Research Associate; SRI - Evaluative Clinical Sciences - Regular

One of Canada's Top 10 Research Hospitals, Sunnybrook Research Institute is developing innovations in care for the more than 1.3 million patients the hospital cares for annually. Sunnybrook Research Institute is the research enterprise of Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, a teaching hospital fully affiliated with the University of Toronto. Research spans three Toronto-based campuses, eight programs and three scientific platforms. Our main aims are to understand and prevent disease, and to develop treatments that enhance and extend life.

Our vision is to invent the future of health care. Each year, we conduct about $100 million in research across 500,000 square feet, including in the world’s first Centre for Research in Image-Guided Therapeutics.

Sunnybrook Research Institute is seeking an experienced Research Associate to provide research leadership across FNP’s Equity-Deserving Communities (EDC) portfolio and related applied mental health research initiatives. Reporting to the Scientist, and working closely with FNP program leadership, the Research Associate will manage day-to-day research operations, support multi-phase studies, and ensure that equity-informed, community-engaged, participatory, and implementation-focused research principles are embedded across projects.

This role is well-suited for a highly-skilled researcher who thrives in applied, real-world research settings and can bridge academic rigor with program implementation, community partnership, and knowledge mobilization.

The Research Associate will conduct key tasks including, but not limited to:

• Liaise with research collaborators, research team members, Research Ethics Board staff, funding agencies, research operations staff, and/or regulatory bodies.
• Draft, review, and complete research-related documentation, such as Research Ethics Board submissions, consent forms, interview instruments, and other data collection tools.
• Plan and coordinate the initiation and conduct of existing research study protocol(s), and establish operating policies and procedures.
• Develop and execute research project plans, ensuring timelines and deliverables are met within budget, and aligned with operational program implementation (in collaboration with operational and community-facing teams).
• Develop and implement community-based workshops, consultations, and engagement activities for the purposes of co-design, trust-building, knowledge exchange, and relationship development, particularly with equity-deserving communities.
• Apply equity-informed, community-engaged, and participatory research approaches across all phases of the research lifecycle, including study design, data collection, analysis, interpretation, and knowledge mobilization.
• Engage stakeholders (e.g., Family Navigation Project staff, Community Advisory Councils, Sunnybrook staff, and equity-deserving and other communities) to ensure research activities are relevant, informed, and aligned with implementation and program learning objectives.
• Ensure the perspectives of youth, families, and individuals with lived experience are meaningfully integrated across all stages of the research process, including study design, data interpretation, and knowledge mobilization.
• Co-supervise and support research staff and trainees as they establish and coordinate logistical arrangements for research participants and recruitment activities, with attention to culturally responsive and accessible practices
• Help create, organize, and maintain study logs, research documentation, and secure data systems.
• Monitor recruitment and coordination of research participants, as appropriate to study objectives; perform or provide assistance in recruitment and data collection as required.
• Conduct qualitative and quantitative analyses and provide methodological guidance and mentorship to staff and trainees
• Ensure the smooth and efficient day-to-day operation of research and data collection activities; act as a point of contact for internal research staff and as a liaison for partner organizations, funding agencies, and regulatory bodies.
• Organize and facilitate meetings, conferences, community…