Research Associate - Temporary

UNC; Chapel Hill (NC); Remote; USD 50,000 - 75,000; Full time

Job summary

UNC Chapel Hill seeks a Research Associate to support interdisciplinary research projects in AI, health information, and user-centered design. The role involves data collection, analysis, and contribution to systematic reviews. Successful candidates will gain mentorship and professional development opportunities.

Benefits

Mentorship opportunities

Professional development in research methods

Qualifications

• Experience with large language models (LLMs) and health literacy.
• Familiarity with health information technology evaluation.
• Ability to organize and analyze both qualitative and quantitative data.

Responsibilities

• Assist in data collection, analysis, and reporting for interdisciplinary research projects.
• Conduct literature reviews and assist in systematic reviews.
• Contribute to developing AI literacy education for students.

Skills

Data analysis

Literature review

Quantitative research

Qualitative research

AI literacy

Education

Master's in Information Science or related field

Tools

PRISMA

Covidence

Job description

This position is a 100% remote work arrangement, consistent with System Office policy. UNC Chapel Hill employees are generally required to reside in North Carolina, within a reasonable commuting distance of their assigned duty station.

The Research Associate will support a range of interdisciplinary research projects led by Dr. Fei Yu at the UNC School of Information and Library Science. This temporary position offers a unique opportunity to contribute to cutting-edge studies at the intersection of artificial intelligence, health information, and user-centered design. The successful candidate will assist in data collection, analysis, and reporting for projects related to:

• Research evaluation using large language models (LLMs): Exploring the application of LLMs such as ChatGPT for assessing scholarly alignment with funding priorities and research impact.
• Health literacy assessment: Evaluating the quality and readability of patient education materials and public health messaging using validated instruments (e.g., PEMAT, DISCERN, FKGL).
• AI literacy programming: Supporting the development, implementation, and evaluation of AI literacy education programs for library and information science (LIS) students and the broader research community.
• Systematic reviews and bibliometric studies: Contributing to structured literature searches, screening, coding, and synthesis using tools like PRISMA, MMAT, Covidence, research databases, and citation analysis platforms.
• Health Information Technology evaluation: Assisting in designing and usability testing AI-enhanced research tools and public-facing health information interfaces.

The Research Associate will work under the supervision of Dr. Fei Yu and collaborate with students, faculty, and external partners. Responsibilities may include conducting literature reviews, organizing and analyzing quantitative and qualitative data, setting up an LLM environment and running experiments, co-developing posters and manuscripts, managing project documentation, and assisting with conference presentations and stakeholder engagement.

The position will provide mentorship opportunities and professional development in research methods, project management, and interdisciplinary collaboration. This is a temporary position with the possibility of extension based on funding availability and project needs.