Clinical Research Assistant

About City of Hope
City of Hope, an innovative biomedical research, treatment and educational institution with over 6000 employees, is dedicated to the prevention and cure of cancer and other life-threatening diseases and guided by a compassionate, patient-centered philosophy.

Founded in 1913 and headquartered in Duarte, California, City of Hope is a remarkable non-profit institution, where compassion and advanced care go hand-in-hand with excellence in clinical and scientific research. City of Hope is a National Cancer Institute designated Comprehensive Cancer Center and a founding member of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network, an alliance of the nation's leading cancer centers that develops and institutes standards of care for cancer treatment.

Position Summary
The Departments of Population Sciences and Surgery at the City of Hope National Medical Center invites applications for a Clinical Research Assistant with interest in cancer genomics, lung cancer, public health, patient literacy and education, and improving accessibility of care through health-related technology. The Clinical Research Assistant will join a research team that investigates the role of cancer genomics and health disparities outcomes, as well as health-related technology in improving accessibility of information for patients, family members, and providers.

The primary purpose of the Clinical Research Assistant position is to assist in the conduct of population studies research, including studies on improving accessibility of cancer genomics information, identifying lung cancer risk factors using a prospective cohort of patients, and integrating technology to improve health literacy. The Clinical Research Assistant recruits and liaises with study participants, including recruitment of patients through clinic or mailing of study materials; assists in the management of multiple research protocols to assure efficiency and regulatory compliance; is responsible for abstraction, compilation, registration, and submission of data; and monitors study compliance with the Clinical Research Administrator and maintains a system for effective data flow associated with research protocols.

Key Responsibilities include:

• Abstract and maintain patient data from the electronic medical record into HIPAA-compliant data forms (e.g., REDCap), according to protocol requirements
• Recruit and liaise with participants, including approaching patients in clinic and mailing participants research materials. Establish and maintain interpersonal relationships with patients, visitors, and other hospital personnel, while assuring confidentiality of patient information.
• Conducts protocol management for an assigned set of multiple research protocols.
• Maintains current and accurate protocol documentation; notifies investigators of pertinent protocol changes.
• Ensures participants are appropriately registered; maintains documentation of participant registration.
• Compiles and submits data on appropriate forms according to protocol requirements.
• Ensures protocol compliance with intense monitoring of specific study requirements; and schedules protocol related activities.
• Assists in training and mentoring new clinical research staff members.
• Performs protocol specific clinical duties as required per the research study.
• Performs data management and data analyses, as required by the research study.
• Assist in the collection, delivery, and processing of specimens for analysis, using appropriate or specified equipment for collecting and handling specimens; ensures proper labeling and obtains pertinent clinical and protocol information on request forms; develops and maintains knowledge of various aspects of processing specimens, paying particular attention to safety practices.
• Identifies and communicates important protocol and data management issues or problem areas to supervisor.
• Work with clinical staff to see that protocol-related tests and evaluations are ordered per protocol guidelines
• Maintains professional growth and development through seminars, workshops, and professional affiliations to maintain certification/licensure, and/or keep abreast of latest trends in field of expertise.
• Ensures work environment is organized and functions efficiently.
• Attends and participates in meetings as required.
• Is able to function independently with no quality control audits beside one yearly audit.
• Performs other related duties as assigned or requested.

Qualifications
Basic education, experience and skills required for consideration:

• Associate's Degree or experience may substitute for minimum education requirements
• Experience in the hospital/healthcare setting
• Proficiency and working knowledge of database and reporting tools such as Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint.

Preferred education experience and skills:

• Bachelor's Degree
• Experience in a research setting
• Experience with electronic medical records (e.g., EPIC)
• Experience with handling & processing biospecimens in a laboratory setting
• Experience in statistics and statistical computing (e.g., SAS, SPSS, Stata, R)

City of Hope is committed to creating a diverse environment and is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, religion, color, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, status as a protected veteran, or status as a qualified individual with disability.