Lab Manager, ESSENCE Lab

Responsibilities

The Research Assistant will assist the PI (a clinical psychologist) and lab members with mixed-methods studies examining racism-related stress, suicidal thoughts and behaviors, and culturally grounded protective factors (e.g., racial identity, meaning in life, social connectedness, and community support). The lab uses strengths-based, socioecological frameworks to identify upstream pathways to suicide prevention and inform culturally responsive prevention and intervention strategies to reduce mental health disparities among Black Americans.

Responsibilities include:

• Research Implementation & Participant Engagement:
  Recruit, screen, schedule, and run participants across multiple mixed-methods studies examining suicide risk, racism-related stress, and culturally grounded protective factors among Black adolescents, emerging adults, and families. Conduct clinical and semi-structured qualitative interviews; administer survey-based, experimental, and ecological momentary assessment (EMA) protocols; and support both in-person and remote data collection. Ensure adherence to research protocols, ethical standards, and culturally responsive practices in all interactions with participants.
• Lab Coordination & Research Assistant Supervision:
  Provide day-to-day coordination of lab activities, including training, supervision, and oversight of undergraduate research assistants. Monitor task completion, maintain workflow across concurrent projects, and support onboarding and skill development. Facilitate communication among lab members and collaborate closely with the PI to ensure efficient project execution. Maintain organized lab systems and support overall lab operations.
• Data Management & Analysis Support:
  Manage and organize quantitative and qualitative datasets, including survey platforms (e.g., Qualtrics) and interview transcripts. Conduct data cleaning, coding, and preliminary analyses (e.g., descriptive statistics, qualitative coding) under PI guidance. Maintain data integrity, documentation, and secure storage in compliance with IRB and institutional standards.
• Recruitment Outreach:
  Conduct outreach through advertising, website administration, search engine optimization, social media, and consumer support and advocacy groups to foster recruitment. Facilitate communication among team members, community, ethics, and advisory boards, with direction from senior team leaders (e.g., set up meetings, take minutes, provide follow-up with supervision from senior team management).

• Previous experience conducting research with human subjects, including participant recruitment, data collection, and study coordination
• High level of professionalism and interpersonal skills for interacting with individuals with mental health concerns or histories, with sensitivity to culturally diverse populations
• Familiarity with research ethics and IRB procedures in mental health research (e.g., completion of CITI training or equivalent)
• Ability to manage multiple projects, priorities, and deadlines in a fast-paced research environment
• Strong organizational skills, attention to detail, and ability to maintain accurate records and data integrity
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills
  
  Ability to work both independently and collaboratively within a team-based research environment
• Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology or equivalent degree and/or equivalent combination of experience/training

• Experience with mixed-methods research, including qualitative interviewing and coding (e.g., thematic analysis and grounded theory)
• Experience with statistical software (e.g., R, SPSS, Stata) and/or data management platforms (e.g., Qualtrics, REDCap)
• Experience with ecological momentary assessment (EMA) or intensive longitudinal data collection methods
• Experience working in community-engaged or community-partnered research settings
• Familiarity with culturally responsive and strengths-based research frameworks, particularly in the context of mental health equity
• Experience with project coordination, including supervising or training research assistants
• Experience with website management,…