Clinical Research Assistant II

The Ottawa Hospital Research Institute is the research arm of The Ottawa Hospital – one of Canada’s largest learning and research hospitals. We are proudly affiliated with the University of Ottawa and supported by The Ottawa Hospital Foundation. With more than 2,200 scientists, clinician investigators, trainees and staff, and total revenues of more than $120 million, we are one of the foremost Canadian hospital-based research institutes. Our research spans more than a hundred different diseases, conditions, and specialties with an overall focus on translating discoveries and knowledge into better health.

Job description

The Ottawa Hospital Research Institute's Methodological & Implementation Research Program (MIR) is seeking a Clinical Research Assistant II to support the Blueprint Translational Research Group (www.ohri.ca/blueprint). Blueprint is a dynamic and collaborative team with expertise spanning health sciences, epidemiology, health systems, and preclinical research. The group is led by Drs. Manoj Lalu (Scientist, Associate Director of Training and Anesthesiologist) and Dean Fergusson (Senior Scientist and OHRI Deputy Scientific Director) and focuses on accelerating the translation of novel therapeutics from laboratory discovery to clinical implementation. The primary responsibility of this role will be supporting CIHR-funded research on patient engagement in research. The successful candidate will work closely with scientists, trainees, and staff, as well as patient partners (patients and caregivers with diverse lived experiences. We encourage interested candidates to visit the team webpage and the CIHR website on patient engagement to better understand this emerging aspect of research (https://cihr-irsc.gc.ca/e/45851.html). Strong scientific writing skills will be essential, as the candidate will contribute to studying documents, knowledge syntheses, and manuscripts. 

This position offers an opportunity to contribute to an emerging area of translational research by collaborating with patient partners and research team members to design and conduct knowledge syntheses, survey and interview studies, and other research activities focused on advancing patient engagement in clinical and preclinical laboratory research. Additional opportunities include coordinating engagement initiatives, co-developing educational resources and workshops, and contributing to other studies, grant applications, and ethics submissions depending on experience.

Key Responsibilities Include

The prospective hire will be responsible for the following tasks, as well as support other BLUEPRINT projects and team goals:

• Developing study protocols, surveys and interview guides
• Co-developing patient engagement strategies and coordinating engagement
• Conducting interviews and survey studies
• Designing and facilitating educational workshops and resources
• Assisting other group members with coordination of patient engagement
• Providing consultations on patient engagement
• Assisting with manuscript writing
• Co-developing accessible dissemination strategies
• Assisting with grant preparation and submissions
• Assisting with ethics submissions
• Screening studies and extracting relevant data for systematic reviews
• Conducting qualitative and quantitative analyses
• Preparing presentations, reports, abstracts and manuscripts for peer-reviewed scientific journals
• Participating in and presenting at weekly research group meetings and teaching sessions
• The successful candidate will be expected to work largely onsite at the General Hospital Campus

Basic Requirements

• Secondary diploma
• A working understanding of preclinical/basic science and its norms and language
• Ability to obtain evidence of training certification in Tri-Council Policy Statement -2 (TCPS-2), the International Conference on Harmonization – Good Clinical Practice Guidelines (ICH-GCP)
• Minimum 2 years’ experience in a health research environment
• Strong communication skills and demonstrated experience engaging with patients/caregivers and/or other diverse knowledge user groups
• Experience conducting interviews, survey and/or focus group studies
• Quantitative (e.g. analysis of survey results) and/or qualitative (e.g. thematic content analysis) research training and experience
• Ability to work collaboratively and effectively as both part of an interdisciplinary team and independently
• Demonstrated meeting and event organizing abilities
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills (written and oral)
• Excellent organizational, prioritization, and time-management skills required to coordinate multiple activities to meet tight or changing deadlines
• Strong follow-through skills and ability to proactively identify and solve problems; demonstrated initiative is imperative
• Detail-oriented and meticulous in all aspects of work
• Excellent computer skills (MS Teams, Zoom, SharePoint, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook and NVivo)

Preferred Qualifications

• Master’s degree in a health science related field or equivalent
• Understanding of, and experience with, patient engagement in research
• Previous publications
• Experience in a hospital research environment (translational, clinical or a combination)
• Previous experience with grant applications, ethics submissions, systematic reviews, prospective and retrospective cohort studies will be considered as assets
• Bilingualism (French and English) is an asset