The Department of Pediatrics is one of the largest departments within The School of Medicine with approximately 164 Faculty, 72 post-doctoral fellows along with over 300 support staff (not including hospital staff). In addition, the Department of 110 clinical residents and fellows are distributed across the Divisions. The missions of research, education and patient care are intertwined, and are integral to the goals of the department. The Department has undergone significant growth in recent years with a consolidated budget of approximately $138 million including sponsored projects expenditures of approximately $65 million and clinical revenue of over $73 million. This expansion of the Department's research and clinical portfolio is expected to continue in the next few years.

The Department's 17 divisions include Academic General Pediatrics, Child Development& Community Health; Allergy, Immunology and Rheumatology; Cardiology; Dysmorphology/Teratology; Emergency Medicine; Endocrinology; Gastroenterology; Genetics; Genome Information Sciences; Hematology/Oncology; Hospital Medicine; Infectious Diseases; Neonatology; Nephrology; Pharmacology & Drug Discovery; Rehabilitation Medicine; and Respiratory Medicine.

In 2001, physicians and leadership of the University of California, San Diego, (UCSD), Rady Children's, and Children's Specialists of San Diego (CSSD) unified pediatric patient care, research, education and community service programs, creating a university-affiliated children's health system to serve the region. Over the past two decades, an extensive list of joint programs has developed, with many physicians and researchers playing a role at both institutions. This affiliation has consolidated the clinical, teaching, research and public service programs of the UCSD School of Medicine's Department of Pediatrics with San Diego's only health care system dedicated to the health and well-being of children. In 2009, this partnership was furthered by the creation of the Rady Children's Specialist of San Diego, a Medical Foundation, and is now recognized as having global leaders in research, technology, translational medicine, education and clinical experience.

The Division of Dysmorphology and Teratology is involved in four major areas: 1) providing clinical services to patients with birth defects and developmental disabilities, 2) providing public health services in counseling patients, providers and education to the public about prenatal exposures and exposures during breastfeeding and their impact on child development and health, 3) a teaching program that includes undergraduate students, graduate students in epidemiology, medical students, and post -doctoral students, pediatrics, epidemiology, health behavior, global health, pharmacy, and other specialties; and, 4) conducting clinical research.

The Center for Better Beginnings within the Division of Dysmorphology and Teratology in the Department of Pediatrics at UCSD conducts research studies to better understand the causes, prevention and treatment of birth defects and developmental disabilities. Research programs and projects within the Division involve federal, state and industry sponsored grants and contracts totaling over $40 million. These encompass national and international studies that require complex interrelated infrastructure and shared resources both within the Division and with collaborators and subcontractors outside the Division.

Under supervision, the Staff Research Associate 3 provides data management for various MotherToBaby Pregnancy Studies projects, in support of reports, scientific presentations, publications, and grants. The incumbent is responsible for assuring data integrity and compliance with MotherToBaby Pregnancy Studies protocols and procedures, IRB requirements, and sponsor specific policies. Duties include training MTB Pregnancy Studies staff on data collection tools and resources, as well as data-entry procedures. The Staff Research Associate 3 will train the Data Coordinators on abstraction procedures, and interview validation, as well as directing the workload of the Research Data Coordinators. The incumbent regularly reviews processes and protocols, identifying areas for improvement with regards to efficiency, consistency, and accuracy. The Staff Research Associate 3 also proposes and implements solutions to issues identified. This position will validate medical record abstraction for consistency and accuracy with data-entry, completeness of information collected, and consistency with data collection. Other duties include creating and updating procedure documents related to data entry and medical record abstraction, including the medical record abstraction forms. The incumbent analyzes data-entry errors, proposes and implements solutions to mitigate errors, and address patterns of errors in individual staff and the team as a whole. Performs other duties as assigned.

• Theoretical knowledge in biology, epidemiology, and/or biostatistics or similar science typically acquired with an advanced degree or equivalent combination of experience and education.

• Mathematical skills, and excellent analytic ability, as well as scientific background in order to prepare analyses, interpret results, and contribute to reports.

• Exceptional organizational, problem-solving skills, analytical skills, and long-range planning skills with meticulous attention to detail, ability to identify future contingencies, and the ability to effectively prioritize workload and meet deadlines despite frequent interruptions and competing demands.

• Ability to analyze results of research productivity and to recommend and design methods for improving research productivity and quality, as well as the ability to independently prepare summary reports regarding data quality.

• Outstanding interpersonal and communication skills both oral and written.

• Demonstrated leadership ability and ability to organize complex staff assignments effectively in order to meet objectives and deadlines.

• Demonstrated experience in data management at a study center involving multiple complex epidemiological research projects or studies.

• High level of skill in the use of standard office, and databases on Windows platforms including Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, Access, Powerpoint), Adobe Acrobat, and Filemaker Pro.

• Demonstrated ability to work independently.

• Demonstrated experience and knowledge in working with medical terminology, medications and pharmaceutical terminology, obstetric and birth defects terminology, as well as abstraction of data from medical records and demonstrated experience in directing staff responsible for medical records abstraction.

• Demonstrated experience and proficiency in human research protections procedures.

• Demonstrated experience in problem-solving and critical thinking.

• Employment is subject to a criminal background check.