Clinical Research Coordinator I

Job description

Discover Vanderbilt Health : With eight hospitals and over 180 clinics, we are the region’s largest comprehensive academic health system. Vanderbilt Health has a long tradition of providing world-class care to the people of the Mid-South, living out our mission of moving medicine forward through preeminent programs in patient care, education and research. Here you’ll find a spirit of collaboration and a supportive community where your expertise is valued, your knowledge expanded and your uniqueness celebrated. We are committed to fostering an environment where talented, compassionate people are united in bringing the most advanced care to our neighbors throughout the region.
Organization:
Neurology Admin 20
Job Summary:
Department: Neurology, Division of Behavioral and Cognitive Neurology, Vanderbilt University Medical Center
Position type: Full time (100% FTE), grant funded for up to five years contingent on continued award funding
Reports to: Contact MPI (Ciaran Considine, PhD, ABPP-CN), with day-to-day program oversight from the division research program manager
Anticipated start: Fall 2026
Schedule: Standard weekday schedule with periodic evening set-ups of ambulatory PSG at the study hotel; flexibility is provided in those weeks (for example, a weekday off in a week with an evening set-up), by arrangement with the supervisor
About the study
The Vanderbilt University Medical Center Departments of Neurology and Radiology are launching a five-year, NIH-funded study of sleep-circadian disruption in behavioral variant frontotemporal dementia (bvFTD), the most common dementia in adults under 60. While hired to this study, the coordinator will also have opportunities to contribute to related research across the Division of Behavioral and Cognitive Neurology as program needs evolve. The study enrolls 50 patients with bvFTD and 50 age-matched cognitively unimpaired adults for 8-night home actigraphy, hotel-based ambulatory polysomnography (PSG), multimodal MRI, and comprehensive neuropsychological and neuropsychiatric assessment. The coordinator is the operational center of the study and the primary point of contact for participants and their caregivers.
Key responsibilities
• Schedule and coordinate all participant visits, including the actigraphy window, hotel PSG night(s), MRI sessions at the Vanderbilt University Institute of Imaging Science, and in-person neuropsychological testing, working around the multi-day sleep assessment sequence
• Administer and score neuropsychological and behavioral measures under the supervision of the study neuropsychologist (training provided; measures drawn from the NACC Uniform Data Set and FTLD Module)
• Set up, train on, and troubleshoot home actigraphy devices, and perform evening set-ups of ambulatory PSG at the study hotel, including caregiver training on device care and sleep diary completion
• Support recruitment and screening through the Vanderbilt FTD Clinic, ALLFTD cohort, and ADRC healthy control pool; track screening dispositions and enrollment against monthly targets
• Obtain informed consent, including surrogate consent through legally authorized representatives for participants with bvFTD, following IRB-approved procedures
• Enter, clean, and quality-check study data in REDCap; maintain participant tracking, source documentation, and regulatory binders
• Coordinate IRB submissions, amendments, and continuing reviews with the program manager; prepare materials for the weekly diagnostic consensus conference
• Manage device inventory, shipping, charging, and supply reordering; run the automated SMS/email reminder system for diaries and device adherence

Required qualifications
• Bachelor's degree in psychology, neuroscience, public health, or a related field
• At least one year of clinical research or clinical care experience, or equivalent combination of education and experience
• Comfort working directly with cognitively impaired adults and their family caregivers, including periodic evening PSG set-ups at the study hotel
• Strong organizational skills and demonstrated attention to detail in data entry and documentation
• Valid driver's license and ability to travel locally for hotel-based PSG set-ups as needed

Preferred qualifications
• Experience with dementia, other neurodegenerative populations, or sleep research
• Familiarity with REDCap, actigraphy, polysomnography, or MRI research workflows
• Familiarity with coding, statistical software (e.g., R, SPSS), or neuroimaging analysis workflows
• Experience administering standardized neuropsychological measures
• CITI human subjects research training and clinical research coordinator certification (or willingness to obtain)

Why this role
The coordinator joins a multidisciplinary team spanning neuropsychology, behavioral neurology, sleep medicine, EEG physiology, neuroimaging, and biostatistics, with strong mentorship and clear pathways toward graduate or professional training in clinical research, neuropsychology, or medicine. The role offers unusual breadth: participant-facing clinical work, hands-on sleep and imaging technology, and end-to-end research operations on a newly launched R01.
Our Academic Enterprise is one of the nation’s longest serving and most prestigious academic medical centers. Through its historic bond with Vanderbilt University and integral role in the School of Medicine, Vanderbilt Health cultivates distinguished research and educational programs to advance a clinical enterprise that provides compassionate and personalized care and support for millions of patients and family members each year.
World-leading academic departments and comprehensive centers of excellence pursue scientific discoveries and transformational educational and clinical advances across the entire spectrum of health and disease.
Aligning with Vanderbilt Health’s Strategic Directions , the Office of Research provides shared research resources, administrative expertise and professional guidance to enable the trans-disciplinary environment and highly collaborative culture that advances discovery and training for all the research faculty, trainees, students and staff.
Core Accountabilities:
Organizational Impact: Delivers job responsibilities that impact own job area/team with some guidance. Problem Solving/ Complexity of work: Uses existing procedures, research and analysis to solve standard job related problems that may require some judgement. Breadth of Knowledge: Requires subject matter knowledge within a professional area to meet job requirements. Team Interaction: Individually contributes to project/ work teams.
Core Capabilities :
Supporting Colleagues: - Develops Self and Others: Continuously improves own skills by identifying development opportunities.- Builds and Maintains Relationships: Seeks to understand colleagues priorities, working styles and develops relationships across areas. - Communicates Effectively: Openly shares information with others and communicates in a clear and courteous manner. Delivering Excellent Services: - Serves Others with Compassion: Invests time to understand the problems, needs of others and how to provide excellent service. - Solves Complex Problems: Seeks to understand issues, solves routine problems, and raises proper concerns to supervisors in a timely manner. - Offers Meaningful Advice and Support: Listens carefully to understand the issues and provides accurate information and support. Ensuring High Quality: - Performs Excellent Work: Checks work quality before delivery and asks relevant questions to meet quality standards.- Ensures Continuous Improvement: Shows eagerness to learn new knowledge, technologies, tools or systems and displays willingness to go above and beyond. - Fulfills Safety and Regulatory Requirements: Demonstrates basic knowledge of conditions that affect safety and reports unsafe conditions to the appropriate person or department. Managing Resources Effectively :- Demonstrates Accountability: Takes responsibility for completing assigned activities and thinks beyond standard approaches to provide high-quality work/service. - Stewards Organizational Resources: Displays understanding of how personal actions will impact departmental resources. - Makes Data Driven Decisions: Uses accurate information and good decision making to consistently achieve results on time and without error. Fostering Innovation: - Generates New Ideas: Willingly proposes/accepts ideas or initiatives that will impact day-to-day operations by offering suggestions to enhance them.- Applies Technology: Absorbs new technology quickly; understands when to utilize the appropriate tools and procedures to ensure proper course of action. - Adapts to Change: Embraces changes by keeping an open mind to changing plans and incorporates change instructions into own area of work.
Position Qualifications:
Responsibilities:
Certifications :
Work Experience :
Relevant Work Experience
Experience Level :
Less than 1 year
Education :
Bachelor's
This role offers the opportunity to make a meaningful impact within Vanderbilt Health, supported by a comprehensive benefits package which may include health, disability, retirement and/or wellness offerings to enhance your well-being and professional growth.
Vanderbilt Health is committed to fostering an environment where everyone has the chance to thrive and is committed to the principles of equal opportunity. EOE/Vets/Disabled.