Research Associate, Subbarao Lab Next Job Apply for Job Job ID 22847 Location Toronto, Ontario Annualized Hiring Range $83,971 - $115,453 *Compensation commensurate with experience Dept/Program Name RESPIRATORY MEDICINE Target Openings 1 Work Type Hybrid Hours of Work 35.00 FTE 1.00 Contract Length 2 Years Level of Police Check Criminal & Judicial Record Date Posted 2025-07-25 Deadline to Apply 2025-08-25 Add to My Favorite Jobs Email this Job **About SickKids** Dedicated exclusively to children and their families, The Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids) is one of the largest and most respected paediatric healthcare centres in the world. As innovators in child health, we lead and partner to improve the health of children through the integration of healthcare, leading-edge research and education. Our reputation would not have been built - nor could it be maintained - without the skills, knowledge and experience of the extraordinary people who come to work here every day. SickKids is committed to ongoing learning and development, and features a caring and supportive work environment that combines exceptionally high standards of practice. When you join SickKids, you become part of our community. We share a commitment and determination to fulfill our vision of _Healthier Children. A Better World_ . Don't miss out on the opportunity to work alongside the world's best in paediatric healthcare. **Position Description** In support of the **SickKids 2030 Strategy** and the **Precision Child Health** Movement, SickKids is seeking a highly motivated and strategic Research Associate to work at the interface of clinical care, biomedical research, and health informatics to support the development and implementation of a hospital-wide Cohort with comprehensive prospective consent for the collection of clinical data and biospecimens. This cohort aims to form the foundation for real-time translational research and shift towards establishing a Learning Health System at SickKids. The successful candidate will be embedded in the Subbarao Lab (https://lab.research.sickkids.ca/subbarao/) and collaborate closely with multidisciplinary teams including clinicians, clinical operations leaders, researchers, PIs of existing clinical and or research cohorts, patient family partners, and data scientists to develop a comprehensive Cohorts strategy and implementation plan. This will support the ultimate goal of increased utilization and utility of existing and new clinical, research, and environmental data and biospecimens to advance the quality, equity, and outcomes of children's health care. The ideal candidate will bring a strong background in (clinical) epidemiology, including experience working with large-scale clinical datasets (e.g. EMRs, registries, cohorts, patient reported outcomes, omics), understanding of data integration, data pipelines, and advanced analytic methods; and demonstrate a strong grasp of translational research principles, and a track record of working across silos to advance data-driven initiatives. The ideal candidate is highly organized, outcome-focused and demonstrates the ability to balance long-term vision with short-term deliverables. The successful candidate will have the opportunity to work on grants, lead relevant publications, and work on impactful deliverables that support the implementation/adoption of a hospital-wide cohort and learning health system. **What Will You Get to Do:** **Research & Benchmarking:** Conduct in-depth research and stakeholder engagement to identify best practices for the design and implementation of a hospital-wide cohort. Benchmark leading institutions to inform approaches for data integration, longitudinal follow-up, and alignment with normative and research-based population cohorts. **Develop Scientific Strategy:** Collaborate with cross-functional stakeholders including clinicians, researchers, data scientists, and patient/family partners to define use cases, validate assumptions, and develop a robust scientific strategy for the cohort/learning health system model. This may include identifying high-value cohort data assets, outlining integration opportunities with existing research and normative cohorts, and assessing feasibility for EMR integration and prospective data collection. **Lead Impactful Research:** Support academic work linked to SickKids Cohorts, including grant writing, manuscript preparation, literature reviews, and coordination of scholarly outputs. **Plan, Execute, and Oversee Implementation:** Collaborate with multidisciplinary scientific and operational stakeholders, identify and test possible data solutions for cohorts, and execute implementation plans. **Lead Through Influence:** Build alignment across departments, research teams, and clinical operations by facilitating co-development of a shared vision and execution roadmap for the cohort. **Implementation Strategy and Patient Engagement Strategy for Inclusive Recruitment:** Develop and operationalize strategies to ensure successful, equitable cohort implementation. This includes designing inclusive recruitment approaches, reducing participation barriers, and integrating patient and family perspectives into study design, outreach, and communications. **Other Duties:** Provide support for adjacent institutional projects such as data governance and accessibility, research consent frameworks, and infrastructure and operations enabling clinical research **Representative Duties & Responsibilities:** **Research Design, Planning, and Program Development** + Apply specialized knowledge and scientific principles to review, critically appraise, and interpret published literature in this area. Conduct a scoping review of similar institutional endeavors and best practices. + Synthesize findings from strategic engagement with research and clinical leaders to define cohort use cases, needs, and boundaries. + Co-design and develop, in collaboration with senior leaders, a research program to address key questions and solve complex, interdisciplinary problems related to SickKids Cohort development. + Convene groups to design an inclusive strategy and related materials to encourage participation and support for a SickKids cohort. + Complete relevant training in Indigenous health and EDIA principles. + Develop and manage detailed project plans, timelines, and resource allocation to support phased implementation of cohort pilots and related governance activities. **Stakeholder Engagement and Supporting Change** + Engage stakeholders and build cross-disciplinary networks, coordinating with clinicians, researchers, IT, data governance, and patient/family partners to promote a shared vision and foster a culture where research and care are seamlessly integrated. + Develop inter-disciplinary, inter-institutional, and inter-sectoral research collaborations. + Develops relationships, partnerships, and networks between research collaborators and users on a national level. + Liaise between PCH leadership, SickKids cohort leadership, and user groups. + Facilitate focus group sessions with cohort leaders, user groups, participants, and patients. + Co-develop governance frameworks, including terms of reference, oversight structures, and decision-making processes for the SickKids cohort initiative. + Participate with a team in the development and authoring of terms of reference for governance of the cohorts. **Data Infrastructure, Ethics, and Integration in collaboration with SK Data Strategy** + Support in defining functional and technical requirements for data infrastructure that will support a hospital-wide Cohort, including data capture, integration, linkage (e.g., environmental, biosample, EHR), and secure sharing protocols. + Facilitate data harmonization and linkage by working with data scientists and informatics leads to ensure multimodal datasets (e.g., clinical encounters, biospecimens, SDOH, PROMs, biological assays) are standardized and integrated across existing research cohorts, normative data sources, and patient care workflows. + Work with IT and data governance teams to ensure cohort data management aligns with privacy, ethics, and interoperability standards. + Define common data elements needed for a hospital-based research cohort. Coordinate implementation of consent and ethical frameworks, including the development of tools and processes for broad, prospective consent for recontact, in partnership with legal, research and bioethics services, as well as clinical stakeholders. **Analysis and Knowledge Generation** + Collect, analyze, and interpret data to inform how the Cohort can be improved and harmonized. + Use statistical software to analyze complex data and interpret results. + Remain current in methodological research advances. **Knowledge Translation and Communication** + Designs, implements, and evaluates knowledge brokering and other knowledge translation interventions. + Develop presentations for meetings, seminars, and conferences. **Academic Outputs and Grant Development** + Write research proposals, submit to external funding agencies, and secure funding to support the program through grants and contracts. + Troubleshoot problems at all stages of program development and implementation and modify protocols or procedures to address challenges. **Here's What You'll Need:** + Doctoral degree in Epidemiology, or equivalent + Requires 7 years of relevant experience + Ethics certifications required: CITI Canada GCP, CITI Canada Privacy, Tri-Council Policy Statement 2 **Assets:** + Creativity applying and extrapolating rigorous research methods to new health research projects + String strategic and project management skills + Experience with longitudinal cohort studies, including data collection, harmonization, and analysis across multi-modal data types (clinical, biospecimens, environmental, SDOH). + Strong knowledge of learning health systems and their operationalization within pediatric or academic hospital environments + Demonstrated experience implementing clinical research (e.g., observational studies), co-design, or knowledge translation projects + Required software proficiency MS Office (e.g., Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, Teams) + Demonstrated experience communicating, collaborating and fostering positive relationships with multidisciplinary stakeholders + Experience with grant writing and submission to major funding agencies (e.g., CIHR, SSHRC) is an asset + Knowledge of digital health infrastructure and interoperability standards, including EHR integration and secure data exchange + Experience applying EDIA (Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, and Accessibility) and Indigenous health frameworks in research or healthcare settings. + Training in GBA+ and Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion principles applied to research is an asset **Additional Information:** Please include a writing sample, preferably a first-author manuscript, with your submission. Employment Type: Full-time 2 year temporary contract with modified benefits (i.e., health & dental), 1.0 FTE **Our Commitment to Diversity** SickKids is committed to championing equity, diversity and inclusion in all that we do, fostering an intentionally inclusive and culturally safe environment that reflects the diversity of the patients, families and communities we serve. Learn more about workplace inclusion. (https://www.sickkids.ca/en/about/edi/workplace-inclusion/) **Accessibility & Accommodation** If you require accommodation during the application process, please reach out to our aSKHR team (ask.hr@sickkids.ca) . SickKids can provide access and inclusion supports to eligible candidates to support their full engagement during the interview and selection process as well as to ensure candidates are able to perform their duties once successfully hired. If you are invited for an interview and require accommodation, please let us know at the time of your invitation to interview. Information received related to access, inclusion or accommodation will be addressed confidentially. **How To Apply** Technical difficulties? Email ask.hr@sickkids.ca with a short description of the issues you are experiencing. We will not accept resumes sent to this inbox but we are happy to respond to requests for technical assistance. **Tip:** Combine your cover letter and resume into **ONE** document of 20 pages or less as you cannot upload multiple documents as part of your application.