CeMCOR Research Coordinator

Staff - Non Union

Job Category
Non Union Technicians and Research Assistants

Job Profile
Non Union Salaried - Research Assistant /Technician 3

Job Title
CeMCOR Research Coordinator

Department
Prior Laboratory Division of Endocrinology and Metabolism | Department of Medicine | Faculty of Medicine

Compensation Range
$4,434.02 - $5,228.81 CAD Monthly

Posting End Date
March 28, 2024

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

Job End Date

Mar 25, 2025

This position is expected to be filled by promotion/reassignment and is included here to inform you of its vacancy at the University.

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 research team of Professors Bernard Crespi (Biology, SFU), Paul Yong, MD, PhD (Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, UBC, and Women’s Hospital), Jerilynn C. Prior, MD (Endocrinology and Metabolism, Department of Medicine, and CeMCOR, UBC), Professor Sarah Purcell, PhD (Land and Food Sciences, UBC) and Professor Pablo Nepomnaschy, PhD (Health Sciences, SFU), is currently seeking a highly motivated, full-time Postdoctoral Researcher (PDR).

The successful applicant will serve as a research coordinator for a New Frontiers in Research-funded study involving ground-breaking work into the roles of brown adipose tissue in the etiologies and symptoms of endometriosis compared with healthy, regularly-cycling and ovulatory controls. This will involve recruiting 120 women (60 with endometriosis and 60 controls) aged 19–35 from the community and studying each for two menstrual cycles with funding for two years.

Organizational Status

This position is within the Centre for Menstrual Cycle and Ovulation Research (CeMCOR), a university-based research centre physically located in the Diamond Health Care Centre across from Vancouver General Hospital in the Department of Medicine, Division of Endocrinology. CeMCOR is also part of the British Columbia Women’s Health Research Institute. The work

will be done under the supervision of Dr. Jerilynn C. Prior, Professor at the University of British Columbia.

Work Performed

- Recruit and enroll 120 women from the community who have physician-diagnosed endometriosis (60) and controls (60)

- Screen enquirers to ensure that inclusion criteria are met and that that all participants provide signed, informed consent

- Revise as needed the Clinical Research Ethics Board (CREB) review package and respond to provisos

- Ensure all documents and procedures are approved by the University of British Columbia’s CREB

- Promote the study and advertise recruitment in social media ads, online/print media and paper printouts to be posted

- Collect data on brown adipose tissue using infrared thermography and other energy status methods

- Receive, collect, and analyze physical, hormone and reproductive data (including daily Menstrual Cycle Diary and Quantitative Basal Temperature data)

- Organize the successful collection of required data by creating databases (which includes administered questionnaires, physical measurements (height, weight, waist circumference), and Menstrual Cycle Diary and Quantitative Basal Temperature records).

- Work closely with Dr. Prior, and all CeMCOR personnel to ensure that the collected data are stored (online in the regularly backed-up MedIT-supported K drive) as is appropriate and confidentiality is maintained.

- Communicate in person, by telephone and in writing with CeMCOR personnel and research team to solve problems and report on progress through study milestones

- Participate in data analysis and the preparation of manuscripts

- Attend and report weekly to CeMCOR meetings. There is also the opportunity to attend other academic rounds as are appropriate to training and interests

- Engage with other team activities, and in the development of further related research. See PMID: 34295358 and PMID: 33854783 for background regarding the research

Consequence of Error/Judgement
The successful candidate will need to abide by all confidentiality rules exercised by the University of British Columbia when working with participants for this study. Although the candidate’s direct supervisor will be Dr. Prior, the incumbent will be responsible for competent clinical management of the protocol while making the participant feel listened to and valued. The candidate will be responsible for scheduling his/her own work. Weekly outcomes and problems (if any) will be discussed with Dr. Prior, the research team and other CeMCOR personnel with appropriate urgency as required.
Supervision Received
Works under general supervision and mentorship from Dr. Prior; receives detailed instructions as needed and will learn about clinical trial management. Supervision and feedback from research team members is ongoing. The successful candidate will schedule their own tasks and thereafter only receive specific instructions on new or unusual problems that arise.
Supervision Given
The successful candidate will work alongside and collaborate one research associate who will assist with study recruitment, participant interactions and database set-up, data entry, ethics updates, etc.
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’s own

- Demonstrates a commitment to enhancing one’s own awareness, knowledge, and skills related to equity, diversity, and inclusion

Preferred Qualifications

- Experience recruiting and retaining volunteer participants from the general public, either in the context of research, or in some other context (e.g. voluntary role in some non-work context). Persistence and creativity in recruitment will be an important part of this position

- Familiarity with clinical research ethics and project management are highly desirable

- Certified Clinical Research Professional (CCRP) status is preferable

- Experience with and evidence of passion for women’s health

- Personable, outgoing and detail-oriented

- Highly self-motivated

- Excellent organizational skills with an aptitude for managing databases related to the flow through the study of participants and their collected data

- Excellent written and interpersonal communication skills are essential

- Creative problem-solving skills

- Experience with literature searches using online databases such as PubMed

- Willingness to work flexibly, potentially including some evenings and weekends as required to accommodate the schedule requests of participants