"Senior Professional Research Assistant"

Job Details

University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus

Department: Center for Bioethics and Humanities

Job Title: Senior PRA

Position #: 00842351 – Requisition #:38352

Job Summary:

We are seeking a professional research assistant to contribute to our vibrant research and education programs at the Center for Bioethics and Humanities (CBH). At CBH, we are committed to conducting world-class empirical, policy-relevant research on topics at the intersection of bioethics and health policy and to offering high quality educational offerings in bioethics and the health humanities.

Nature of Work
This position is responsible for supporting coordination and execution of research and evaluation projects and supporting our growing educational mission. Competitive candidates will be detail-oriented, innately curious, and highly motivated to excel in a dynamic team environment.

Professional Field
This position is in the field of bioethics.

Examples of Work Performed

The primary responsibility of the position will support research, evaluation, and education project coordination such as: participant recruitment & retention, regulatory compliance, data collection & management, communications management, resource procurement and cost & schedule monitoring, grant application support, new course review and quality assurance, and educational project coordination. This position will be asked to support qualitative and/or quantitative methodologic specialties.

• Assist in creating research methods, including designing study recruitment protocols, and collaborating with the study team for recruitment strategies.
• Participate in the development of data collection instruments under the guidance of experts or a team, with a focus on qualitative data collection materials.
• Contribute to data collection efforts, including administering surveys, conducting observations, and facilitating qualitative interviews or focus groups.
• Support both quantitative and qualitative data analysis efforts.
• Analyze quantitative data using software like SAS or R.
• Lead the qualitative coding process and generate reports/queries in Atlas TI.
• Collaborate with the Core lead to develop analytic plans for both qualitative and quantitative data.
• Summarize study findings and contribute to the communication of results through reports or presentations.
• Take a leading role in the development of publications, including abstract writing and manuscript preparation.
• Apply project management skills to oversee and ensure the successful execution of research and education activities, including coordinating team tasks and deadlines.
• Assist Dr. Baugh with key activities associated with the certificate program.
• Assist class instructors as needed on selected tasks.
• Coordinate meetings as needed.
• Assist in curriculum development.
• Oversee course and program evaluations.
• Assist in preparing new grant applications.

Supervision Received
The Professional Research Assistant reports to Dr. Christine Baugh who is the Interim Director of the Bioethics and Humanities in Health Certificate Program in the Center for Bioethics and Humanities.

Supervision Exercised

The Senior Professional Research Assistant may supervise Professional Research Assistants 1, 2, and 3 and research staff.

Work Location:

Hybrid – this role is eligible for a hybrid schedule.

Why Join Us:

The University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus is a world-class medical destination at the forefront of transformative science, medicine, education and patient care. The campus encompasses the University of Colorado health professional schools, more than 60 centers and institutes, and two nationally ranked independent hospitals - UCHealth University of Colorado Hospital and Children's Hospital Colorado - that treat more than two million adult and pediatric patients each year. Innovative, interconnected and highly collaborative, the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus delivers life-changing treatments, patient care and professional training and conducts world-renowned research fueled by over $757 million in research grants. For more information, visit www.cuanschutz.edu.

Why work for the University?

We have AMAZING benefits and offer exceptional amounts of holiday, vacation and sick leave! The University of Colorado offers an excellent benefits package including:

• Medical: Multiple plan options
• Dental: Multiple plan options
• Additional Insurance: Disability, Life, Vision
• Retirement 401(a) Plan: Employer contributes 10% of your gross pay
• Paid Time Off: Accruals over the year
• Vacation Days: 22/year (maximum accrual 352 hours)
• Sick Days: 15/year (unlimited maximum accrual)
• Holiday Days: 10/year
• Tuition Benefit: Employees have access to this benefit on all CU campuses
• ECO Pass: Reduced rate RTD Bus and light rail service

There are many additional perks & programs with the CU Advantage.

Qualifications*:

Minimum Qualifications:

Applicants must meet minimum qualifications at the time of hire.

• Master's degree or equivalent experience
• 4+ years experience in bioethics research with demonstrated success in peer-reviewed publication
• Significant experience with quantitative research in bioethics
• Significant experience with qualitative research in bioethics
• Significant experience with project management
• Significant experience as a teaching assistant
• Significant experience in grant preparation
• Significant experience in R
• Significant experience in Atlas.ti
• Experience as a teaching assistant

Preferred Qualifications:

• Ability and willingness to supervise junior project members, including onboarding and training
• Capability to draft initial IRB applications and IRB amendments
• Ability to manage multiple research projects as necessary, including managing increasingly complex research projects (such as R01s)
• Demonstrated independence and proficiency with instrument creation and data collection such that they can train others (qualitative OR quantitative)
• Experience with independently completing manuscripts as first author, which includes:
  • Formulating the main idea to be presented in the manuscript and defining its scope
  • Identifying, understanding, and citing the relevant existing literature
  • Writing the first draft of the completed manuscript
  • Managing the editing process with collaborators
  • Identifying target journals and managing all aspects of submission including formatting and communication with reviewers/journal editors
• Ability to contribute to grant revisions and new proposals
• Demonstrated independence with basic data analysis, and ability to train others, such as:
  • Quantitative analysis, e.g. descriptive statistics from survey data, creating basic data visuals such as bar graphs using Excel or other software, OR
  • Qualitative analysis, e.g. coding qualitative interviews using Atlas.ti, Excel, or other software, creating a qualitative codebook with limited supervision and guidance, OR
  • Systematic reviews/meta-analyses, e.g. Searching for and summarizing literature from a variety of fields, reference management programs (e.g. EndNote, Mendeley, Zotero, etc.)
• Experience with higher-level analysis, such as:
  • Quantitative analysis:
    • Proficiency in statistical software such as R, Stata, or other statistical programming software
    • Proven ability to work independently on coding and data-related challenges
    • Experience in data cleaning and management, including cleaning and organizing datasets from varied sources; addressing missing data issues using appropriate imputation techniques or analytic strategies; ensure data reliability, replicability, and proper documentation for future use.
    • Data collection and integration, including merging, transforming, and integrating variables from diverse datasets to create comprehensive and usable research files and handling longitudinal datasets including panel data or cross-sectional data, to support analyses
    • Analysis and coding, including data visualization, statistical modeling, and hypothesis testing, OR
  • Qualitative analysis:
    • Familiarity with qualitative research approaches and methods (such as grounded theory, phenomenology, rapid qualitative analysis, basic content analysis, etc.) and ability to implement the best approach for a given research project
    • Ability to lead codebook development and direct coding strategy
    • Formulate analytical plan based on a thorough understanding of the chosen qualitative method and/or underpinning theoretical framework for the research
    • Synthesize findings from qualitative data and present findings through the creation of outputs including conceptual models, theories, or quote tables, OR
  • Systematic reviews/meta-analyses:
    • Collaboration with library staff on search strategy and reference management, including defining search terms, selecting databases, and refining searches
    • Collecting quantitative and qualitative data, including performing title and abstract screenings, data extraction, and content analysis
    • Writing review methods for manuscript
    • Analysis of quantitative results and results from content analysis, including descriptive statistics, synthesis of data from content analysis into analytic memos, and data visualization (e.g. through alluvial diagrams, heatmaps, etc.)

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities:
To be successful in this position, candidates will need the following:

• Highly organized and attentive to detail with excellent written and oral communication skills.
• Comfortable working with various stakeholders, including patients and caregivers, clinicians, academics, and analysts.
• Excellent interpersonal skills and emotional intelligence.
• Ability to manage multiple assignments.
• Ability to problem-solve unexpected and novel technical and logistical challenges associated with complex projects.
• Ability to work independently with limited supervision and collaboratively as an integral member of various teams.
• Ability to design, administer, and organize course evaluations and other educational quality initiatives
• Proficient in the use of Microsoft Office applications (including Excel, Word, and Outlook)

How to Apply:

For full consideration, please submit the following document(s):

1. A letter of interest describing relevant job experiences as they relate to listed job qualifications and interest in the position
2. Curriculum vitae / Resume
3. Three to five professional references, including name, address, phone number (mobile number if appropriate), and email address

Questions should be directed to: Christine Baugh, christine.baugh@cuanschutz.edu

Applications are accepted electronically ONLY at www.cu.edu/cu-careers.

Screening of Applications Begins:

Immediately and continues until 12/31/25.

Anticipated Pay Range***:

The starting salary range ( or hiring range ) for this position at 1.0 full time equivalent (FTE) has been established as

Sr PRA 1 - $60,000 – $80,000 based on 1.0 FTE

The above salary range ( or hiring range ) represents the University's good faith and reasonable estimate of the range of possible compensation at the time of posting. This position is not eligible for overtime compensation unless it is non-exempt.

Your total compensation goes beyond the number on your paycheck. The University of Colorado provides generous leave, health plans and retirement contributions that add to your bottom line.

Total Compensation Calculator: http://www.cu.edu/node/153125