Job Openings

Clinical Trials Budget Analyst II

Summary

This position is for someone interested in joining a financial operations team within the Clinical Trials Office at the MaineHealth Institute for Research, Scarborough, ME. The Financial Operations team contributes to research at MaineHealth by collaborating with clinical research and project teams on forecast preparation, variance analysis, and collecting and analyzing data to implement strategies for cost savings and planning. Under the general direction of the Manager of Clinical Trials Research Operations, the Budget Analyst II will take on primary responsibility for managing the daily business and financial activities of clinical trials assigned to them. The Budget Analyst supports a broad range of research operations management including Research Counsel, Sponsored Research, Accounting Management, and Financial/Business Operations. Successful support will require skills in RedCap, EMR, and CTMS navigation and fiscal reporting, for timely study and project status updates. This role requires general knowledge of clinical research coordination, initiative, independent judgment, and discretion. 

A fully remote or flexible on-site/off-site work schedule is available for this position.

The MaineHealth application, cover letter and a resume or CV are all required elements for application to this position.

Required Minimum Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

1. Education:  Bachelor’s Degree in a related field or 3 years experience as a Clinical Trials Budget Analyst. Master’s Degree preferred.
2. License/Certifications:  N/A
3. Experience:  A minimum of 3-5 years of work experience with clinical trials, or a combination of clinical trials and relevant work experience required; A minimum of 2-3 years direct experience budgeting and estimating clinical trials costs; Must have working knowledge of clinical trials via 1-2 years of industry or site experience
4. Must understand what is standard of care or routine care and what is considered research-related in the context of a clinical trial
5. Excellent organizational skills, ability to prioritize work independently with strong attention to detail and superior analytical and problem-solving skills
6. Ability to work in collaboration with ancillary teams, departments, investigators, research staff, supporting administration, and sponsors/funding agencies.
7. Provide excellent customer service while maintaining accurate results in a fast-paced, deadline-driven team environment.

Program Coordinator – Research Ethics & Compliance

Summary

This position is for someone interested in joining a team that is critical to providing training and support to clinicians, faculty and staff in regulatory requirements for scientific research at MaineHealth. This Program Coordinator will work closely with MaineHealth’s Director of Research Ethics & Compliance. The successful candidate will perform both administrative and professional duties supporting the Research Ethics & Compliance Director and other team members as assigned. They will be responsible for coordinating the day-to-day activities for the team, and will work in close alliance with them to facilitate workflow and maximize appropriate outreach. This Program Coordinator will assure all program-related activities are carried out successfully and in a timely manner. They will act as the liaison with all levels of staff who interact with the Research Ethics & Compliance team and will serve as the first point of contact for research teams seeking assistance.

Essential Functions

Supports division programs

• Manages Institutional Review Board (IRB) Inbox inquires
• Maintains several departmental agendas including IRB meeting agendas/reviewer assignments/guest & presenter invitations/confidentiality agreements/new member documents
• Records/maintains meeting attendance, creates/runs electronic polls for IRB Meetings
• Prepares submission summaries, reviews submissions for CVs/trainings/research FCOIs
• Manages research financial conflict of interest submissions
• Provides technical support for IRB submission and training platforms for investigators

Supports department, team and or program to ensure smooth running and fulfillment of initiatives.

• Schedules meetings for the Office of Research Ethics & Compliance (OREC) Director and staff as needed
• Administrative duties including paying invoices, collecting mail, and assisting in new employee onboarding
• Supports OREC Director as needed with urgent requests and projects
• Maintains departmental statistics and cost reports for purposes of supporting the budget.
• Reconciles purchase orders and invoices.

Coordinates procurement, production, and supply of program materials

• Coordinates, submits and tracks all supply orders, outside orders and disbursements for OREC.
• May perform other duties as assigned.

Minimum Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities Required

1. Education: Bachelor’s degree or equivalent work experience in related field.
2. License/Certifications: N/A
3. Experience: See “Education.” Approximately one to two years related work experience.
4. Knowledge of project management, and educational practices.
5. Basic knowledge of healthcare systems, with previous experience in healthcare industry and customer service preferred.
6. Strong verbal and written communication skills, including drafts of correspondence and other written materials.
7. Strong software and computer skills, including Microsoft Office (including Power Point, Access, and Excel), database development and website development, Strong interpersonal skills and demonstrated ability to provide excellent customer service and maintain relationships with individuals from diverse backgrounds.
8. Ability to work both independently and to collaborate with teams of individuals in diverse settings.
9. Analytical ability to gather and interpret data in situation where the problems are moderately complex.
10. Ability to concentrate and pay close attention to detail.

#168699

Research Associate II – Blood Cancer Biology

Summary

The Reagan Lab explores many exciting research areas, and is focused on how the bone marrow microenvironment and tumor cells interact, with the goal of curing or developing better therapies for cancer. The Research Associate in the Reagan Lab will conduct a variety of research procedures in collaboration with the principal investigator (PI), Dr. Michaela Reagan, or the PI’s designee. They will assist with biological, laboratory-based research, using in vitro and in vivo cellular biology assays, and collaborate with other scientists in research in the Reagan lab or other labs. They will learn to operate research instruments and perform research assays in the laboratory daily. Attention to detail for sample preparation and handling is necessary. The Research Associate should be able to make observations, monitor experiments, collect data, facilitate study documentation, calculate and record results accurately. The scientist must be able to recognize problems or deviations from research protocols and notify appropriate personnel. The scientist should have strong critical thinking skills, and be able to master routine techniques and procedures relevant to overall goals of the lab.

The Research Associate will conduct basic, benchtop research as part of the Reagan Laboratory’s team of scientists, which studies multiple myeloma, an incurable blood cancer. Projects will focus on characterization of the role of fatty acid binding proteins, obesity, or adipocytes, in tumor cells using methods such as qRT-PCR, western blotting, confocal microscopy, ELISAs, chemokine arrays, cell culture, bioluminescent assays, and flow cytometry. The Research Associate will need to be able to handle multiple projects and understand the literature foundational to their work. Specific responsibilities will include combinations of the following:  tissue culture, gene expression analysis, biochemical analysis, animal colony maintenance and experiments, characterization of knockdown and knockout cell lines, and other types of lab work. The Research Associate will eventually be responsible for helping others in the lab and will be trained to work independently. Eventually, the scientist will be responsible for design, execution, analysis, and presentation of their own experiments and will interact directly with the PI as well as all other lab members.

Skills with coding or working with “big data” would bring extra value, as would any skills in genetic editing of cell lines. The position will involve experiments with cellular and animal models and human bone marrow biopsy samples. Prior experience with mouse research is preferred. Preferably, we are looking for basic biology, biochemistry, and math skills as part of the candidate’s educational experience. A degree in science (or engineering or a related field) and educational experience in biochemistry, cell biology, molecular genetics, or related fields is preferred. Career paths might include pursuing a PhD or being promoted within the Reagan Lab. Our team’s values include being detail-oriented, responsible, resilient, optimistic, self-motivated, organized, able to work as part of a team in a fast-paced environment, proficient with computers, and passionate about science. Strong interpersonal and communication skills, as well as a “growth and learning” mindset are also required.

Minimum Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities Required

1. Education: Bachelor’s degree in a relevant field. Master’s degree preferred
2. License/Certifications: N/A
3. Experience: 4+ years of relevant experience with Master’s degree, 6+ years with a Bachelor’s degree.
4. Demonstrated ability above that of a Research Associate I.
5. Communication skills that are sufficiently developed that the individual at this level will be able to present research results at regional and national research conferences.
6. Visual acuity, manual dexterity, math skills and a scientific acumen are required.

#167764

Staff Scientist I – Blood Cancer Biology

Summary

The Reagan Lab explores a variety of research areas focused on how the bone marrow microenvironment and tumor cells interact, with the goal of curing or developing better therapies for cancer. This Staff Scientist position will elucidate genetic and epigenetic mechanisms whereby fatty acid binding proteins, or other related proteins, interact with signaling pathways to govern the development or progression of multiple myeloma, an incurable blood cancer. The Staff Scientist will use cutting-edge, innovative approaches in vivo and in vitro, including mouse models and high-throughput ‘omics’ (lipidomic, proteomic, spatial transcriptomic, single cell sequencing, or other approaches). Expertise in human cell editing in vitro, human cell culture, and/or in vivo mouse work are highly desired. Successful accomplishment of this research is anticipated to deepen fundamental scientific knowledge of the fatty acid binding proteins (FABPs) and increase understanding of mechanisms underlying blood cancers and/or cancer-induced bone disease. Some of the research areas that may also be explored are related to understanding connections between obesity and myeloma, or bone marrow adipocytes and myeloma cells.

In general, this Staff Scientist will assist in conducting a variety of research activities, will operate under general guidelines established by senior management and Center Director, and will follow safety, human subjects and animal use guidelines. The Staff Scientist manages grants or projects including supervision of staff, project reports, etc. with limited oversight from senior management. The ability to supervise and coordinate efforts of staff with limited oversight will be needed.

More specifically, this position is full-time and on-site in our Scarborough, Maine laboratory. The Staff Scientist will have a sufficient level of experience, expertise, maturity, confidence, resiliency, and independence to conduct their own research project, building off prior work in the lab and current grants. This includes working on project inception and design, implementation, completion, and reporting of results in peer reviewed forums, consisting of oral and written presentations. This Staff Scientist will communicate findings through publications and national/international presentations. They will present twice weekly at lab meetings and once per year in the MHIR Data Review Series. Ideally, this Staff Scientist will attend and present at annual meetings for ASH (American Society of Hematology), AACR (American Association of Cancer Research, or ASBMR (American Society of Bone and Mineral Research). The Staff Scientist will also be expected to mentor junior lab members (e.g. undergraduate or graduate students), once their own project is underway.

Strong candidates for this position will have a solid scientific background and a strong publication record, and will be eager to contribute productively to pioneering research in cancer biology. They will also demonstrate outstanding communication skills and first-rate interpersonal and organizational skills.

This position is supported by a National Cancer Institute R37 grant focused on FABPs and myeloma, and will provide enough freedom for the Staff Scientist to develop and explore some of their own hypotheses. This Staff Scientist will be guided and work in collaboration with Dr. Reagan, the lab Principal Investigator. This incumbent should be internally motivated, with a strong work ethic and passion for science and research. The Reagan Lab operates with a team-based mentality, as collaboration and respectful, helpful communication are crucial to the work and to success in the lab.

MHIR has state-of-the-art research core facilities and collaborations with core facilities across New England. The Reagan Lab welcomes the Staff Scientist’s involvement in leadership positions in professional societies, and with our internal, national and international collaborations. MHIR and the Reagan Lab value working in a diverse community- we encourage applications from individuals with varied experiences, perspectives, and backgrounds.

Candidates should 1) complete the MaineHealth application, 2) send current resume or CV, 3) include a cover letter/description of research interests and career goals, and 4) include the contact information for two or more Faculty-level references.

For more information before applying, contact Michaela Reagan, PhD, Principal Investigator – Reagan Lab, MaineHealth Institute for Research:  Michaela.Reagan@mainehealth.org.

Minimum Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities Required

1. Education: Doctoral degree in relevant biomedical discipline. Completion of post-doctoral training.
2. License/Certifications: N/A
3. Experience: N/A
4. Demonstrated ability to read, write, and speak English effectively
5. Math skills, visual acuity, manual dexterity and a scientific acumen is required
6. Effective interpersonal skills
7. Excellent communication skills
8. Publication in research or project findings for work carried out as a trainee
9. Demonstrated ability to undertake independent research

#168028