Assistant Scientist

The Assistant Scientist at UF Health Precision Health Research Center will play a pivotal role in advancing research on aging in The Villages community with a focus on cognitive health, nutrition and wellness, patient-centered engagement, and the integration of artificial intelligence (AI) and technology. This role involves conducting cutting-edge research aimed at understanding the complexities of aging and developing innovative strategies to promote cognitive health and overall wellness in aging populations. This is a full-time, single mission, non-tenure track faculty appointment in the Department of Health Outcomes and Biomedical Informatics in the College of Medicine. 

Duties Include:

1. Research Design and Implementation

• Designing Research Studies: Develop detailed research protocols and experimental designs focused on aging, cognitive health, and wellness. Ensure that methodologies are scientifically rigorous and appropriate for the research questions and include detailed recruitment, analytic & results dissemination plans.
• Conducting Research: Carry out protocols, experiments, surveys, and assessments according to the designed protocols. This includes recruiting participants, conducting assessments, staff training, and ensuring the collection of high-quality data.
• Data Management: Support the development and maintenance of databases for research data and/or the development and integration of data collection tools. Ensure data is stored securely and is accessible for analysis.
• Data Collection and Analysis: Oversee the collection of research data, ensuring accuracy and reliability. Use statistical and data analysis software to perform complex analyses. Appropriately apply quantitative and qualitative methods to interpret data trends, correlations, and patterns. Produce actionable insights, draw meaningful conclusions and develop recommendations based on data analysis.
• Reporting Results: Prepare visualizations, summary reports, journal publications and presentations to communicate findings effectively. Share results with the research team and external stakeholders to advance the field.
• Conducting Literature Reviews: Regularly review current literature related to aging, cognitive health, and wellness. Summarize and synthesize findings to inform ongoing and future research projects.
• Integrating New Knowledge: Apply insights from recent research to refine hypotheses, adjust methodologies, and enhance the relevance of research projects. Stay informed about emerging trends and technological advancements.

2. Outreach and Networking 

• Community Engagement: Participate in the development and implementation of community outreach activities to promote research and foster public understanding of aging and wellness topics.
• Professional Networking & Stakeholder Engagement: Help organize and/or attend professional meetings, networking and stakeholder events to build relationships with research stakeholders including academic, industry, clinical, and community partners to facilitate research and translate/intergrate research into real-world settings.
• Team Collaboration: Work collaboratively with interdisciplinary teams, including other researchers, clinicians, and specialists. Participate in regular team meetings to discuss progress, challenges, and strategies.
• Scientific Communication: Prepare and deliver presentations of research findings at conferences, workshops, and meetings. Contribute to writing and revising peer-reviewed publications and grant proposals.
• Provide Service to the University and Profession: participate in department, university, and professional organizations at the local and national level.

3.  Special Projects 

• Project Assistance: Contribute to special projects or initiatives that arise within the research center, which may include administrative or operational tasks outside of primary research responsibilities.

4. Grant Writing and Funding 

• Proposal Development: Assist in drafting grant proposals, including writing sections related to research aims, methodology, and expected outcomes. Collaborate with team members to develop comprehensive and competitive proposals for a wide variety of funders including government, industry and non-profit groups.
• Funding Acquisition: Help identify potential funding sources and opportunities. Contribute to the development of project budgets and funding requests.

5. Training and Supervision 

• Mentoring: Provide guidance and support to junior researchers, students, interns, or lab assistants. Assist with training new team members and learners in areas of expertise and/or on research protocols and techniques.
• Supervision: Oversee day-to-day activities of support staff or students involved in research projects, ensuring tasks are completed effectively.

6. Ethical and Regulatory Compliance 

• Compliance Monitoring: Participate in developing and executing compliance monitoring plans.  Provide oversight to ensure that all research activities adhere to institutional, ethical, and regulatory guidelines. Obtain necessary approvals from ethics review boards and regulatory bodies.
• Participant Confidentiality: Maintain confidentiality and privacy of research participants. Follow protocols for data security and ethical handling of sensitive information.

$120,000 - $130,000

Specific requirements for the positions include: (1) an earned doctorate in a socio-behavioral, bio-informatics and/or health related field, and (2) a minimum of 4 years of research experience specifically focused in an area related to AI and technology, cognition, patient-centered engagement, and/or nutrition and wellness.

• Experience with research funded by a diverse variety of research partners including government groups, industry sponsors and/or non-profit organizations
• Outstanding oral and written communication skills, ability and experience authoring scientific journal publications and/or technical reports,
• Expertise in statistical applications and software packages (e.g., SAS, SPSS, RedCap, Stata, N-Vivo, Atlas.ti, ArcGIS, Excel, R, and/or Access)
• Interest, ability and experience in design and execution of collaborative multi-disciplinary research.
• Capacity to contribute to the design of research projects and writing of research proposals
• Interest in and ability to translate research findings into practice, using data collected and analyzed to inform the development of health innovations, programs, and/or policies. 
• Capacity to successfully interact with a variety of project stakeholders including community leaders, study sponsors, other scientist, health care providers, policy makers and community members
• Demonstrated talent for collaboration and team building and ability to build and maintain effective, trusting working relationships that reflect kindness, mutual respect, and honesty, when working with diverse perspectives among university students, staff, and internal and external partners.
• Ability to cope with change, to shift gears comfortably, and to handle risk and uncertainty.
• Strong program development and evaluation skills required for outcomes and/or program evaluation tracking, outcome assessment, and quality assurance and service utilization review.
• Broad, systems thinking and knowledge of organizations and how they work, combined with tact and diplomacy to navigate complex environments effectively.
• Understanding of the principles of human research protection standards, including Institutional Review Board protocols and procedures
• Up-to-date knowledge of scientific and regulatory requirements for device and/or drug based clinical trials
• Capacity to harness innovative research tools (i.e. REDCAP, LucidChart, Monday.com, RingConn, Z-Machine, etc) for the effective collection, dissemination, and/or management of research data.
• Capacity to successfully manage diverse research projects and demonstrated leadership skills in guiding individuals and groups through research, assessment, and strategic planning processes.
• A strong background with monitoring the progress of research activities, and capacity to develop and maintain records of research activities, prepare periodic and ad hoc reports, as required by investigators, administrators, funding agencies, and/or regulatory bodies.
• Ability to implement quality control processes throughout research activities.
• Effective communication, writing, critical thinking, and organizational skills required to develop and maintain policies, procedures, and clinical delivery systems for the agency and divisional/university reports.

In order to be considered, you must upload your cover letter and resume.

The Search Committee will accept applications until the position is filled. Applications will be reviewed starting as soon as possible after the posting date.

Final candidate will be required to provide official transcript to the hiring department upon hire. A transcript will not be considered “official” if a designation of “Issued to Student” is visible. Degrees earned from an education institution outside of the United States are required to be evaluated by a professional credentialing service provider approved by National Association of Credential Evaluation Services (NACES), which can be found at http://www.naces.org/.

This is a time limited position.

The University of Florida is committed to non-discrimination with respect to race, creed, color, religion, age, disability, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, marital status, national origin, political opinions or affiliations, genetic information and veteran status in all aspects of employment including recruitment, hiring, promotions, transfers, discipline, terminations, wage and salary administration, benefits, and training.

This requisition will be used to fill multiple openings and has been reposted to open until filled. Previous applicants remain under consideration and need not apply.