The Stanford Department of Pediatrics, Division of Rheumatology is seeking a skilled, detail-oriented, motivated, collaborative Clinical Research Operations Assistant Director (CRC3) to join the Immune Behavioral Health/ PANS Research Team . The Stanford Immune Behavioral Health (IBH) Clinical Research Program operates adjacent a pediatric multidisciplinary clinic established in 2012 to care for patients with infection-associated neuropsychiatric deteriorations and co-morbid inflammatory conditions (i.e. arthritis, vascular inflammation, etc) symptoms. Led by PI Dr. Jennifer Frankovich, the research program collects longitudinal clinical data and biospecimens to carry out research looking at the immune system, proteomics, microbiome, metabolomics, and genomics at Stanford and with collaborators/ basic scientists globally with the ultimate goal of better understanding the underpinnings of illness and improving diagnosis, care, and treatment for affected individuals.
The Program’s hopeful Clinical Research Operations Assistant Director will work under the general direction of faculty and alongside leadership to develop, implement, and administer the vision, strategy, and goals of the assigned academic entity/program(s). Incumbent will provide operational and scientific leadership for the clinical research program. The role will oversee the current clinical database and biorepository; coordinate alignment with the new Aurora database; direct data-field design, validation, and cleaning; maintain database and biorepository SOPs; and oversee data and sample intake across current (Menlo Park) and any future sites. The incumbent will also oversee the Healthy Control Project, clinical research space and specimen storage, and 2-3 research assistants supporting database, biorepository, compliance, sample-distribution, and study activities.
Additional responsibilities include directing approved sample distributions and timelines; overseeing clinical data analyses and clinical-characteristics tables; coordinating annual IRB renewals, updates, amendments, and new submissions; and leading development, distribution, analysis, refinement, and publication of Delphi consensus questionnaires. The incumbent will design and implement new clinical studies, train study personnel, interpret results, and lead or contribute to abstracts, presentations, manuscripts, and grant applications. The role will provide clinical perspective to epidemiologists and basic scientists, coordinate student engagement with program leadership, and progressively assume responsibility for monitoring and managing the clinical research budget. The successful candidate will be highly organized, analytically strong, proactive, collaborative, and committed to research integrity, participant confidentiality, and a positive working environment.
Duties include:
- Oversee subject recruitment and study enrollment goals. Determine effective strategies for promoting/recruiting research participants and retaining participants in long-term clinical trials.
- Monitor and oversee data management for research projects. Develop and manage systems to organize, collect, report, and monitor data collection. Extract, analyze, and interpret data.
- Develop project schedules, targets, measurements, and accountabilities, as assigned. Lead team meetings and prepare/approve minutes.
- Supervision of staff or students, as assigned, including hiring, performance management and coaching; mentoring and training of staff and assistance with preparation of performance evaluations for staff who do not directly report to this role, and performing related duties, in addition to instruction on project work.
- Audit operations, including performing internal monitoring, to ensure compliance with applicable regulations; provide leadership in identifying and implementing corrective actions/processes. Monitor Institutional Review Board submissions and respond to requests and questions. May have specialization such as leading training for the group, leading quality program for the group or other specialized and more complex responsibilities.
- Collaborate with principal investigators and study sponsors, monitor and report serious adverse events, and resolve study queries. Analyze completed study results to aid PI in the development of recommendations to enhance quality outcomes.
- Provide leadership in determining, recommending, and implementing improvements to policies/processes; define best practices.
- Develop study budget with staff and principal investigator, identifying standard of care versus study procedures. Track patient and study specific milestones, and invoice sponsors according to study contract. Develop and manage the financial timeline and personnel resources; may oversee post-award deliverable.
- Ensure regulatory compliance. Regularly inspect study documents to ensure ongoing regulatory compliance.
- Work with principal investigator to ensure Investigational New Drug applications are submitted to the FDA when applicable. Ensure Institutional Review Board renewals are completed.
- Write and edit content for proposals, peer-reviewed publications, and other program activities under the general direction of PI. Assist with the development of research grants, (i.e., may suggest new funding opportunities, write portions of grants, and/or summarize data for grant support), and consensus building efforts/publications.
- Other duties may also be assigned
- This is an on-site (Palo Alto, CA), fixed term position for one (1) year at 100% FTE. The program will also consider hiring as hybrid. Opportunity for renewal based on funding availability.
- To learn more about the lab and PI , please visit : https://med.stanford.edu/pans.htm l
- The expected pay range for this position working in the California Bay area is anticipated to be $108,000-111,000 annually (??)
- Stanford University provides pay ranges representing its good faith estimate of the salary or hourly wage the University reasonably expects to pay for a position upon hire. The pay offered to a selected candidate will be determined based on factors such as (but not limited to) the scope and responsibilities of the position, the qualifications of the selected candidate, departmental budget availability, internal equity, geographic location and external market pay for comparable jobs.
- DESIRED QUALIFICATIONS:
- PhD or advanced degree in relevant research area (neuropsychiatry, immunology, and/or epidemiology) and four or more years of relevant experience and training.
- Candidates should have a background in clinical research, neuroscience, immunology, epidemiology, biostatistics, or another similar discipline, with extensive experience working in a clinical research environment
- Doctoral-level training in clinical research, epidemiology, biostatistics, public health, psychology, or a related field.
- Prior experience directing projects in the clinical research environment including: supervising research assistants, directing compliance, directing specimen collection/biobanking, directing SOP development, directing protocol development, directing relational database including data-quality workflows, developing studies from beginning to end).
- Demonstrated ability to supervise and develop research staff
- Demonstrated experience maintaining rigorous standards for data quality, specimen stewardship, confidentiality, and regulatory documentation.
- Experience in directing the design and implementation of clinical studies; developing analysis plans; interpreting clinical data; preparing clinical-characteristics tables; and contributing to grants, scientific presentations, consensus projects, and peer-reviewed manuscripts. Must have at least 3 first author papers in a peer-reviewed journal based on original research led by the applicant.
- Experience with research budgets and interdisciplinary collaboration is preferred.
- EDUCATION & EXPERIENCE (REQUIRED):
Bachelor's degree in a related field and four years of experience in clinical research, or an equivalent combination of education and relevant experience.
KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS AND ABILITIES (REQUIRED):