Assistant Director of Research Programs (Senior Research Associate I), Specialized Technical Skills (STS)

Description

 

Date: August 2024

Title: Assistant Director of Research Programs (Senior Research Associate I), Specialized Technical Skills (STS)

Department: Prevention Research Center for Healthy Neighborhoods, Dept of PQHS

School: Medicine

Location: BioEnterprise

Supervisor Name and Title: Erika Trapl, PhD, Director PRC

 

POSITION OBJECTIVE

The Case Western Reserve University Prevention Research Center for Healthy Neighborhoods was established in 2009 and has a mission to bridge community partners and university researchers to focus their collective expertise to develop, test, and implement sustainable strategies to improve health in underserved communities. The PRCHN plays an instrumental role in assisting other research centers and labs within the medical school and the university with public health research and community engagement strategies.

The Assistant Director of Research Programs (ADRP) will work closely with the senior leadership and scientific program leaders of the Prevention Research Center for Healthy Neighborhoods, serving as a subject matter expert on scientific and technical grant writing for researchers and non-research staff to develop, direct, and manage a variety of programs and funding opportunities in the PRCHN designed to accelerate discoveries toward better health. The Assistant Director of Research Programs will work closely with the Principal Investigator, Senior Director and PRC and PQHS administration to identify and develop new grant opportunities for PRCHN Principal Investigators and implement an overall strategy for developing federally funded programs that meet the needs of the PRCHN and its membership. The ADRP will be responsible for advanced level writing and critical review in support of faculty members of the PRCHN partners, to ensure that scientific communications (abstracts, manuscripts, protocols, and in particular grant applications) are of the highest quality and contribute to the PRCHN’s reputation for academic and research excellence.

 

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS

1.       Serve as a scientific liaison between the PRCHN Principal Investigators (PI), Core Leaders (CLs), Working Group Leaders (WGLs) and PRCHN administrative staff to integrate PRCHN research and training activities. This will require a strong foundation in the science involved in these groups (ie. Public health and community engagement), inter- and multi-disciplinary activities, and an expert understanding of the mechanisms needed to meet the research objectives. Create and lead opportunities within PRCHN’s Research Programs for collaborative science and ensure implementation once opportunities have been identified through robust scientific summaries and project management. (40%)

 

2.       Develop strong working relationships with PIs, CLs, and WGLs including meeting with such leaders on a routine basis to discuss strategic goals of the PRCHN Research Programs. Develop agendas (in conjunction with PIs, CLs, and WGLs) for Research Program meetings; write initial outlines/drafts reporting on Program activities. Attend PRCHN seminars, read publications by the PRCHN members to understand their research areas. Review data streams of activity of the Research Program members, including funded grants, publications, and grant submissions to provide insights regarding developing research strengths. Develop an understanding of the programs/resources of the PRCHN partner institutions to provide advice when needed regarding technical support for projects. (15%)

3.       Assist PIs and CLs with editing and preparing summaries of the research program’s activities that appear in the PRCHN PIs’ Research Performance Progress Report (RPPR) (annual progress report). (10%)

4.       Organize, advise, edit, review, and prepare submission of PRCHN-related grant submissions with PIs and make recommendations on the scientific and technical components based on scientific background/experience. Develop ancillary documents for grant applications such as drafting letters of support, project narratives, vertebrate animals, human subjects and clinical trial information. Address fundamental style considerations for editing grant applications for clarity. Understand all components of NIH and OTHER grant submissions and advise members as necessary. Work with PRCHN administrative staff to ensure efficient development of materials needed for submission of transdisciplinary grant proposals including working with the PIs and Grants Administrator for budget development. When a new grant is funded, facilitate post-award set-up ensuring administrative hand- offs. (10%)

5.       Maintain a robust data system in REDCap for PRCHN metrics, including member publications and presenta