Clinical Research Specialist I - Guzman Lab - Brain Donation Program / Department of Neurology (Hybrid)

Cedars-Sinai Medical Center

Los Angeles, CA

JOB DETAILS
SKILLS
Alzheimer's, Autoimmune Disease, Autopsy, Banking Services, Budget Management, Case Report Form (CRF), Clinical Data, Clinical Laboratory, Clinical Research, Clinical Trial Management, Database Administration, Dementia, Disease, Documentation, FDA (Food and Drug Administration), Federal Government, Fundraising Program, HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act), Hospice Care, IRB/IEC (Institutional Review Board/Independent Ethics Committee), Leadership, Legal, Logistics, Maintain Compliance, Memory Disorder, Metadata, Neurology, Organizational Skills, Patient Confidentiality, People Management, Plasma, Project Planning, Purchasing/Procurement, Quality Management, Regulations, Regulatory Compliance, Reporting Skills, Research Laboratory, Time Management
LOCATION
Los Angeles, CA
POSTED
19 days ago

Job Description

Cedars‑Sinai's autopsy program helps understand why dementia develops and how treatment can be improved. The program is a partnership between the Neurology Department and interested patients and families to obtain an autopsy shortly after death to study the brain, spinal cord, and other tissues of individuals with memory disorders.

Note: Scheduling flexibility including evening, weekend, and holiday rotation commitments may be necessary.

Dr. Samuel J. Guzman is a board-certified neuropathologist and physician-scientist. Dr. Guzman's research focuses on spatial transcriptomics, brain banking, and clinicopathologic correlation in disorders including Alzheimer disease, hippocampal sclerosis-associated epilepsy, autoimmune neurologic disease, and related neurodegenerative conditions. His work combines neuropathology, neuroimaging, and emerging molecular platforms to investigate mechanisms of neuronal vulnerability, neuroinflammation, and neurovascular dysfunction.

About the Role

As a Clinical Research Specialist I, you will provide clinical research knowledge by participating in the design and implementation of research projects as needed. This position is responsible for specific and assigned aspects of research infrastructure development, coordinates projects, and communicates status to leadership.

Primary Duties and Responsibilities:

  • Coordinates research projects at an institutional or departmental level.
  • Communicates project status and improvement areas with leadership in a timely manner.
  • Projects may include, but are not limited to investigator-initiated protocol development including protocol writing, case report form development, budget development, and coordination of departmental research committees.
  • Provides guidance regarding project planning, project logistics, and project implementation.
  • May implement and coordinate department-wide initiatives such as research quality management or clinical trial recruitment efforts.
  • Ensures compliance with all federal and local agencies including the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and local Institutional Review Board.
  • Maintains research practices using Good Clinical Practice (GCP) guidelines.
  • Maintains strict patient confidentiality according to HIPAA regulations and applicable law.
  • Participates in required training and education programs.

Department-Specific Information:

Brain Bank Coordinator (Donor & Operations)

Primary Focus: Donor coordination, family communication, and rapid autopsy logistics.

  • Serves as primary contact for donor families, hospice, and clinical teams.
  • Participates in 24/7 on-call rotation for donor death notifications.
  • Coordinates overnight and weekend brain donations and rapid autopsies.
  • Coordinates with diener services for tissue procurement.
  • Ensure consent, documentation, and regulatory compliance.
  • Coordinate CSF and plasma collection with clinical and research labs.
  • Maintain donor database and clinical metadata.
  • Track bio-specimen distribution.

Qualifications

Education:

  • Bachelor's degree is required.

Experience:

  • 3 years of proven experience in area of research specialty is required.

About the Company

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Cedars-Sinai Medical Center

Cedars Sinai is one of the largest nonprofit academic medical centers in the United States, and it is the largest private academic medical center in the Western United States. The Cedars Sinai main campus, which encompasses nearly 24 acres, is located at the point where the cities of Los Angeles, Beverly Hills, and West Hollywood meet. Cedars Sinai has been recognized annually by U.S. News & World Report’s top 10 best hospitals in the U.S. The institution most recently placed No. 7 among a select group of 20 Honor Roll hospitals and ranked nationally in a dozen specialties. In addition, Cedars Sinai ranked No. 3 in California and No. 2 in the Los Angeles metro area.

Within Cedars Sinai, the Institute for Research on Health Aging conducts multi-disciplinary research that prioritizes the prevention of cardiovascular disease, neurocognitive disease, and cancer. Our focus is on translating new research discoveries into pragmatic interventions aimed at promoting healthy aging across diverse populations. Our approach involves human physiology, cohort, and clinical trial studies and our team includes established experts in population, clinical, translational, basic, and data science.

COMPANY SIZE
10,000 employees or more
INDUSTRY
Other/Not Classified
WEBSITE
http://www.cedars-sinai.org