The Colorado School of Public Health (CSPH) Department of Epidemiology has an opening for a weekend part time (20 hrs per week) Professional Research Assistant (PRA)/data collection position. The PRA will work as part of a team on a NIDDK-funded study, "Healthy Start". The goal of this study is to establish and follow longitudinally a cohort of ethnically diverse pregnant women and their offspring in order to explore the hypothesis that fetal over-nutrition is associated with lifelong obesity, metabolic and cardiovascular abnormalities in offspring.

The Colorado School of Public Health is the first and only accredited school of public health in the Rocky Mountain Region, attracting top tier faculty and students from across the country, and providing a vital contribution towards ensuring our region's health and well-being. Collaboratively formed by the University of Colorado Denver, Colorado State University, and the University of Northern Colorado, the Colorado School of Public Health provides training, innovative research and community service to actively address public health issues, including chronic disease, access to health care, environmental threats, emerging infectious diseases, and costly injuries. 

The university has proudly positioned itself as one of the top urban research universities in the country, serving more than 30,000 undergraduate, graduate and health professions students in Denver, Aurora and online and awarding nearly 4,000 degrees each year. The renowned researchers and award-winning faculty of CU Denver offer more than 100 degree programs through 13 colleges and schools. In 2008 the University was awarded more than $371 million in research grants and contracts. The new Anschutz Medical Campus includes over 5 million square feet of research, educational and clinical space on 227 acres. The Denver Campus is located in one of America's most vibrant urban centers, just steps from the Denver Center for Performing Arts, the LoDo District and the state capitol. On both campuses, students, staff and faculty have access to a broad array of academic, professional, community, recreational and cultural opportunities.

Job Responsibilities:

The individual in this position will be directly responsible for weekend (Friday through Sunday) neonatal cord blood collection and specimen processing and physical measurements on newborns. The PRA will also assist in recruitment of study subjects, telephone interviews on participants. Responsibilities also include consenting and data collection on pregnant women throughout pregnancy (two in-person visits), including physical measurements (height, weight and skin folds) and research-specific questionnaire administration and data entry. Assist the Healthy Start Team in other office study related duties and assist the study coordinator with regulatory compliance duties such as IRB submissions, as needed. This position will report to the Project Coordinator. This position does not supervise anyone.

This position's work hours are mainly three weekends per month Friday through Sunday and one week per month Monday through Friday. The study clinic and offices are located at University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus in Aurora.

Required Education/Experience/Skills (Minimum Qualifications): 

This position requires a bachelor's degree as well as clinical research experience. A competitive candidate will be able to work with minimal supervision and possess strong organizational, clinical, problem-solving, and verbal and written communication skills. 

Desired qualifications:

Phlebotomy skills, in person and telephone interviewing experience are preferred. Preferred candidates will have experience working with children and families, knowledge of pregnancy, obesity, chronic diseases and proficiency in the MS Access database application.  

The University of Colorado is committed to diversity and equality in education and employment.