Job Description

Staff - Non Union

Job Category Non Union Technicians and Research Assistants

Job Profile Non Union Salaried - Research Assistant /Technician 3

Job Title Diabetes Clinical Research Associate (DCRA)

Department Panagiotopoulos Laboratory | Department of Paediatrics | Faculty of Medicine

Compensation Range $3,982.67 - $4,703.83 CAD Monthly

Posting End Date September 6, 2023

Note: Applications will be accepted until 11:59 PM on the day prior to the Posting End Date above.

Job End Date Aug 31, 2024

This position offers the possibility of renewal to Aug 31, 2025.

This offer is conditional upon successful completion of a Criminal Record Check.

This position is located within a health-care facility, therefore, the successful candidate will be required to provide verification of full vaccination against Covid-19 provided prior to the start date, as required by a provincial health mandate.

At UBC, we believe that attracting and sustaining a diverse workforce is key to the successful pursuit of excellence in research, innovation, and learning for all faculty, staff and students. Our commitment to employment equity helps achieve inclusion and fairness, brings rich diversity to UBC as a workplace, and creates the necessary conditions for a rewarding career.

Job Summary

The incumbent Diabetes Clinical Research Associate (DCRA) will be responsible for a range of tasks related to longitudinal clinical research in the Panagiotopoulos and Devlin labs whose focus is on childhood diabetes, cardiometabolic complications, and obesity. The DCRA role include ethics applications and ongoing ethics renewals, study coordination (including communication with other centres across Canada/North America, budget tracking and processing financial transactions), subject recruitment and data collection and data entry.

The incumbent is required to conduct all research activities in an ethical manner, suited to the proper activities of the University of British Columbia and to the professional organizations governing the activities of the institution and all other investigators. Any procedures undertaken as part of a trial must be accurate and must accurately reflect the work performed. Strict confidentiality of all study matters must be adhered to. The incumbent\xe2\x80\x99s research activities are accountable to the Principal Investigator(s).

Organizational Status
The incumbent will report to and receive direction from the Principal Investigator Dr. Dina Panagiotopoulos as well as her close collaborator and co-Principal Investigator, Dr. Angela Devlin

This position requires working both independently and in cooperation with hospital physicians, residents, nurses, research staff at the BC Children\xe2\x80\x99s Hospital Research Institute (BCCHR), and other staff at Children\xe2\x80\x99s and Women\xe2\x80\x99s Health Centre. The incumbent will collaborate and work with external staff at participating organizations, hospitals and collaborating laboratories located at different sites nationally and internationally. The workspace is located in the Childhood Diabetes Laboratories in BCCHR of Children\xe2\x80\x99s and Women\xe2\x80\x99s Health Centre of BC Campus.

Work Performed

The position involves clinical research and will include preparation of ethics applications, subject recruitment, data collection and analyses, and data management.

Specific duties include:

Work closely with study Principal Investigators, on study start-up activities.

Assist with the drafting of study specific consents, assents and other required study documents.

Responsible for timely ethics submissions of studies utilizing the UBC Researcher Information Services (RISe) database.

Responsible for the timely RISe submission of amendments, Requests for Acknowledgement (RFA) and study closures.

Working closely with the identified individuals to obtain departmental sign-off for associated protocol activities.

Responsible for maintaining REB records and associated documents to ensure that study investigator binders and Central Binder folders are accurately maintained.

Provide feedback on proposed study protocol issues at the time of the review.

With the assistance of the PI, liaise with the University/Industry Liaison Office (UILO) and BCCH Research Institute Finance Manager on contract related start-up issues

Responsible for budget-tracking and processing financial transactions related to managing research expenses and research accounts using Workday.

Completion, updating and submission of existing study regulatory documents to sponsors/CROs/Health Canada and other regulatory bodies as required by Good Clinical Practice standards

Data collections as required (eg. May include chart review, administering questionnaires, performing other clinical research assessments for which adequate training will be provided).

Processing of blood samples in preparation for biobanking.

Running ELISAs for biomarkers of diabetes in children

Performing other related tasks and projects as deemed necessary.

Consequence of Error/Judgement
Consequences of error are high and this is a position with significant responsibility. The activities described above impact the direction of Division of Endocrinology research program objectives. Errors could impact upon the reputation of the program as a whole and jeopardize the options for collaborative participation with industry and other centers.

Supervision Received
It is expected that the RT3 will demonstrate the ability to work independently once training has been successfully completed. The RT3 will be required to problem solve on a continual basis. The RT3 will provide some supervision to the coop student.

Supervision Given
The RT3 will receive supervision and direction from both the post-doctoral fellow as well as the Principal Investigator Dr. Dina Panagiotopoulos, and co-Principal Investigator Dr. Angela Devlin.

Minimum Qualifications

Completion of a relevant technical program or a university degree in a relevant discipline and a minimum three years of related experience or an equivalent combination of education and experience.

Willingness to respect diverse perspectives, including perspectives in conflict with one\xe2\x80\x99s own.

Demonstrates a commitment to enhancing one\xe2\x80\x99s own awareness, knowledge, and skills related to equity, diversity, and inclusion.

Preferred Qualifications

A Master\xe2\x80\x99s of Science degree is an asset but not required.
Knowledge of ethical principles and research applications.

Familiarity with database management programs and UBC RISe and Workday an asset.

Attentive to detail, with the ability to work quickly and accurately.

High degree of computer literacy including familiarity with Microsoft Word, Excel, Teams.

Ability to learn new software programs such as REDCAP.

Organizational and interpersonal skills a must.

Ability to prioritize and work effectively under pressure to meet deadlines.

Ability to exercise initiative and maintain confidentiality.

Effective communication, both orally and in writing.

Ability to work both independently and within a team environment in the office.

Experience with basic laboratory procedures including ELISAs and blood processing.

University of British Columbia