Description

Position Overview

The Center for the Advancement of Research on Eating Behaviors (CARE) has one opening for an Assistant Researcher to help coordinate grant-funded studies and basic science research in eating disorders. The Assistant Researcher will work closely with Dr. Kelsie Forbush, PI and CARE Director, and Dr. Angeline Bottera, CARE Associate Director, and a team of local and international researchers. Duties will include conducting literature searches, writing IRB submissions and amendments, overseeing participant recruitment and enrollment, participant testing using structured clinical interviews, coordinating team meetings and laboratory schedules, preliminary basic data analyses, data cleaning, and data management using REDCap software. Other responsibilities will include supervising undergraduate research assistants and paid staff, assisting with extramural and intramural grant submissions, maintaining lab records and processes, and assisting with publications.

The Assistant Researcher will assist the PI in upholding high ethical standards, regulatory compliance, and confidentiality of sensitive data and open-science reporting practices. The Assistant Researcher will work on assessment-focused studies funded by the Department of Defense, as well as research funded by the National Institutes of Health, and endowment. Projects include our Military Mental Health Study, a study designed to test a novel screening tool for eating disorders and related mental health conditions in a nationally representative sample of current military members. The Assistant Researcher will also manage data from our Veteran Mental Health Study, which is an archival, nationally representative dataset collected by our team on veterans recently separated from service.

Other major ongoing studies include:

• STAR: An NIH-funded clinical trial designed to develop a mobile health app that uses machine learning to predict likelihood of relapse in adolescents who are recovering from anorexia nervosa.
• BEST-U: an NIH-funded clinical trial testing a mobile a mobile app based guided self-help Cognitive Behavioral Therapy intervention for college students with binge-spectrum eating disorder.
• BRITER: a highly novel 10-week mobile health treatment for binge eating that directly targets the regulation of circadian and daily appetitive rhythms by integrating sleep medicine and circadian rhythm regulation techniques into eating disorder treatment.
• EPSI ChAT: A study designed to test and validate a self-report questionnaire assessing eating and feeding disorders in youth and adolescents.
• Other grants, as funded.

The Assistant Researcher would have the opportunity to conduct independent research utilizing existing datasets, including (but not limited to) a longitudinal dataset of over 30,000 patients with eating disorders in collaboration with Recovery Record, Inc. and a five-wave longitudinal study of over 350 community-recruited adults with eating disorders.

Finally, our center has close relationships with numerous local and national eating disorder treatment centers, including Children's Mercy - Kansas City and Eating Recovery Center, making this an ideal position for someone who is interested in graduate or medical school.

This position will be fully on-site in Lawrence, Kansas. Lawrence is a vibrant community that offers numerous sporting, cultural, shopping, and educational opportunities. We are also located 25 to 45 minutes from metropolitan Kansas City, with a wide range of professional sports, arts, music, food, cultural, and shopping options.

Job Description

50% Supervision, Project Management, and Administrative Support:

• Train undergraduate students on data entry, lab policies, and procedures; provide oversight of undergraduate and paid research assistants to ensure timely completion of tasks and training on research tasks.
• Develop laboratory schedules for undergraduate students.
• Interview potential undergraduate research assistants.
• Coordinate team meetings and agendas, take notes, and follow-up on team member task completion.
• Develop and maintain IRB protocols, submit IRB amendments, and create reports of new information when applicable.
• Assist with preparation of grants, progress reports, and publications.
• Ensure team deadlines are met and keep track of project metrics using Asana and REDCap.
• Assist with internal recruitment and onboarding of undergraduate research assistants and other CARE-related positions.

30% Data Reporting, Management, and Statistical Analysis:

• Run weekly and monthly reports to update PI and team regarding recruitment and enrollment targets.
• Assist with the preparation of reports for multisite continuing reviews, data safety monitoring boards, yearly progress reports, and recruitment milestones for funding organization.
• Perform simple statistical analyses as needed using SPSS and R
• Oversee recruitment and enrollment flow through our protocols using REDCap.
• Coordinating data entry with a team of undergraduate research assistants.
• Ensure data is saved and kept secure.

20% Psychological Testing:

• Conduct semi-structured clinical interviews to generate mental health diagnoses; conduct semi-structured qualitative interviews to gather feedback from stakeholders.
• Administer tests of neurocognition and self-report measures of psychopathology.
• Participate in consensus meetings and present cases to the team.

Required Qualifications

1. High school diploma/GED and four years of related experience OR a bachelor's degree in a related field (e.g., psychology, public health, epidemiology, educational psychology, social work, counseling).
2. Experience as a research assistant or technician in a research laboratory as evidenced by application materials.

Additional Candidate Instruction

A complete application consists of:

• Resume/CV
• Cover letter explaining how you meet the required qualifications
• Three references from academic mentors

Application review begins Dec 1, 2025. and will continue until a qualified pool of applicants are identified.

Disclaimer

The University of Kansas prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, ethnicity, religion, sex, national origin, age, ancestry, disability, status as a veteran, sexual orientation, marital status, parental status, gender identity, gender expression, and genetic information in the university's programs and activities. Retaliation is also prohibited by university policy. The following person has been designated to handle inquiries regarding the nondiscrimination policies and procedures and is the Title IX Coordinator for all KU and KUMC campuses: Associate Vice Chancellor for the Office of Civil Rights and Title IX, civilrights@ku.edu, Room 1082, Dole Human Development Center, 1000 Sunnyside Avenue, Lawrence, KS 66045, 785-864-6414, 711 TTY. Reports can be submitted by contacting the Title IX Coordinator as provided herein or using the Title IX online report form and complaints can be submitted with the Title IX Coordinator or using the Title IX online complaint form.