Global Cancer Research Associate

About the Role

This role is based at the University of Michigan and focuses on strategic, cross-portfolio work that directly supports the Program Lead. The global cancer portfolio is facilitated by a Principal Investigator who directs a growing, multi-grant research portfolio (currently four active awards) spanning international partnerships, digital health research, and working-group/community facilitation. This role exists to increase the PI's capacity by owning the operational, financial, analytical, and relationship-management work behind partnership development, grant strategy, and scholarly output — allowing the Lead to focus on scientific direction, high-level negotiation, and publishing. This is not a purely administrative role. The ideal candidate holds a Master of Public Health (MPH) and will operate as a junior investigator and strategic partner to the Program Lead.

Responsibilities

• Partnership & Collaboration Development
  • Prepare briefing packets ahead of partnership meetings — partner background, prior touchpoints, and clear meeting objectives — so the Lead walks in fully prepared.
  • Maintain a partnership tracking system (active and prospective collaborators, key contacts, last touchpoints, and follow-up actions).
  • Conduct rapid needs assessments or situational analyses ahead of new partnership discussions to ensure proposed collaborations are equitable and aligned with local priorities.
  • Draft follow-up correspondence and partnership summaries for the Lead's review and signature.
• Grant Strategy & New Funding Mechanisms
  • Monitor NIH, Fogarty International Center, foundation, and other funder portals for new grant mechanisms relevant to the program's global cancer priorities; flag opportunities with fit assessments for the Lead's review.
  • Maintain a rolling funding pipeline and calendar so renewal and resubmission cycles are anticipated well ahead of deadlines.
  • Co-develop Specific Aims, logic models, and conceptual frameworks in collaboration with the Lead for new proposals.
  • Independently draft non-scientific proposal components: biosketches, facilities/resources descriptions, data management plans, human subjects sections, community engagement frameworks, and budget justifications.
  • Manage internal U-M eResearch Proposal Management (eRPM) routing timelines.
• Research & Scholarly Productivity Support
  • Conduct systematic and rapid literature reviews; synthesize findings and draft literature review sections for grants and manuscripts.
  • Clean, manage, and run preliminary/descriptive analyses on research datasets (e.g., in R, Stata, or Python), preparing tables and figures for the Lead's review.
  • Draft methods and results sections, and take first-author or co-author roles on secondary manuscripts, methods papers, or systematic reviews as appropriate.
  • Organize reference libraries (EndNote/Zotero), verify citation accuracy, and manage journal submission and peer-review tracking.
• Program & Team Integration
  • Co-facilitate global cancer working group sessions; synthesize technical discussions into actionable deliverables and policy briefs.
  • Coordinate directly with the Kenya-based team on cross-site deliverables, data flow, and timelines, without requiring the Lead to broker every handoff.
  • Apply program evaluation methods to assess community and partnership impact; produce annual impact summaries for leadership and funders.
  • Manage shared team communications — mailing lists, shared workspaces, and cross-time-zone meeting logistics.
• Financial Stewardship, Data Governance & Compliance
  • Monitor spending and burn rate across all active grants and subawards, including funds disbursed to the Kenya-based team; flag discrepancies before they become audit issues.
  • Support effort reporting and certification processes to ensure alignment between funded effort and actual work.
  • Track IRB protocol amendments, continuing reviews, and safety reporting with U-M IRB (IRBMED/eResearch) and Kenyan ethics boards (e.g., NACOSTI, local IRBs).
• Program Continuity & Institutional Knowledge
  • Develop and maintain Standard Operating Procedures for both field operations and this role itself, so institutional knowledge doesn't leave with any one team member.
  • Document partnership history and grant strategy rationale (why mechanisms were pursued or passed on) to support future decision-making.
  • Help establish and maintain a written authorship and data-sharing policy across sites, ensuring clarity on credit and data ownership before disputes arise.

Required Qualifications

• Master of Public Health (MPH) or equivalent advanced degree in a related field.
• Demonstrated experience in global health programming, research coordination, or partnership/stakeholder management.
• Strong scientific writing skills, with familiarity in literature synthesis and grant or manuscript components.
• Excellent judgment and independence — comfortable autonomously producing complete drafts.

Desired Qualifications

• Experience with international research settings, particularly East Africa.
• Familiarity with NIH grant mechanisms and U-M systems (eRPM, IRBMED/eResearch).
• Working proficiency in a statistical or data analysis tool (R, Stata, or Python).
• Exposure to implementation science frameworks (RE-AIM, CFIR) or program evaluation methods.
• Familiarity with research data governance, data use agreements, or grant financial administration.

Modes of Work

Positions that are eligible for hybrid or mobile/remote work mode are at the discretion of the hiring department. Work agreements are reviewed annually at a minimum and are subject to change at any time, and for any reason, throughout the course of employment.

Growth & Working Model

• Structured as a launchpad role for an MPH graduate pursuing doctoral training (PhD/DrPH/MD) or a global health leadership career.
• Manuscript co-authorship, conference abstract opportunities, and direct exposure to NIH-funded global health research.
• Direct mentorship from the Program Lead, with a weekly structured sync to set priorities and review deliverables; day-to-day work is driven independently between syncs.