The SEICHE Center for Health and Justice is looking for a Postgraduate Associate to assist with the newly formed JUSTResearch Community Engaged Research Resource Center (CERRC). SEICHE is a collaborative partnership between the Yale School of Medicine and the Yale Law School, committed to mitigating the health harms of mass incarceration by bringing together the disparate fields of health care, law, and criminal justice. Four areas define our work: clinical care, legal scholarship and advocacy, research, and education. We recognize that the health system must play a leading role in criminal legal reform and individuals and communities most impacted by incarceration are key leaders in this change. SEICHE is leading research to build the evidence base about the health harms of incarceration and community-based approaches to mitigating these harms.
The PGA will be involved in the launch and execution of the JUSTResearch CERRC, which represents a partnership between JustLeadership USA and SEICHE. The CERRC has been formed to support NIDA-funded JCOIN Phase 2 research hubs. The hubs are based at institutions across the U.S. and are implementing projects to study and disseminate evidence-informed approaches to ensure quality care is provided to justice involved individuals with opioid use disorder (OUD). The CERRC will provide expertise and leadership in meaningfully and thoughtfully engaging individuals with a history of justice involvement and addiction in research.
The PGA will coordinate the activities of several working groups of the CERRC and in so doing, gain knowledge of best practices and skills in community engaged research. Tasks of the CERRC include: establishing a Community Advisory Board of people with lived experience to provide guidance to JCOIN 2 projects; providing technical assistance and training in community engaged research to JCOIN 2 research hubs; providing technical assistance to JCOIN 2 hub institutions to create pathways for people with lived experience to gain employment and contribute to JCOIN 2 projects and health research more generally; creating opportunities for people with an incarceration experience to gain education and skills in public health and research, and for those with public health and research skills to be hired at JCOIN 2 hub institutions; creating resources on community engaged research for stakeholders and the public; and executing several rapid research projects that center the priorities and experiences of justice involved individuals.
Additionally, the Associate will support the Center Administrator with operational tasks of running the SEICHE Center for Health and Justice, including coordinating meetings, taking meeting notes, coordinating Center committees (advocacy, dissemination, social media, or community outreach) and other activities specified by the Center Administrator.
Training:
The PGA will engage in a multimodal learning plan. They will learn about community-engaged research, provision of technical assistance to research teams, evaluation of technical assistance to gage degree target metrics were met, and planning and execution of rapid research projects, including one on patient journey mapping. They will develop a firm understanding of research on interventions for opioid use disorder for justice-involved individuals and the principles of community-engaged research. They will work with teams across several institutions to implement the goals of the CERRC and be integrated into the SEICHE team, contributing to SEICHE center-wide goals, which are synergistic with CERRC goals.
Trainees will gain experience by interacting with JCOIN project hubs, CERCC partners, and Yale CERRC investigators. The trainee is expected to assist with all CERRC activities and participate in regular working group, staff, and lab meetings. Trainees will also attend JCOIN-wide conferences and CCERRC-specific meetings in person and over Zoom.
Education:
The postgraduate will attend SEICHE Center webinars, Health Justice Lab meetings, and complete training in community-engaged research. They will gain significant experience in all aspects of community-engaged research, including community advisory board development and operation, building relationships, co-defining research questions and goals, collaboratively developing research and recruitment strategies, and ensuring findings are shared with the community in accessible formats. In addition, they will gain experience in the preparation of technical assistance tools and training materials, presentations, and protocols.
Mentoring and Supervision:
The PGA will meet biweekly with mentor Emily Wang to determine specific educational goals and work towards achieving them. The PGA will also engage in guided learning through the review of the literature on community-engaged research. Other SEICHE faculty who are part of the CERRC, including Dr. Lisa Puglisi and Dr. Johanna Elumn, will also provide mentorship and career guidance. The PGA will be supervised in CERRC and center work collaboratively by Dr. Emily Wang and Center Administrator Alana Rosenberg.
Qualifications:
Qualifications include a bachelor’s degree in a related discipline. Prior experience in research is preferred, but not required. The position is for one year with the possibility of an additional one-year reappointment. The premise of the CERRC is that those with lived experience of substance use and incarceration are valuable contributors to the development and implementation of OUD interventions for justice involved individuals. We seek someone with lived experience of incarceration or substance use, or versed in or interested in the principles of participatory and community engaged research. Candidates should be highly motivated, have an interest in community engaged research, and excellent oral and written communication skills.
How to Apply: Interested candidates should send a cover letter, resume/CV and a writing sample to Alana Rosenberg at alana.rosenberg@yale.edu.