How to Apply

A cover letter is required for consideration for this position and must be included as the first page of your resume document. The cover letter must address your specific interest in the position and outline skills and experience that directly relate to this position. You are required to apply online via careers.umich.edu. Although the posting end date may indicate otherwise, this job may be filled and closed at any time after the posting duration of fourteen calendar days.

Job Summary

A productive team in the Departments of Internal Medicine - Division of General Medicine and Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation seek a full-time Research Area Specialist to join an exciting and growing research team including physicians, neuropsychologists, biostatisticians, and health services researchers. This position offers a flexible work schedule and the ability to work a hybrid schedule or fully remote with occasional on-site in-person meetings.

Our office is located at the North Campus Research Complex (NCRC) and the Institute for Social Research (ISR) on central campus. This specific position will require some in-person work for a new project, and the selected candidate will work alongside members of the project management team.

The position is associated with the Cognitive Health Services Research Program (COG-HSR) within the Institute for Healthcare Policy and Innovation (IHPI). The program includes a large network of collaborators engaged in innovative health services research designed to inform healthcare policies, guide clinical decision-making, and improve the lives of individuals with cognitive impairment and dementia. The selected candidate will support faculty and other project managers in preparing grants, conducting research projects, and coordinating core activities funded under this program. The selected candidate will support two primary NIH-sponsored projects that will provide our research team members with ample opportunity to apply and broaden their project management skill sets. Additional program information can be found on our website at https://medresearch.umich.edu/labs-departments/centers/brainhealth.

Mission Statement

Michigan Medicine improves the health of patients, populations and communities through excellence in education, patient care, community service, research and technology development, and through leadership activities in Michigan, nationally and internationally. Our mission is guided by our Strategic Principles and has three critical components; patient care, education and research that together enhance our contribution to society.

Why Join Michigan Medicine?

Michigan Medicine is one of the largest health care complexes in the world and has been the site of many groundbreaking medical and technological advancements since the opening of the U-M Medical School in 1850. Michigan Medicine is comprised of over 30,000 employees and our vision is to attract, inspire, and develop outstanding people in medicine, sciences, and healthcare to become one of the world's most distinguished academic health systems. In some way, great or small, every person here helps to advance this world-class institution. Work at Michigan Medicine and become a victor for the greater good.

What Benefits can you Look Forward to?

Excellent medical, dental and vision coverage effective on your very first day
2:1 Match on retirement savings

Responsibilities*

Manage large and complex research projects
Schedule, attend, and take notes at research team meetings
Assign tasks to team members and supervise individual and project progress
Formulate research methods, suggest options for improving quality, identify potential problems, recommend/implement solutions
Carry out project grant development and maintain administration: funding acquisition, timeline preparation, budget management, data use agreement applications
Handle IRB-required activities for funded projects: prepare human subject applications, amendments, annual reviews/progress reports
Coordinate human research studies: recruitment; consent; participant retention; coordinating/participating in primary data collection via in-person and virtual interviews/focus groups and distribution/collection of surveys
Track participants and maintain accurate and detailed study records
Perform data quality control
Assist and lead systematic reviews and evidence syntheses of medical literature on specific topics to inform manuscript and grant development
Prepare policy briefs and summary statements of key research for lay audiences and the press
Assist with poster and slide preparation for talks
Co-present with Principal Investigator at meetings and conferences
Author/co-author publications

Required Qualifications*

Senior Level: Master's Degree in Public Health or a related field (e.g. Social Sciences) with at least 5-7 years of experience in an academic research environment; supervisory and/or financial management experience is required
Intermediate Level: Bachelor's Degree in Public Health or a related field (e.g. Social Sciences) with at least 4-5 years of experience in an academic research environment
Knowledge of research principles and practice
Excellent organizational skills and meticulous attention to detail
Superb interpersonal skills and strong work ethic
Ability to work collaboratively with multiple team members
Ability to communicate effectively and professionally in both verbal and written forms to scientific and non-scientific audiences
Ability to work independently and prioritize tasks within deadlines
Proficiency in the PC environment and with programs including MS Word, Excel, and PowerPoint

Desired Qualifications*

Senior Level: Doctoral Degree in Public Health or a related field (e.g. Social Sciences)
Intermediate Level: Master's Degree in Public Health or a related field (e.g. Social Sciences); supervisory and/or financial management experience is preferred
Knowledge of clinical study design and experience in clinical trial operations, recruitment, and reporting
Experience coordinating human subject research studies
Experience with qualitative and quantitative analyses
Experience with writing, submitting, and managing grants to extramural funders (e.g. NIH, AHRQ)
Experience with data management applications (e.g. REDCap, Qualtrics, Google Forms)
Experience with citation management applications (e.g. EndNote)
Experience with performing systematic reviews and meta-analyses
Experience with multidisciplinary and multicultural research teams
Prior authorship/co-authorship of peer-reviewed papers

Modes of Work

Positions that are eligible for hybrid or mobile/remote work mode are at the discretion of the hiring department. Work agreements are reviewed annually at a minimum and are subject to change at any time, and for any reason, throughout the course of employment. Learn more about the work modes.

Underfill Statement

This position may be underfilled at a lower classification depending on the qualifications of the selected candidate.

Additional Information

Descriptions of 3 Current Projects

International MCI Prognosis Study

Tremendous growth in the prevalence of Alzheimer's disease and related dementias (ADRD) is expected, with estimates indicating that by 2050, two-thirds of adults with ADRD will reside in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). While mild cognitive impairment (MCI) is intended to identify cognitively symptomatic individuals who are at greatest risk of progressing to dementia, most knowledge regarding the measurement of MCI, its risk factors, and its prognosis comes from high-income countries. The overall goal of this study is to improve the cross-national measurement of MCI and to characterize its longitudinal course across populations with varied social, economic, cultural, and healthcare life experiences. This project uses data from the Harmonized Cognitive Assessment Protocol (HCAP) to generate harmonized MCI and dementia diagnoses and to investigate the course and predictors of MCI cross-nationally. The project uses HCAP Network data from 3 studies: the Health and Retirement (HRS) HCAP in the US; the Mexican Health and Aging Study's (MHAS) ancillary study on cognitive aging (Mex-Cog); and the Longitudinal Aging Study in India - Diagnostic Assessment of Dementia (LASI-DAD). This study involves harmonizing data across these studies and performing longitudinal analyses in collaboration with a multidisciplinary research team.

T2DM VCID Study

Alzheimer's disease and related dementias (ADRD) are significant drivers of disability, health burden, and costs for older adults, their families, healthcare systems, and public programs such as Medicare and Medicaid. The T2DM VCID Study will discover how high glucose levels from diabetes and pre-diabetes, diabetes treatment, and injury to the brain's blood vessels impact cognitive function and the risk of ADRD. This is a multi-center study in collaboration with researchers from Boston University, Johns Hopkins University, Oregon Health & Science University, Monash University, and the University of Alabama at Birmingham. The study involves pooling and harmonizing data from 6 existing longitudinal cohorts, 3 clinical trials, and secondary data analysis.

STROKE COG Study

Stroke survivors are much more likely than stroke-free adults to develop Alzheimer's disease and Alzheimer's disease-related dementias (AD/ADRD). The STROKE COG study is an NIH-funded R01 study that aims to advance the understanding of post-stroke AD/ADRD and how post-stroke blood pressure, glucose, and lipid levels independently contribute to post-stroke AD/ADRD risk. This is a multi-center study in collaboration with researchers from Johns Hopkins University, and the University of Alabama at Birmingham. The study involves pooling and harmonizing data from four existing longitudinal cohorts, secondary data analysis, and simulation modeling.

Background Screening

Michigan Medicine conducts background screening and pre-employment drug testing on job candidates upon acceptance of a contingent job offer and may use a third party administrator to conduct background screenings. Background screenings are performed in compliance with the Fair Credit Report Act. Pre-employment drug testing applies to all selected candidates, including new or additional faculty and staff appointments, as well as transfers from other U-M campuses.

Application Deadline

Job openings are posted for a minimum of seven calendar days. The review and selection process may begin as early as the eighth day after posting. This opening may be removed from posting boards and filled anytime after the minimum posting period has ended.

U-M EEO/AA Statement

The University of Michigan is an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer.