Clinical Research Assistant , Neurology

Overview

Clinical Research Assistant I - Neurology Department

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Job Summary

Dr. Elan Louis, Chair of the Department of Neurology, is interested in hiring a full-time, paid, post-baccalaureate trainee who is interested in obtaining additional clinical research training before applying to graduate or medical school. The candidates will be working on the study of Cognition in Essential Tremor (COGNET), a longitudinal study attempting to understand the relationship between cognitive impairment and essential tremor (ET), a common movement disorder affecting 4% of adults aged 40 and older.

This position will require the candidates to conduct neuropsychological and neurological assessments on study subjects enrolled as brain donors across the United States.

This NIH-funded study draws on the expertise of clinical neurologists, neuropsychologists, and neuropathologists. The study is unique in that all participants are brain donors, so we are able to map cognitive changes onto brain pathology.

As part of their educational experience, post-baccalaureate trainees will be taught to administer and score an extensive, in-person neuropsychological test battery (including the DVLT-II, D-KEFS, WMS-IV, and WAIS-IF). The candidates will collaborate with colleagues at Columbia University Medical Center, including participation in regular diagnostic case conferences that aid development of preliminary clinical skills for diagnosing cognitive impairment. The candidates will also attend research conferences and learn how to recognize a range of involuntary movements.

The candidates will be supported in learning statistical analyses to interpret study data for publication. Opportunities for independent research will be available and are strongly encouraged.

It is expected that the educational experience will serve as a useful platform for their application to graduate school in the health sciences. That is, it will serve as an educational link between their undergraduate experience and their future academic/educational advancement into a master’s or doctoral program in health sciences or a medical degree.

This position as Research Assistant will be responsible for consenting and enrollment of study subjects, scheduling follow-up study visits, administration of study assessments, and entry and maintenance of study data. Each study visit takes approximately 4-6 hours to complete and will consist of administering standardized neuropsychological questionnaires, phlebotomy and a videotaped neurological examination. The candidates will be responsible for conducting study visits in person with subjects located across the United States.

All travel is covered by the grant. The position requires the completion of 2 study visits per week. The candidates will be expected to participate in numerous aspects of clinical research from study design and planning, questionnaire development, preparation of materials for internal review board review, and selection of appropriate methods to evaluate and track study subjects. This position will regularly present their impressions of patients to a neuropsychologist and psychiatrist for cognitive diagnosis;

this allows the candidates to give first-hand testimony to the patients’ cognitive abilities and develop clinical presentation skills.

Preferred Qualifications

Candidates…