, reports, and presentations.
• Coordinate research calendars, meetings, project timelines, staff/trainee recruitment efforts, and study-related deliverables.
• Track project purchasing, supply needs, spending, and study-related expenses.

This job description is not designed to cover or contain a comprehensive listing of activities, duties, or responsibilities that are required of the employee for this job. It is only a summary of the typical functions of the job, not an exhaustive list of all possible job responsibilities, tasks, duties, and assignments. Furthermore, job duties, responsibilities, and activities may change at any time with or without notice.

Required Qualifications

Work Experience: Two (2) years’ experience in basic science, translational, clinical, behavioral, and/or social sciences research. Relevant education may substitute for experience on a year for year basis.

Preferred Qualifications

Education: Bachelor's degree in Biology, Public Health, Health Science, Biomedical Science, Molecular Biology, or a related field.

Work Experience:

• Experience in biospecimen research, including collection, processing, storage, shipment, inventory, and clinical/research data linkage.
• Wet-laboratory experience, including cell or tissue culture, specimen processing, pipetting, molecular biology, and biomarker assays.
• Experience with REDCap, SPSS, sample inventory systems, and laboratory documentation.
• Clinical, translational, or community-based research experience.
• Experience in otolaryngology, rhinology, chronic inflammatory disease, implementation science, or health equity.

Skills

• Multitasking
• Time management
• Communication
• Computer skills

Required Documents

• Resume/CV
• Cover Leter

Comprehensive Benefits Package:

Coverage begins on day one for health, dental, and vision insurance and includes health expense accounts with generous employer contributions if the employee participates in a qualifying health plan. Employer-paid life insurance, long-term disability insurance, and various additional voluntary insurance plans are available. Paid time off, including vacation and sick, begins accruing upon hire, plus ten paid holidays. One paid discretionary day is available after six months of employment, and paid time off for bereavement, jury duty, military service, and parental leave is available after 12 months of employment. A retirement program with a generous employer contribution and additional voluntary retirement programs (457 or 403b) are available. https://www.kumc.edu/human-resources/benefits.html

Employee Type:

Regular

Time Type:

Full time

Rate Type:

Hourly

Compensation Statement:

The pay range listed for this position is determined by our compensation program using market data and salary benchmarking. A combination of factors is considered in making compensation decisions including, but not limited to, education, experience and training, qualifications relative to the requirements of the position, and funding. At the University of Kansas Medical Center, a reasonable estimate for the starting pay range will be the minimum to midpoint of the posted range, taking into account the combination of factors listed above.

Pay Range:

$22.88 - $33.17

Minimum

$22.88

Midpoint

$28.03

Maximum

$33.17