Research Assistant @ Veterans Biomedical Research Institute, Department of Veterans Affairs.

The Behavioral Health Research Lab at the New Jersey War Related Illness and Injury Study Center (WRIISC) located in East Orange, New Jersey, supported by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), is seeking a highly motivated individual to serve as Research Assistant (RA) for immediate hire. 

Position Summary:

The RA works with a multidisciplinary team that develops and implements research studies focused on determining effective mental health treatment options for Veterans with chronic and complex medical conditions. The RA will take the primary responsibility of executing study protocols; which includes include significant interactions with participants for execution of recruitment, screening, enrollment, and data collection procedures.  In tandem, the RA will be following standards set for human research protections and regulatory guidelines as established by national organizations, oversight committees, and the local Institutional Review Board. The RA is also responsible for ensuring that the data collected and inputted into the project databases is valid and appropriate for data analysis and interpretation. In addition, the RA works with the supervisor and other members of the research team to assist in preparing publishable reports/journal articles, conference presentations, and developing new grant proposals to federal agencies and non-federal entities.  This position will begin remotely with the eventual need to be completely onsite.  

Essential Duties and Responsibilities:

• The RA will execute active studies according to the IRB-approved protocols.
• The RA will participate in recruitment efforts and the screening of potential participants.  The RA will enroll eligible participants, collect, and enter data according to the IRB-approved protocols. 
• The RA will work with their supervisor and research team to develop new protocols for screening, recruiting, and testing Veteran participants.
• The RA will follow lab’s systems for tracking participants and assistant with the development of systems for new studies.

Qualifications:

• U.S. Citizenship
• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Psychology, Behavioral/Clinical Neuroscience, Experimental Psychology or related field followed by internship or externship experience conducting human subjects research
• At least one year of research experience
• Advanced interpersonal skills and ability to work with diverse groups
• Proficient in Microsoft Office (Outlook, Excel, Word, PowerPoint)

Application Requirements:

• Please send thoughtful cover letter and resume/CV to Nicole.anastasides@va.gov

About the Behavioral Health Research Lab:

The BHRL team conducts research with Veterans suffering from chronic medical conditions, including chronic pain, Gulf War Illness, and other complex medically-unexplained syndromes (e.g., CMI). Our research focuses on understanding Veterans’ views of their health and developing innovative patient-centered behavioral interventions to improve quality of life and health outcomes. Areas of special focus (and potential areas of research) include behavioral treatment for chronic pain and CMI, suicide treatment/prevention, mental health service delivery through video and internet-based interventions, and patient-provider communication.