Project Research Associate

Morgan State University; Washington (District of Columbia); On-site; USD 68,000 - 83,000; Full time

Job summary

Morgan State University in Washington, DC invites applications for a Project Research Associate in the Division of Academic Affairs within the School of Community Health & Policy. The role supports maternal and family health research, data management, and dissemination under federal grant funding.

Responsibilities include study coordination, data analysis using SAS, R, or SPSS, manuscript development, and community-engaged research activities with emphasis on health equity and policy-relevant

Qualifications

• Doctoral degree in Public Health, Epidemiology, Biostatistics, Health Services Research, Nursing, Social Work, or near completion.
• Experience with quantitative and/or qualitative research methods in maternal health or population health.
• Strong scientific writing and ability to produce manuscripts, reports, and literature reviews.
• Ability to manage multiple tasks with strict deadlines.
• Commitment to health equity and community-engaged research principles.
• Ability to collaborate across multiple institutions.

Responsibilities

• Support implementation of maternal and family health studies, including protocol coordination and IRB compliance.
• Refine study instruments and data collection tools.
• Conduct data analysis using SAS, R, Stata, SPSS for quantitative and NVivo/ATLAS.ti for qualitative work.
• Perform literature reviews to inform design, grants, and manuscripts.
• Support data management, cleaning, coding, and documentation per governance standards.
• Contribute to analyses using administrative or large-scale datasets as applicable.

Skills

Quantitative research methods

Qualitative research methods

Scientific writing

Data analysis software (SAS,R,Stata,SP

Education

Doctoral degree in Public Health or related field

Tools

SAS

R

Stata

SPSS

NVivo

ATLAS.ti

Job description

Posting Summary

Job Title Project Research Associate Division Divison of Academic Affairs Department School of Community Health & Policy

Job Effective Date 08/19/2026 Job End Date 01/05/2027 Work Status Full Time Position Category Contractual FLSA Non-Exempt Annual Salary $75,000 per year Pays $75,000 per year Percentage Amount 100 Fund Source Federal/Grant Requisition Reason New Job Duties

Research Implementation, Study Coordination & Data Activities

• Support the implementation of maternal and family health research studies, including coordination of study protocols, data collection procedures, and ongoing compliance with Institutional Review Board (IRB) requirements and sponsor guidelines.
• Assist with development and refinement of study instruments, including surveys, interview and focus group guides, screening tools, and data collection protocols.
• Conduct and support quantitative and/or qualitative data analysis using appropriate software packages (e.g., SAS, R, Stata, SPSS for quantitative; NVivo, ATLAS.ti for qualitative).
• Perform systematic, scoping, and narrative literature reviews to inform research design, grant applications, manuscript backgrounds, and evidence synthesis products.
• Support data management, cleaning, coding, and documentation in compliance with data governance standards, IRB protocols, and sponsor requirements.
• Contribute to exploratory analyses and research activities involving administrative datasets, population-level data, or other large-scale data sources as applicable to the Center's research agenda.

Manuscript Development & Scientific Dissemination

• Lead and co-author peer-reviewed manuscripts for submission to journals in maternal and child health, public health, epidemiology, and related fields.
• Develop and submit conference abstracts and present research findings at regional, national, and international scientific conferences and symposia.
• Draft and refine policy briefs, executive summaries, fact sheets, and community-facing materials that translate research findings for practitioners, policymakers, funders, and community audiences.
• Contribute to CMAFH reports, newsletters, progress summaries, and other internal and external communications as directed.

Community-Engaged Research Activities

• Support the design and implementation of community-based participatory research (CBPR) and other community-engaged research activities in partnership with community organizations, local health departments, and other stakeholders.
• Assist with coordination and facilitation of community advisory board meetings, focus groups, key informant interviews, and other stakeholder engagement activities.
• Contribute to building and maintaining respectful, sustained relationships with community partners to ensure research is grounded in community-identified priorities and needs.
• Support research translation efforts that connect findings to local and state practice change, policy development, and community-facing programming.

Grant Reporting & Development Support

• Assist with preparation of required progress reports, performance period narratives, data summaries, and other deliverables for federal, state, and private funders in compliance with sponsor requirements.
• Support grant development activities, including literature review, specific aims drafting, background and significance sections, and methodology summaries for new and renewal applications.
• Ensure research activities comply with sponsor guidelines, IRB protocols, data management requirements, and relevant institutional policies.
• Assist with tracking and documenting project milestones, deliverables, timelines, and progress indicators in coordination with CMAFH leadership.

Training, Mentorship & Capacity Building

• Contribute to mentoring and supporting doctoral students, graduate research assistants, and undergraduate trainees affiliated with CMAFH.
• Participate in and contribute to CMAFH seminars, journal clubs, research team meetings, and capacity-building activities designed to strengthen the Center’s research culture and trainee pipeline.
• Support development of training materials, research toolkits, and skill-building resources for junior staff, students, and trainees.

Coordination, Collaboration & Reporting

• Work collaboratively with CMAFH faculty, staff, and leadership to advance the Center’s research, training, and dissemination priorities.
• Engage with external research partners, government agencies, and community organizations as needed to support collaborative and multi-site research activities.
• Represent CMAFH in internal and external meetings, conferences, and professional forums as appropriate.
• Assist with drafting summaries, briefings, and other products required for internal review by faculty leadership prior to final institutional submission

Requested Minimum Qualifications

Education:

Doctoral degree (PhD, DrPH, ScD, or equivalent) in Public Health, Epidemiology, Biostatistics, Health Services Research, Nursing, Social Work, or a closely related field; or near completion of doctoral degree at time of appointment.

Experience

• Demonstrated experience in quantitative and/or qualitative research methods applicable to maternal health, family health, or a related population health area.

Knowledge, Skills & Abilities

• Strong scientific writing skills with a demonstrated ability to produce manuscripts, reports, literature reviews, and other research summaries.
• Ability to manage multiple concurrent research tasks with strong attention to detail, organization, and adherence to deadlines.
• Commitment to health equity, community-engaged research principles, and culturally responsive and inclusive research practices.
• Demonstrated ability to work effectively in a collaborative, multi-disciplinary, and multi-institutional research environment.

Other Preferences for Consideration