Research Assistant II

Position Summary

The Foundry for Innovative Research and Education (FIRE) program integrates medical education, community-engaged research and faculty and student development. FIRE is designed to foster collaboration, innovation and outreach — key pillars for advancing MSUCOM's research mission. FIRE provides faculty and students with the resources, guidance and opportunities to drive innovation in health care education research while making a meaningful impact on the community.

The Research & Community Engagement Program Specialist role strengthens FIRE’s capacity to support rigorous, research-based projects, community-engaged outreach endeavors, and healthcare education by providing project ownership, methodological expertise, and strategic support to faculty and students across the healthcare education continuum.

Responsibilities include:

• Assume primary responsibility for assigned FIRE research, education, and community-engaged projects, ensuring timely progress from planning through dissemination
• Support faculty- and student-led scholarly projects, including education research and community-based initiatives
• Contribute to research study design, including development of protocols, control or comparison groups, outcome measures, timelines, and workflows
• Prepare, submit, and manage IRB applications, amendments, continuing reviews, and formal responses to IRB committee feedback
• Assist with data review, basic statistical interpretation, and synthesis of findings for internal reporting, grants, and scholarly dissemination
• Support grant development activities, including literature review, drafting proposal sections, assembling supporting documents, and preparing progress reports
• Draft, edit, and format technical reports, scholarly documents, internal summaries, and community-facing materials
• Coordinate and support community-engaged healthcare education initiatives, working with community partners to align projects with shared goals and ethical standards
• Provide strategic and logistical support to faculty and students, including project planning, documentation, and workflow development
• Utilize AI-assisted tools and digital resources to support research workflows, project management, and educational innovation, in alignment with institutional policies
• Develop and maintain standard operating procedures, project flows, and study documentation to promote efficiency and reproducibility
• Communicate effectively with a multidisciplinary group of students, staff, faculty, and community partners, primarily within healthcare and medical education settings
• Participate in local, regional, and occasional national travel to support FIRE projects, partnerships, and dissemination activities
• Perform additional duties as assigned in support of the FIRE program mission and strategic priorities

This position is currently approved for a hybrid work arrangement with 3 days working in the office on the East Lansing campus and 2 days remote.

Knowledge equivalent to that which normally would be acquired by completing a four-year college degree program in health sciences, public health, education, social sciences, biomedical sciences, or a related field; three to five years of related and progressively more responsible or expansive work experience in overseeing research projects and laboratory operations, operating and maintaining a variety of laboratory equipment, performing specialized and difficult analytical and research techniques, and designing research experiments in an area related to research being performed;

may require software specific to the area of research; or an equivalent combination of education and experience.

• Master’s degree or higher in public health, education, biomedical sciences, health services research, or a related field
• Experience in medical education, healthcare education, or academic health centers
• Prior involvement in grant writing or grant-supported projects
• Experience with community-engaged research or service-learning programs
• Familiarity with basic statistical concepts and data interpretation for education or health-related research
• Experience developing standard operating procedures, workflows, or research protocols
• Working knowledge of AI-assisted tools for research, data analysis, or project management
• Experience supporting faculty and student scholarly activities, including abstracts, presentations, or manuscripts
• Demonstrated experience supporting research, program evaluation, or community-engaged projects
• Experience with or strong familiarity in IRB processes, including preparation of applications and responses to committee feedback
• Ability to contribute to study design and project planning, including organization of protocols, timelines, and deliverables
• Experience reviewing and synthesizing data, reports, or scholarly materials
• Strong written communication skills, including drafting reports, proposals, or formal documentation
• Demonstrated ability to work effectively in a…