Research Specialist, Brain, and Mind Institute

Research Specialist, Brain and Mind Institute

Entity            Medical College

Location        Karachi, Pakistan

Introduction    Aga Khan University chartered in 1983 as Pakistan's first private international university, is committed to the provision of education, research, and health care of international standards relevant to Pakistan and the region. The affiliated Aga Khan University Hospital provides state-of-the-art clinical facilities and well-equipped diagnostic services. The University currently has teaching sites in Pakistan, East Africa, the United Kingdom, and Afghanistan, and is a major component of Aga Khan Development Network.

As an equal opportunity employer, AKU believes in promoting a diverse and inclusive culture and is committed to adopt appropriate standards for safeguarding and promoting a respectful relationship with and between diverse workforce of its faculty, staff, trainees, volunteers, beneficiaries, wider communities, and other stakeholders with whom it works, including children and vulnerable adults and expects all employees/trainees and partners to share this commitment.

The Brain and Mind Institute (BMI) is a newly minted entity at the Aga Khan University (AKU), with key hubs in Nairobi (for East Africa) and Karachi (for South and Central Asia). The BMI seeks to build capacity in the domains of mental health and neuroscience. In collaboration with partners, the Institute is advancing research leadership capacity and support service delivery across East Africa and South Asia, and other regions served by the AKU. The Institute supports a hub for scholarship exchange and action on mental health issues, as well as educational, clinical, and community-based programs. BMI’s research focuses on the context of today’s youth in Africa and South Asia, while our programmatic offerings address mental health related and brain health issues, including stigma and resiliency. A significant area of interest is the implementation of science-based programming in hospital and community settings that translate new discoveries into prevention and treatment programs.

This is a grant-funded contractual position.

Responsibilities

You will be responsible to:

• ensure proper compliance with the study protocol
• submissions and re-submission of amendments to the Ethics Review Committee
• plan and coordinate weekly and monthly project meetings and activities
• active study site visits and data collection
• data analysis and interpretation using both qualitative and quantitative methodologies
• timely data management and reporting
• ensure the completeness, proper filings, and archiving of the data collected
• gather data according to the protocol
• ensure data is collected consistently and systematically
• perform quality control checks during data collection
• maintain proper data documentation
• implement data access controls to ensure confidentiality
• backup data to prevent data loss
• apply and use appropriate statistical and qualitative analysis techniques
• use of software tools for data analysis (e.g., SPSS, NVivo)
• perform descriptive and inferential analyses
• visualize data through charts, graphs, and tables
• draw meaningful conclusions from the analysis
• relate findings to the research objectives and hypotheses
• identify trends, patterns, or significant differences in the data
• prepare and compile study progress report
• produce monthly project reports in collaboration with the data manager
• present the study results as per the study requirement
• research tasks with tight deadlines, often requiring quick data collection, activities execution and analysis
• work in a fast-paced environment
• travel locally to Lahore approximately five times during the baseline data collection and approximately five times during the endline.

Requirements

You should have:

• MSc. in Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Health Policy and Management, Public Health, or relevant field
• at least two years of related work experience
• basic knowledge of survey and other research designs
• strong interpersonal and communication skills
• data collection, analysis, interpretation and management skills
• tactful in handling difficult situations
• willingness to work in field sites
• use of statistical programs such as SPSS, STATA, & NVivo
• knowledge of survey administration software such as Redcap, Google Forms etc.
• knowledge and understanding of both qualitative and quantitative research methodologies is a plus.

Comprehensive employment reference checks will be conducted.