Research Coordinator

Responsibilities

• Ensure laboratory readiness, organization, and compliance with institutional biosafety, regulatory, and quality standards.
• Oversee laboratory workflow optimization, and operational efficiency initiatives.
• Support the management of service contracts for the laboratory and shared equipment by maintaining records, coordinating with vendors, and assisting with monitoring equipment performance and maintenance needs.
• Aid in the preparation and submission of IACUC materials, including amendments, modifications, and exception requests, as well as maintaining documentation related to animal protocol approvals.
• Prepare Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) to support the consistent implementation of research processes and ensure adherence to established protocols.
• Maintain a clean, organized, and compliant laboratory environment.
• Oversee end-to-end lifecycle of clinical samples, including processing, storage, tracking, and data integration.
• Process blood and other biological specimens (e.g., plasma, serum, PBMCs, urine, CSF) according to established protocols across multiple clinical studies.
• Cryopreserve and long-term store biospecimens, ensuring adherence to best practices and study-specific requirements.
• Cook with clinical research coordinators and investigators to manage specimen collection schedules and priorities.
• Maintain accurate, real-time tracking of biospecimens using laboratory information management systems (LIMS) and/or databases.
• Prepare and ship samples to internal and external collaborators in compliance with regulatory and biosafety guidelines.
• Ensure proper labeling, documentation, and chain-of-custody for all specimens.
• Monitor inventory, storage conditions, and sample quality; troubleshoot issues as needed.
• Assist with training of new staff or coordinators on biospecimen handling procedures as needed.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent in education and experience, plus three years of related experience.
• Preferred: Experience working with clinical cohorts or human subjects research, familiarity with PBMC isolation, aliquoting, and cryopreservation techniques, knowledge of biosafety, HIPAA, and regulatory requirements related to human specimens, experience coordinating across multiple studies or investigators, strong organizational skills with the ability to manage multiple workflows and competing priorities, demonstrated hands-on experience with biospecimen processing and laboratory techniques, excellent attention to detail and commitment to data accuracy and sample integrity, strong communication and interpersonal skills; ability to work effectively across multidisciplinary teams, experience with sample tracking systems, databases, or LIMS, technical proficiency in laboratory specimen processing and storage, clear and proactive communication with coordinators and investigators, exceptional organizational and time-management skills, ability to work both independently and collaboratively in a fast-paced environment.