This full-time position will support work performed via a National Institute for Health P50 funded research award titled, “Community Team Lifestyle Immersion Program for Chronic Disease Prevention and Control”. The Post-Doctoral Fellow with a medical degree is a training position from which the candidate can move on to become an assistant professor in a medical academic institution. This position affords the candidate experience in conducting intervention and translational research under PI mentorship.
The position requires multi-tasking skills working with study participants, patients, their physicians, and the research investigators and their team. He/She will directly assist clinical faculty and other clinicians to identify, recruit and consent eligible patients for the research study, schedule study visits at various time intervals, instrument the study survey in hard copy or REDCap, urine and blood specimen collection, processing and storage, educate participants, record keeping, and data management/analysis.
The Post-Doctoral Fellow will understudy management and maintenance of IRB protocols, adhere to research standard operating procedures (SOP), be fully engaged with data collection, data entry, data management, data analysis, presentation of research in the form of scientific poster, and manuscript. He /She will be expected to develop a hypertension related pilot research project.
Essential Functions (Principal Duties and Job Responsibilities):
- Complete study training in-person, acquire skills to identify study participants, consent, and enroll them.
- Collect study data by completing the study questionnaire by interview onto hard copy surveys or REDCap, including physical body-fat distribution measurements (Weight, height, skin-fold thickness, waist & hip circumference)
- Collect urine and blood samples from all participants, handle, process, label accurately, and store the Biosamples appropriately until shipped to specified research laboratories.
- Manage, Schedule, Implement all 3 TLIP Interventions in the Community and at Meharry Medical College: BP measurement, Heathy Nutrition, and Physical Fitness by presentations and practical demonstration.
- Assist investigators to complete follow-up of participants at 1-month, 3-months, and 6-months post intervention, and complete their follow-up surveys, measurements, and biosample collection.
- Perform other research tasks involving data management and analysis, poster development, manuscript development, pilot research project development.
Knowledge, Skills and Abilities Required:
- Must have the ability to express self clearly and concisely, both orally and in writing, and to establish and maintain effective rapport and effective working relations with participants and research team members.
- Must have the ability to operate personal computers, other office and research equipment, and a variety of audio-visual equipment, and proficiency using Microsoft Work, Microsoft Excel, Microsoft, PowerPoint, etc.
- Should have proficiency in Biosamples collection and handling, including phlebotomy.
- Be familiar with entering and managing research study data via SPSS database or electronic database such as REDCap, with willingness to learn same within 2 weeks.
- Must have basic physical fitness and nutrition recommendation knowledge, and the ability to demonstrate the ‘MyPlate’ and ‘Physical Fitness’, with willingness to learn same within 2 weeks. Must express readiness to learn research skills required to successfully implement this and other translational and education interventions.
Knowledge, Skills, Abilities Preferred:
- Demonstrate attention to detail, professional attitude, and ability to maintain confidentiality.
- Must possess a Medical Degree. M.D.
- Must have some clinical and/or community-based research background working with patients and study participants. Certification/training in nutrition and physical fitness will be an advantage.
Education and Experience Required:
- M.D. degree is essential.
- Minimum of 6 months experience: Prior experience conducting human subjects research including recruitment and retention of diverse populations into epidemiological and clinical research studies.
Licensure, Certification or Registration Required:
None required.
