Job Description

NIH Autism Center of Excellence Network Project Coordinator
Psychology Department


The George Mason University JackLab, within the Psychology Department, seeks a proactive and organized Project Coordinator who will coordinate the site operations for an NIH Autism Center of Excellence Network project focused on late diagnosis of autism. This position is a 1-year, full time position, with potential for renewal throughout the life of the funded project.

George Mason University (Mason) has a strong institutional commitment to the achievement of excellence and diversity among its faculty and staff, and strongly encourages candidates to apply who will enrich Mason\xe2\x80\x99s academic and culturally inclusive environment.

About the Project:

Our NIH-funded Autism Center of Excellence Network project (R01MH100028, MPIs: Pelphrey, Kenworthy, & Jack) aims to understand and address disparities in diagnostic timing among autistic people, especially those potentially related to gender and sex assigned at birth. The successful candidate will work with a team of autistic and non-autistic investigators, Advisory Board members, and staff to ensure the success of this unique multi-site, multimodal, mixed-methods project (with neuroimaging, qualitative, and quantitative data collection) developed in collaboration with the autistic community and focused on autistic well-being. This will be the third wave of data collection from the sex-balanced GENDAAR cohort (NDA Data Collection #2021), and will involve new recruitment of late-diagnosed autistic individuals who can enhance the cohort\xe2\x80\x99s diversity with respect to race, ethnicity, gender identity, and other features (e.g., communication style, rurality).


Responsibilities:

The successful candidate will have excellent skills communicating and working with research participants and project team members of varying backgrounds and neurotypes. Superior skills in planning, organization, and attention to detail are a must. The Project Coordinator will be responsible for coordination of recruitment, screening, and scheduling, and supervision of day-of activities for in-person participant visits to Mason; they will also assist with collaboration between the Mason project site and other sites (including Children\xe2\x80\x99s National Hospital and the University of Virginia) regionally and nationally. Specifically, the Project Coordinator will: communicate with study personnel at Children\xe2\x80\x99s National Center for Autism Spectrum Disorders to arrange the visit schedule for individuals participating in the project within the DC region; screen participants for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) eligibility; prepare and disseminate pre-visit resources such as directions, parking instructions, safety requirements, and MRI desensitization materials; schedule MRI scans at the Mason MRI Center; prepare consent and assessment materials to be used during the visit; coordinate with the Data Coordinating Center as necessary to facilitate uploads and enrollment reports to the NIH Data Archive; assist Principal Investigator Dr. Jack in communications with the Institutional Review Boards at UVA and Mason; and prepare and disseminate site-specific recruitment materials in coordination with Children\xe2\x80\x99s National. Under the supervision of Dr. Jack and other doctoral-level team members, this individual will also supervise and train Graduate Research Assistants in assisting with these tasks. This individual may also assist with participant consenting, assessment, and MRI scanning, after appropriate training and certification. Involvement with other aspects of the project is also possible, commensurate with expertise and interest. Such aspects of the project would include work to expand accessibility and enhance inclusive practices, interface with the Advisory Board, maintain the lab website, design visual supports, and/or facilitate culturally competent engagement with participants of diverse backgrounds.


Required Qualifications:

• Bachelor\xe2\x80\x99s degree in a scientific, educational, or clinical field, such as Psychology, Neuroscience, Public Health, Human Development, Special Education, or equivalent combination of education and experience;
• Excellent communication, organization, and planning skills;
• Experience with human subjects research; and
• Experience with autism or a closely related neurodevelopmental condition.
  

Preferred Qualifications:

• Familiarity with IRB submissions;
• Experience with REDCap;
• Familiarity with work with adolescents;
• Familiarity with use of MRI simulator/mock scanner and other practices to help acclimate individuals to the scanner environment; and
• Experience with assisting participants during MRI scans.

Special Instructions to Applicants
For full consideration, applicants must apply at https://jobs.gmu.edu/; complete and submit the online application; and upload a cover letter, resume, and a list of three professional references with contact information. For Full Consideration, Apply by: 03/24/2023