Research Assistant - Cancer Center
The University of California, San Diego
About this position
Position Description
The Moores Cancer Center (MCC) is one of just 57 NCI-designated Comprehensive Cancer Centers in the United States and the only one in San Diego County. As a consortium cancer center, it is a collaborative partnership between the UCSD: encompassing 28 departments, 6 schools School of Medicine, Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, School of Public Health, Jacobs School of Engineering, School of Biological Sciences & the School of Physical Sciences), UCSD Health oncology hospitals and clinics; the basic and public health research and outreach of San Diego State University (SDSU), and the basic and translational research of the La Jolla Institute of Immunology (LJI). These various programs and units are all dedicated to fulfilling the Moores Cancer Center's mission of reducing cancer's burden. As such, it ranks among the top centers in the nation conducting the continuum of cancer research, providing advanced patient care, and serving the community through outreach and education programs. As a top-ranking, future-oriented organization, we offer challenging career opportunities in a fast-paced and innovative environment. Moores Cancer Center follows a progressive philosophy of career-path development for its employees including opportunities for cross-training, professional development, and progressive responsibility. MCC's mission is to transform cancer care in our catchment area and beyond by driving exceptional scientific discoveries and innovations in prevention, detection, care, and training. MCC will make a global impact on improving health by reducing cancer burden through accelerated discovery and translation, compassionate and interdisciplinary care, education and community engagement, with the foundation of our core values - Excellence, Innovation and Risk-Taking, Collaboration, Diversity and Service. The Research Assistant will assist with research efforts focused on acute leukemia and other blood cancers, and also serve as a scribe for a busy leukemia and bone marrow transplant practice. Assistant will be expected to attend clinic with the Attending Physician and act as scribe during clinic visits with patients. Assistant will also help with research related tasks such as researching topics for upcoming scientific and professional meetings and presentations, helping to prepare PowerPoint slides for talks, and organizing and planning the schedule of a busy attending hematologist. Will assist with preparation of case reports and case studies for medical journals, helping prepare the attending physician for academic presentations at national meetings, performing searches and reviews of the medical literature to help with clinical questions and research efforts in leukemia and other blood cancers. Under supervision, will assist with coordinating and supporting research projects which may include, but are not limited to, the following duties: assisting with maintaining research data; gathering tests/results, physicians’ notes, and outside medical records in order to extract patient data and record data in approved format for study purposes (e.g. case report forms, data summaries); assisting with follow-up requests for data as necessary and assure comprehensiveness of individual data records; assisting with analyzing statistical data and providing reports as requested by Principal Investigators.
Qualifications
Theoretical knowledge of public health, biology, epidemiology, biostatistics, and/or related life sciences field or a related field as typically attained by a Bachelor's degree, or an equivalent combination of education and experience. Ability to follow research protocol (in order to follow protocols to screen patients for eligibility, initiate treatment plan, collect specimens, and orient participating physicians). Must be able to maintain confidentiality. Ability to use statistical software applications. Knowledge of database, word processing and spreadsheet applications. Skill at interpreting medical charts and in abstracting data from medical records. Ability to use search engines such as PubMed for researching medical literature. Knowledge of clinical research coordination, data collection and data management. Ability to read and interpret medical literature and familiarity with medical terminology to scribe accurately in the clinic and to assist in clinical research related tasks. Ability to work independently, accurately with attention to detail, maintain confidentiality, and function effectively under deadline pressures to fulfill assignments on schedule. Excellent organizational skills. Excellent interpersonal, as well as written and verbal communication skills (using grammatically correct written English and accurate typing) to interact with a diverse population. Excellent phone etiquette skills. Excellent planning and organizational skills and ability to work in a changing, multiple-demand setting in order to prioritize a large volume of work and meet deadlines efficiently and accurately.