Epidemiologist

****Job Category:**** Academic Staff

****Employment Type:**** Regular

****Job Profile:**** Researcher III

Job Summary:

The Merten Research Lab, under the direction of Dr. Natascha Merten, Assistant Professor in the Department of Population Health Sciences and in the Department of Medicine (Geriatrics & Gerontology), and the Wisconsin Alzheimer's Disease Research Center, is looking to hire a Researcher to join the program of NIH funded research studies of aging. Dr. Merten's research focuses on human brain aging. The research program aims to assess general aging processes that affect multiple domains of brain aging, focusing on sensory and cognitive aging and dementia. Her studies consider risk factors of Alzheimer's pathology and inflammation, and vascular and metabolic systems to identify common pathways and biomarkers of neurodegeneration and brain aging. In addition, the lab aims to assess potentially modifiable risk factors of brain aging with a particular focus on the roles of psychosocial and behavioral factors. The team leads the work on the Beaver Dam Offspring Study-Neurocognitive Aging Study (BOSS-NCAS), an18-year follow-up study in the longitudinal Beaver Dam Offspring Study cohort. With this project, the Merten Lab aims to study the shared etiology of sensory and cognitive aging.

The successful candidate will work collaboratively with a team on all aspects of planning and management of a large cohort study including recruitment and retention, field operations, data management, quality assurance, and storage and shipping of the program's large biorepository of blood samples. This is an exciting opportunity to be a part of a new phase of an established longitudinal cohort study.

The researcher will collaborate with the principal investigator, co-investigators, epidemiologists, and other research program staff in the development, implementation, and documentation of research protocols and data collection instruments. The researcher will take on responsibility for study data collection protocols such as those for sensory (including hearing, vision) and cognitive function assessments. He/She/They will be responsible for the quality of the data, which may include training and supervising field staff conducting data collection. The researcher will monitor field operations and adherence to protocols and assist with data collection and participant correspondence. The researcher will work with the data manager and computing staff to develop systems to monitor the quality of the data.

The researcher will work with the PI and the rest of the team to clean, postprocess and analyze the newly collected data.

The researcher will assist the Principal Investigator and study staff in manuscript preparation by suggesting research questions, performing literature searches, contributing to data analyses, editing, and proofreading papers. The researcher will have the opportunity to first and co-author papers and to contribute to future grant proposals.

An ideal candidate will have a strong attention to detail and organizational skills, excellent communication skills and experience following standard operating procedures. Strong computer and analytic skills and experience with SAS and R are desirable. Previous experience with sensory or cognitive assessments is beneficial.

This position may require some work to be performed in-person, onsite, at a designated campus work location. Some work may be performed remotely, at an offsite, non-campus work location.

This position has been identified as a position of trust with access to vulnerable populations. The selected candidate will be required to pass an initial caregiver check to be eligible for employment under the Wisconsin Caregiver Law and every four years.

University sponsorship is not available for this position, including transfers of sponsorship and TN visas. The selected applicant will be responsible for ensuring their continuous eligibility to work in the United States (i.e. a citizen or national of the United States, a lawful permanent resident, a foreign national authorized to work in the United States without the need of an employer sponsorship) on or before the effective date of appointment. This position is an ongoing position that will require continuous work eligibility. If you are selected for this position you must provide proof of work authorization and eligibility to work.

Candidates who demonstrate the following knowledge, skills, and abilities will be given first consideration :

• Strong attention to detail
• Analytic thinking skills
• Strong organizational skills
• Excellent oral and written communication skills
• Ability to work both independently and collaboratively
• Ability to understand critical aspects of research study operations including recruitment and retention, field study management, and quality assurance
• Work experience that demonstrates dependability, flexibility, and professionalism
• Comfortable working with human blood samples
• Comfortable having face-to-face interactions with human research subject participants

Key Job Responsibilities:

• Assists with writing and submitting grant applications and proposals to secure research funding
• Conducts literature reviews, prepares reports and materials, authors or co-authors publications, and disseminates information to appropriate entities through various communication mediums
• Reviews and evaluates results
• Collects and analyzes complex research data, conducts experiments and interviews, and documents results according to established policies and procedures
• Develops and implements complex research projects, methodologies, procedures, and criteria
• Trains individuals and groups on equipment operations, research protocols, and techniques within a specialized laboratory or research area
• Provides operational guidance on day-to-day activities of unit or program staff and student workers

Department: School of Medicine and Public Health, Department of Population Health Sciences, Merten Lab

Population Health Sciences is an interdisciplinary department with the goal of understanding, preserving, and improving the health of human populations and individuals.

Compensation: The starting salary for the position is $75,000; but is negotiable based on experience and qualifications.

Employees in this position can expect to receive benefits such as generous vacation, holidays, and sick leave; competitive insurances and savings accounts; retirement benefits. For more information, refer to the campus benefits webpage.

Required Qualifications:

• At least 5 years of professional experience in epidemiological research
• Research experience in human sensory and/or cognitive aging
• Experience in research data collection

Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience training staff in research protocols
• Excellent skills in using SAS and R
• Experience working with laboratory or clinical (such as audiometers, ocular imaging) instrumentation

Education: Master's of Science in Population Health Sciences or Epidemiology required