Job Description

Job Summary

Dr. Safiyyah Okoye and Dr. Alex Ezeh are seeking a research assistant to support projects related to health, physical function, and well-being of low-income older adults and their family caregivers, as well as global population change.

This role will serve both Dr. Okoye’s lab and Dr. Ezeh’s Office of Global Health, with approximately 50% (20 hours/week) commitments to each.

Dr. Okoye’s academic mission is to conduct high quality, innovative research that generates knowledge and solutions related to improving the health and well-being of socioeconomically disadvantaged older adults in the US (and their families). The ideal candidate should be comfortable with conducting literature reviews, organizing information in excel spreadsheets and drafting and proof-reading written documents.

The goals of her lab group are to: 1) conduct exploratory research; 2) build an evidence base for the relationship between housing conditions and older adult health and well-being; 3) identify intervention targets; 4) build relationships with community partners in different sectors; 5) launch Dr. Okoye as a successful independent scientist; 6) develop new scientists to make their mark on the world.

Dr. Okoye’s lab group values cooperation and mutual support, work that is engaging and interesting, continual learning and growing, and developing and demonstrating our members’ talents and skills.

The Office of Global Health at the Dornsife School of Public Health is dedicated to building a cadre of practitioners and scientists who approach health program planning and scientific questions from a multidisciplinary and entrepreneurial perspective.

They place priority on strengthening public health systems and the public health workforce globally and locally. They work closely with ministries of health, NGOs, academic institutions and low- and middle-income country partners to develop mutually beneficial capacity building, training, and research collaborations.

OGH pursues this mission by (1) conducting globally-relevant health research to improve health and health equity throughout the world, (2) preparing students to work across cultures to address common global threats, and (3) building the capacity of professionals to address public health challenges through evidence-based programs and policies.

This position is grant-funded; employment is contingent upon the continued availability of those funds.

Essential Functions

• Secondary data analysis research support o Support scoping review project
• Document screening and extraction
• Set up Covidence templates
• Be knowledgeable about and support team in applying scoping review best practices o Data analysis
• Assist with organizing and coding of data from scoping review
• Assist with organizing and coding of quantitative data from secondary analyses
• Human subject research support
• Assist with IRB applications, modifications, and renewals o Assist with creation of recruitment materials and other study materials
• Assist with screening of potential participants and scheduling of study visits
• Collect data from study participants, using surveys and semi-structured interviews
• Assist with organizing and coding of qualitative data
• General research support o Contribute to manuscripts and grant applications
• Conduct informal literature reviews and produce summaries to guide project development
• Draft and edit sections of manuscripts o Generate and edit tables and other data visualizations (e.g., graphs, charts)
• Conducting literature reviews of papers focused on various aspects of global population shifts
• Other administrative duties as needed

Required Qualifications

• Minimum of a Master's Degree in MPH, MS, MPA or related field or the equivalent combination of education and work experience.
• (Please review the Equivalency Chart for additional information.)
• Minimum of 1+ years of experience.
• Well-organized, competent and excited to contribute to research on older adult health and social determinants of health
• Expert in reading and writing in English
• Excellent oral and written communication skills
• Proficiency in conducting basic statistical analysis and using statistical analysis software (SAS, Stata, R or equivalent)
• Intermediate or higher level skills in Microsoft Office Suite, and Advanced skill in Excel
• Attention to detail and accuracy
• Ability to independently prioritize task completion and to adapt to changes in priorities as needed

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience doing literature reviews
• Experience with Covidence software
• Comfort with reading scientific publications
• Proficiency in quantitative data analysis
• Proficiency in qualitative methods, data collection and analysis – or interest in learning
• Proficiency in data and information visualization

Physical Demands

• Typically sitting at a desk/table

Location

• University City - Philadelphia, PA

Additional Information

This position is classified as Non-Exempt, grade F. Compensation for this grade ranges from $15 to $23.31 per hour. Please note that the offered rate for this position will vary based on the successful candidate’s qualifications and experience, department budget, and an internal equity review.

Applicants are encouraged to explore the Professional Staff salary structure and Compensation Guidelines & Policies for more details on Drexel’s compensation framework. For information about benefits, please review Drexel’s Benefits Brochure.

This is a Full-Time Union position classified as Non-Exempt. Benefits and compensation are based on the agreed Collective Bargaining Agreement for this position.

Special Instructions to the Applicant

Please make sure you upload your CV/resume and cover letter when submitting your application.

A review of applicants will begin once a suitable candidate pool is identified.