Application Requirements: Please submit a cover letter and two professional references to be considered for this position.
Overview
The Department of Neurosurgery is seeking a highly motivated Clinical and Translational Research Assistant to join our clinical and translational research program. This position is specifically designed for individuals pursuing a pre-medical, pre-health, or physician-scientist career pathway who are interested in gaining meaningful exposure to academic medicine, neurosurgical patient care, and laboratory-based translational research.
This is an ideal position for candidates planning to apply to medical school, physician assistant programs, nursing programs, public health programs, MD/PhD programs, or graduate research programs.
Candidates should be prepared to commit to a minimum of two (2) years to ensure continuity of ongoing projects and provide opportunities to develop independent scholarly work.
Under the supervision of the Principal Investigator, the Clinical and Translational Research Assistant will participate in all aspects of the research process, spanning patient-facing clinical studies, biospecimen collection, laboratory analysis, and scientific publication. Successful candidates will gain hands-on experience in human subjects research, neurosurgical clinical care, molecular biology techniques, and scientific writing.
The position includes opportunities to attend multidisciplinary conferences, participate in research meetings, present scientific abstracts, and contribute as a co-author on peer-reviewed manuscripts based on scholarly contributions.
Responsibilities
Clinical Research
- Assist with patient recruitment, screening, and enrollment for prospective clinical research studies
- Obtain informed consent under supervision in accordance with IRB-approved protocols
- Perform chart reviews and electronic medical record (EMR) data abstraction
- Coordinate study visits, follow-up appointments, and participant tracking
- Maintain research databases (e.g., REDCap) and ensure data accuracy and quality control
- Assist with IRB submissions, regulatory documentation, and compliance reporting
- Communicate with research collaborators, clinical teams, and institutional offices
- Translational and Laboratory Research
- Assist with biospecimen collection, processing, and storage, including peripheral blood collection and handling
Academic and Scholarly Activities
- Participate in weekly research meetings, multidisciplinary conferences, and academic discussions
- Perform basic statistical analyses under supervision
- Contribute to abstract preparation and presentation at regional and national meetings
- Assist with scientific manuscript preparation and literature reviews
- Have opportunities to earn authorship on peer-reviewed publications based on scholarly contributions
Qualifications
Required
- Bachelor's degree (BA or BS) in Biology, Neuroscience, Public Health, Biomedical Sciences, Chemistry, Psychology, Molecular Biology, Bioengineering, or a related field
- Strong interest in pursuing a career in medicine, healthcare, biomedical research, or the health sciences
- Commitment to a minimum of two (2) years
- Excellent organizational skills and attention to detail
- Strong written and verbal communication skills
- Ability to work independently while managing multiple projects simultaneously
Preferred
- Prior clinical, translational, or laboratory research experience
- Experience with human subjects research, IRB processes, or REDCap
- Experience with molecular biology techniques (e.g., pipetting, sample processing, PCR/qPCR) is preferred but not required
- Familiarity with statistical software or data analysis is a plus
Research Areas
Projects may include:
- Cerebrovascular disease and intracranial aneurysms
- Stroke and neuroendovascular outcomes research
- Blood-based biomarker discovery
- Genomic, transcriptomic, and epigenetic analyses
- Clinical outcomes and quality improvement research
- Participate in laboratory experiments involving molecular and cellular analyses
- Perform nucleic acid extraction and quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) experiments under supervision
- Assist with laboratory data analysis, interpretation, and quality control
- Maintain laboratory records and ensure compliance with institutional laboratory protocols
- Assist with biorepository organization and sample tracking
Pay: $17.00 - $18.00 per hour
Benefits:
- Dental insurance
- Health insurance
- Health savings account
- Life insurance
- Paid time off
- Vision insurance
Education:
Experience:
- laboratory research : 1 year (Preferred)
- human subjects research: 1 year (Preferred)
- Molecular biology: 1 year (Preferred)
- Statistical software: 1 year (Preferred)
Location:
- Buffalo, NY 14203 (Required)
Work Location: In person
