We are seeking a Research Program Assistant II who will be funded to work on a study called B'More Healthy Brain and Child Development (B'More HBCD). As one of 25 sites across the country conducting this study, the B'more HBCD team will be a part of the Wendy Klag Center in the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, with direct collaboration across the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Johns Hopkins Hospitals and Kennedy Krieger Institute. The study plans to recruit pregnant women and follow these women and their babies through age 10, with a focus on monitoring neurodevelopment. At least one-quarter of the women recruited will be active substance users (alcohol, tobacco, marijuana, opioids, opioid agonists or stimulants) during pregnancy.

Specific Duties & Responsibilities

• Once interested women are identified by the JHH and other recruitment team members, schedule time to complete the consenting and prenatal visit(s) of the studies. This will require working directly with women and their newborns throughout the study period, as well as communication with other family manager staff to ensure mothers enrolled in the study are scheduled and complete appointments in a timely way.
• If women are in need of assistance in any way, all staff will be trained to provide referrals to substance use treatment, housing agencies, WIC, or other organizations that assist with food access, health care assistance, domestic violence assistance, etc. This staff person will also work closely with the peer navigators and the community resource coordinator to ensure all women in need of services or referrals are assisted in the process.
• Making strong connections with hospital and nursing staff to ensure they are abreast of recruitment efforts,needs, etc.
• Attending all study team meetings that relate to community partnerships and stakeholders and any relevant internal staff meetings that specifically focus on recruitment and retention efforts. This may also include JHH, WIC, and CAP internal meetings if they are addressing recruitment needs of the study.
• Attending events in the community along side the community resource coordinator, when able. While this may include hosting booths or information tables about our study at different resource fairs or events throughout Baltimore and surrounding counties, dissemination of recruitment materials, and follow-up of any women or organizations that want to engage with the research in some way.
• Report to the program coordinator any concerns or issues with a particular family or clinic that may arise while the family is involved with the study (i.e. in cases of child maltreatment, parental incarceration, child removal from the home, etc).
• Maintain all HIPAA and CITI human subjects training as well as any additional trainings that community partners may request.
• Work on all aspects of the study from eligibility screening, consenting, and data collection that includes developmental and neurocognitive testing, biospecimen collection and processing (saliva, urine, baby stool, nails), and other study tasks as needed through the grant period.
• Assist staff in the collection of biospecimen collection and processing that includes possibly collecting placenta and cord samples, delivering to the JHH lab space, and then following the correct processing protocols to obtain and store the samples.
• Depending on recruitment needs of the HBCD study, this position may also assist in assembling materials for other studies in the WKC.

Additional Knowledge, Skills, & Abilities

• Because this position may require contact with participants and families at differing times of the day and week, flexibility in scheduling will be very important.
• Working knowledge of Microsoft Word, Excel and some experience doing data entry or data collection into RedCap and Access.

• High School Diploma or graduation equivalent.
• Two years related experience.
• Additional education may substitute for required experience, to the extent permitted by the JHU equivalency formula.

• Bi-lingual in Spanish highly preferred.
• Experience working in a lab doing bio sample collection, processing, shipping, or storage procedures is highly recommended but not required; willingness to train on these aspects is required.

Classified Title: Research Program Assistant II
Role/Level/Range: ACRO40/E/02/CC
Starting Salary Range: $15.50 - $26.00 HRLY ($49,000 targeted; Commensurate with experience)
Employee group: Full Time
Schedule: Monday - Sunday
Exempt Status:Non-Exempt
Location:Hybrid/School of Public Health
Department name: Mental Health Research Projects
Personnel area: School of Public Health