Program Coordinator, NICU Research and SET Center​

Department

BSD PED - Neonatology - Claud Lab

About the Department

The Department of Pediatrics at the University of Chicago is a dynamic and stimulating place to work. We strive for the highest level of complex care for children from diagnosis and treatment; provide outstanding education and training for students, postgraduate scholars, and physicians; and nurture the research of Department scholars who seek to elucidate the causes of pediatric disease and identify promising new therapies. In addition to our provision of clinical care at UChicago Medicine (UCM) Comer Children’s Hospital and at our regional sites, we are currently expanding our clinical care across Northern Illinois and Northwestern Indiana. In collaboration with our partners in the Chicagoland Children’s Health Alliance (CCHA; Advocate Children’s Hospital, and NorthShore University Health System). CCHA has responsibility for the care of almost 1 million children. The Department has 6 ambulatory sites and 3 inpatient sites of care across the region with the goal of providing care ‘close to home’ whenever feasible (https://pediatrics.uchicago.edu/). Our mission is to improve the health of every child entrusted to us, in an inclusive environment that is committed to family-centered care, clinical excellence, impactful scholarship, effective disease prevention, and advocacy for the appropriate care of every child. We are especially committed to the children on the South Side of Chicago and to altering the inequities in healthcare.

With a bed capacity of 71 beds, the NICU in Comer Children's Hospital is one of the largest Level III NICUs in Chicago and a major referral center for the sickest newborn infants with the most complex conditions throughout Illinois and Northwest Indiana. It has close to 850 admissions per year accounting for over 21,000 patient bed-days. In collaboration with the Maternal-Fetal Service, Neonatology runs the University of Chicago Perinatal Network with over 10 affiliated community hospitals. A state-of-the-art facility, the NICU offers critically-ill infants with innovative mode of interventions. Our Small Baby Unit, the first in the state, serves the most premature infants less than or equal to 28 weeks and offers the specialized care they require.

The Center for the Science of Early Trajectories (SET) is composed of a diverse network of basic scientists, physician scientists, and clinicians working collaboratively to transform infant development research and establish a biologic map of the development of pre- and neonatal infants. Preterm infants are at risk for poor neurodevelopmental outcome due to their degree of prematurity, hospital course, and home environment. The SET Center fosters and supports research into the biological development of preterm infants through various initiatives, programs, and collaborations.

Job Summary

The Program Coordinator for NICU Research and SET Center manages the day-to-day operation and administration of Research in the Neonatology Section, and in the Center for the Science of Early Trajectories (SET). This role will perform a range of professional activities in support of research, clinical, and educational missions and related programs and projects.  

The Coordinator will report to the Director of Neonatology Research and the Center Manager of the SET Center and will be tasked with ensuring that both the Section and the Center’s programs continue to run, in particular the research programs. This person will maintain the IRB approvals and manage any other regulatory paperwork. The Coordinator will also assist in maintaining the daily operations and event planning including workshops, conferences, colloquia, training programs, community outreach, etc. They will help liaison with other offices on campus in support of research programs such as CRI, OCR, HIRO, or OCR. 

Responsibilities

NICU Research Support:

• Supports the regulatory compliance of Neonatology research projects. 

• Writes human subjects permission protocols and amendments for IRB permission, and obtains other research permits as needed. 

• Supports a portfolio of projects; assists project team members, PIs, external partners, and stakeholders to push projects forward and achieve research goals. 

• Assists with the coordination of research activities, communications with partner agencies, and managing project deliverables. 

• Maintains technical and administrative support for a research project. 

• Plans and conducts quality assurance re