Program Summary

Child Health and Development Studies (CHDS), a program of the Public Health Institute, is looking to hire a Research Assistant I.

CHDS is committed to investigating how health and disease are passed on between generations—not just by genes, but also through social, personal, and environmental surroundings.

Nearly 50 years ago, over 15,000 families joined the CHDS to help us reach this mission. Families who were members of the Kaiser Foundation Health Plan in Oakland, California voluntarily enrolled in the CHDS between 1959 and 1967 when a woman first thought that she was pregnant. Each of the 15,000 families who participated in the CHDS made a generous contribution of their time to participate in comprehensive interviews about their health, lifestyle, and experiences that might influence the progress of pregnancy and the health of their infant.

Today, CHDS scientists continue to investigate the relationships between biologic, behavioral, genetic, and environmental factors in early family life to health outcomes in adults. The CHDS has begun a new era of follow-up studies on CHDS children, now adults, and their children (CHDS grandchildren). Because we have followed CHDS families since the 1950s, our cohort spans generations, allowing important scientific questions to be answered inexpensively, without waiting 50 years. Through these studies, CHDS scientists are working to uncover ways to prevent disease early in life.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

• Speak with CHDS cohort members for cohort retention, study recruitment, and to conduct verbal surveys.
• Complete recruitment and sample collection mailings.
• Questionnaire scanning and data entry for study participation and study questionnaires.
• Stipend processing and thank you letter mailings.
• Assist with documentation of study tasks, progress, and material.

Minimum Qualifications

• High School Diploma (or equivalent).
• Excellent written and oral communication skills are essential, especially when interacting with study participants and CHDS cohort members.
• Excellent organizational skills, which enable documentation of tasks.
• Strong attention to detail skills and an ability to work with minimal errors.
• Strong time management skills and an ability to meet deadlines, both prescribed and self-imposed.
• A high level of PC literacy is needed, including a broad knowledge of Microsoft Office software (MS Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Access).
• Critical thinking and reasoning skills.
• Ability to work well in a team environment.
• Ability to progress on several projects concurrently.
• Ability to work independently as well as collaboratively with group staff and investigators.
• Display an ability to learn new software programs to include Remark Office OMR and REDCap.
• Ability to comprehend the CHDS’, Public Health Institute’s, and the state of California’s confidentiality and security standards and process confidential information according to those standards.

Desired Qualifications

• Associate’s Degree or some college experience in science or related field.
• Administrative and/or research experiences.
• Experience in Public Health, Health education, Public Policy, or related field.
• Experience using Remark Office OMR.
• Experience with REDCap.

Important Information

• This is a part-time (approximately 10-15 hours per week) position.
• This position is currently remote.