Researcher I

UW School of Medicine and Public Health; Madison (WI); On-site; USD 49,000 - 60,000; Full time

Job summary

UW School of Medicine and Public Health is seeking a Researcher I in Madison, WI, to support the Wisconsin Surgical Outcomes Research Program (WiSOR) and Division of Endocrine Surgery. The role involves IRB management, protocol development, patient enrollment, data analysis, and manuscript/grant writing, with time split across multiple senior investigators as described in the posting.

Responsibilities include coordinating research studies from development to publication, maintaining databases,

Qualifications

• At least 1 year of professional or mentored experience in clinical or health services research, research administration or project management.
• Interest or experience in human subjects research.

Responsibilities

• Trains individuals and groups on equipment operations, research protocols, and techniques within a specialized laboratory or research area.
• Identifies concerns and recommends solutions to leadership.
• Conducts literature reviews, prepares reports and materials, and disseminates information to appropriate entities and assists with publications.
• Assists with the development of research methodologies and procedures.
• Collects and analyzes basic research data, conducts experiments and interviews, and documents results according to established policies and procedures.
• Assists in developing grant applications and proposals to secure research funding.

Skills

Research experience

Project management

Human subjects research

Education

Master’s degree

Job description

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Job Category

Academic Staff

Employment Type

Regular

Job Profile

Researcher I

Job Summary

The Wisconsin Surgical Outcomes Research Program (WiSOR) and the Division of Endocrine Surgery are seeking a Researcher I to join our rapidly growing program.

The immediate program needs for this position involve project management and research support for the surgeons within Division of Endocrine Surgery. Roughly a third of the time will be working with Dr. Alexander Chiu, MD, MPH, on creating and piloting tools to improve rates of treatment of endocrine diseases utilizing strategies including disease detection systems, AI chatbot enabled clinics and peer navigation programs. Tasks will include IRB management, protocol development, patient enrollment, data analysis, and manuscript/grant writing.

Another third of the time will be spent with Dr. Louise Davies, MD, MS, finalizing and executing research protocols related to de-escalation of thyroid nodule workups and cancer treatment and testing new treatments for advanced thyroid cancer. Some work may involve mixed methods research to support clinical trial recruitment in challenging trials. Tasks will include IRB management, protocol development, patient enrollment, data analysis, and manuscript/grant writing.

The last third of the time will be dedicated to research needs at large for the Endocrine Surgery section, including assisting with research projects of other surgeons within the section, surgical fellows, and students as they arise, maintaining a clinical database including managing research assistants dedicated to database entry, and organizing division research meetings. In this position, you will have the opportunity to undertake work that spans the full lifespan of a research study, from study development to study implementation, including screening, consenting, and enrolling study participants and family members, interviewing research participants, communicating with study sites, data quality assurance, compliance, general project management, and research publication.

• This position may require some work to be performed in-person, onsite, at a designated campus work location. Some work may be performed remotely, at an offsite, non-campus work location.
• This position has been identified as a position of trust with access to vulnerable populations. The selected candidate will be required to pass an initial caregiver check to be eligible for employment under the Wisconsin Caregiver Law and every four years.

Key Job Responsibilities

• Trains individuals and groups on equipment operations, research protocols, and techniques within a specialized laboratory or research area
• Identifies concerns and recommends solutions to leadership
• Conducts literature reviews, prepares reports and materials, and disseminates information to appropriate entities and assists with publications
• Assists with the development of research methodologies and procedures
• Collects and analyzes basic research data, conducts experiments and interviews, and documents results according to established policies and procedures
• Assists in developing grant applications and proposals to secure research funding

Department

School of Medicine and Public Health, Department of Surgery, WiSOR

The Wisconsin Department of Surgery is one of the leading surgical programs in the nation, excelling in patient care, surgical education, and surgical research. We are composed of more than 130 full‑time faculty across 10 divisions and nearly 200 additional staff who support our mission. Our surgeons perform almost 20,000 operations per year for pediatric and adult patients. Training the next generation of surgeons and clinician‑scientists is integral in our department, with more than 100 residents and fellows trained each year. The department is consistently among the top surgery programs with extramural research funding, ranking seventh nationally in NIH funding over the last 10 years.

WiSOR is a health services research program within the Department of Surgery with approximately 20 faculty and 25 research staff. WiSOR supports a wide variety of outcomes‑focused research, including health care disparities research, comparative effectiveness research, patterns of care, and performance and safety in surgical care.

Compensation

The starting salary for the position is $54,979; but is negotiable based on experience and qualifications.

Employees in this position can expect to receive benefits such as generous vacation, holidays, and sick leave; competitive insurances and savings accounts; retirement benefits. For more information, refer to the campus benefits webpage.

Required Qualifications

• At least 1 year of professional or mentored experience in clinical or health services research, research administration or project management
• Interest or experience in human subjects research.

Preferred Qualifications

• Ability to follow research protocols or other detailed procedures consistently and accurately, with a high level of attention to detail
• Ability to meet deadlines, manage tasks, and take initiative without close supervision
• Experience with research, writing, and editing
• Excellent interpersonal skills, including the ability to interact with study participants and external collaborators

Education

Master’s Degree Required

Contact Information

Samantha Connell, [e-mail], 608-265-5311

Relay Access (WTRS): 7-1-1. See RELAY_SERVICE for further information.

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