Research Data Analyst - JR26342-3800

University of Chicago - Chicago, IL

Full-time

Chicago, IL

Educational Services

About the position

The Research Data Analyst position at the Chicago Center for HIV Elimination (CCHE) within the Biological Sciences Division at the University of Chicago Medicine is a critical role aimed at supporting the center's mission to eliminate new HIV transmission events by 2041. The analyst will engage in the analysis of bio-behavioral health and network epidemiological datasets, contributing to the understanding and prevention of HIV in highly affected populations, particularly in the South Side of Chicago. This area is notable for its significant Black population, making the work of CCHE particularly impactful in addressing health disparities. In this role, the Research Data Analyst will collaborate closely with CCHE investigators to identify and apply appropriate statistical methods to address various research hypotheses. The analyst will be responsible for creating analytic datasets by merging, cleaning, and coding data from diverse sources, including behavioral surveys, electronic health records, and public health surveillance data. Documentation of source code and data management procedures will be essential, ensuring transparency and reproducibility in research outputs. The analyst will also prepare tables and figures for manuscripts, abstracts, and other scientific publications, contributing to the writing of statistical methods sections and potentially gaining authorship on published works. Presenting results to researchers, colleagues, and funders, including formal presentations at conferences, will be a key aspect of the role. Regular meetings with research staff and data analysts will facilitate discussions on proposed analyses, code sharing, and addressing methodological challenges. Additionally, the analyst will assist with power calculations and analytic strategies for new grant proposals, and may provide critical evaluations of proposed research designs, suggesting improvements and statistical analysis plans. The position requires the ability to analyze moderately complex datasets to extract meaningful information and provide professional support to faculty and staff in applying data science principles across various projects.

Responsibilities

• Working with CCHE investigators to identify appropriate statistical methods to address research hypotheses and conducting statistical analyses accordingly.
• Creating analytic datasets by merging, cleaning, and coding data from multiple sources, including behavioral surveys, electronic health records, and public health surveillance.
• Documenting source code and data management and analysis procedures.
• Preparing tables and figures for manuscripts, abstracts, and other scientific publications.
• Contributing to the writing of statistical methods sections for manuscripts and other publications, with opportunities for authorship available.
• Presenting results of statistical analyses to researchers, colleagues, and funders, including formal presentations at conferences.
• Participating in regular meetings with CCHE research staff and data analysts to discuss proposed analyses, share code and analytic approaches, and discuss data and/or methodological challenges as they arise.
• Providing assistance with power calculations and proposed analytic strategies for new grant proposals.
• Depending on expertise and experience, providing critical methodological evaluation of newly proposed research designs and suggesting design improvements and statistical analysis plans.
• Analyzing moderately complex data sets for the purpose of extracting and purposefully using applicable information.
• Providing professional support to staff or faculty members in defining the project and applying principles of data science in manipulation, statistical applications, programming, analysis and modeling.
• Performing other related work as needed.

Requirements

• Minimum requirements include a college or university degree in a related field.
• Minimum requirements include knowledge and skills developed through 2-5 years of work experience in a related job discipline.

Nice-to-haves

• Advanced degree in a related field.
• Familiarity with one or more of the following areas: HIV/STI prevention research, epidemiologic study design, network analysis, public health surveillance, and/or clinical and social science research methods, or willingness to gain knowledge in these areas.
• Experience working on health and/or social science research projects.
• Experience working with longitudinal data, network data, or other clustered data structures.
• Experience with manipulation of large databases and consolidation and synthesis of data from multiple sources.
• Ability to identify and expand knowledge of new software and analytic tools to support evolving Center needs.
• Knowledge of high performance computing systems, Git and version control systems, and experience with Unix/Linux systems.