Research Assistant - Health Data & FAIR Data Stewardship

Purpose of the role
Support the preparation of medical and health-informatics publications for Scopus/WoS-indexed journals, and make the underlying research data FAIR — Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, Reusable — from collection through deposit and citation.

Responsibilities

Literature and evidence

• Search and screen literature in PubMed/MEDLINE, Embase, Cochrane Library, Scopus, Web of Science
• Build reproducible search strings; run systematic or scoping reviews following PRISMA
• Screen titles/abstracts and full texts in Rayyan or Covidence; document inclusion/exclusion
• Extract data into structured evidence tables; assess risk of bias (RoB 2, ROBINS-I, QUADAS-2, GRADE)
• Draft Background and Related Work sections

Clinical data work

• Prepare, clean, and validate clinical datasets (EHR exports, registry data, trial CRFs, imaging metadata)
• De-identify and pseudonymize patient data in line with GDPR/HIPAA and local regulations
• Map data to common standards and terminologies: OMOP CDM, HL7 FHIR, ICD-10/11, SNOMED CT, LOINC, DICOM
• Run statistical analysis (R, Python, SPSS, Stata): survival analysis, regression, diagnostic accuracy, sample size and power calculations
• Produce publication-quality figures, forest plots, flow diagrams, and tables

FAIR data stewardship

• Write and maintain Data Management Plans (DMP) using DMPonline or funder templates
• Create rich metadata using DataCite, DCAT, schema.org, and domain schemas; apply MIABIS/CDISC where relevant
• Assign and manage persistent identifiers (DOI, ORCID, ROR); ensure correct data citation
• Deposit datasets and code in appropriate repositories: Zenodo, Dryad, PhysioNet, EGA, dbGaP, figshare, institutional repositories
• Apply controlled vocabularies and ontologies (SNOMED CT, LOINC, MeSH, HPO, OBO Foundry) for interoperability
• Define access conditions and licensing (CC BY, CC0, controlled-access DUAs); document provenance
• Evaluate datasets against FAIR maturity indicators (FAIRsharing, F-UJI, FAIR Evaluator) and remediate gaps
• Maintain reproducible analysis pipelines and version control (Git, renv/conda, Docker); publish code with a DOI

Manuscript and submission

• Draft Methods and Results; edit and proofread the full manuscript in academic English
• Apply the correct reporting guideline: CONSORT, STROBE, PRISMA, STARD, TRIPOD, CARE, SPIRIT
• Format to the target journal's template, word limits, and reference style (Vancouver/AMA/APA)
• Run plagiarism and AI-detection checks; improve originality
• Identify target journals; verify quartile, scope, APC, and turnaround times
• Prepare cover letter, highlights, graphical abstract, author contribution (CRediT), COI and data availability statements
• Submit via Editorial Manager, ScholarOne, or OJS; track status and prepare response-to-reviewer letters
• Register studies and protocols where required (ClinicalTrials.gov, PROSPERO, OSF)

Ethics and compliance

• Prepare IRB/ethics committee submissions, consent forms, and amendments
• Maintain audit trails, data processing records, and Data Use Agreements
• Ensure compliance with institutional, national, and funder open-science mandates

Requirements

• Master's degree or higher in medicine, public health, epidemiology, biostatistics, bioinformatics, health informatics, or data science
• Experience writing or co-authoring at least 1–2 peer-reviewed papers in a health-related field
• Working knowledge of FAIR principles and research data management practice
• English at B2+ with confident academic reading and writing
• R or Python for statistical analysis; comfortable with Git
• Familiarity with clinical terminologies and at least one data standard (FHIR, OMOP, or DICOM)
• Zotero/Mendeley; LaTeX or Word journal templates
• Meticulous with detail, reliable with deadlines, able to work independently

Nice to have

• Publications in Scopus Q1–Q2 journals
• Certification or formal training in data stewardship (CODATA/RDA, ELIXIR, GO FAIR)
• Experience with systematic reviews or clinical trial data
• GCP certification
• Experience with grant applications (Horizon Europe, national science funds)
• English