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.

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.

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

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…