Research Assistant I

Site: The Brigham and Women's Hospital, Inc.

 

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Job Summary

The Bhupathiraju Lab at Channing Division of Network Medicine (Department of Medicine, Mass General Brigham) is seeking a part-time Research Assistant to support an NIH-funded project investigating metabolomic signatures of flavonoid rich foods and their relationships with type 2 diabetes.
The Research Assistant will work under the supervision of Dr. Bhupathiraju and will focus on high-dimensional data analysis of metabolomics and dietary datasets using R and Python. This position is well suited for a quantitatively oriented candidate interested in metabolomics, nutritional epidemiology, and data science.

 

Principal Duties and Responsibilities

• Import, clean, and manage large, high-dimensional datasets, including metabolomic profiles, dietary intake, and clinical covariates.
• Conduct statistical and multivariable analyses in R and/or Python, including:
  • Data preprocessing and normalization of metabolomics data
  • Dimension reduction (e.g., PCA) and clustering methods
  • Regression and other modeling approaches to relate diet to metabolomic patterns and cardiometabolic outcomes.
• Create reproducible analysis pipelines and documentation (R scripts, Python notebooks, Git/GitHub version control).
• Generate tables, figures, and visualizations for abstracts, manuscripts, and presentations.
• Assist with interpretation of findings and drafting of analytic and methods sections.
• Participate in regular lab and project meetings; present interim analyses as needed.
• Adhere to all Mass General Brigham policies regarding data security, privacy, and research compliance (including IRB requirements and HIPAA).
• Perform other related duties as assigned.

Qualifications

Required:

• Bachelor’s degree in Biostatistics, Epidemiology, Data Science, Computer Science, Bioinformatics, Nutrition, or a related quantitative field; or current enrollment in a MPH program.
• Demonstrated experience working with high-dimensional or large epidemiologic data.
• Proficiency in R and/or Python for data management, statistical analysis, and visualization.
• Working knowledge of machine learning methods
• Strong organizational skills, attention to detail, and ability to work both independently and as part of a team.
• Excellent written and oral communication skills.

Preferred:

• Prior experience with metabolomics or other omics data (e.g., genomics, proteomics).
• Experience with R packages such as tidyverse, data.table, lme4, survival, glmnet, or Python libraries such as pandas, numpy, scikit-learn, and statsmodels.
• Familiarity with dietary assessment data (e.g., FFQs, 24-hour recalls) and/or nutritional epidemiology.
• Experience with reproducible research tools (R Markdown, Quarto, Jupyter, Git/GitHub).
• Experience contributing to scientific manuscripts or conference abstracts.

Working Conditions

• Part-time position (~10–20 hours/week); schedule can be arranged within standard weekday hours by mutual agreement with the PI.
• Work may be hybrid.

 

Additional Job Details (if applicable)

 

Hybrid

 

41-45 Avenue Louis Pasteur

 

20

 

Regular

 

Day (United States of America)

 

Pay Range

$21.00 - $29.01/Hourly

 

 

Grade

5

 

At Mass General Brigham, we believe in recognizing and rewarding the unique value each team member brings to our organization. Our approach to determining base pay is comprehensive, and any offer extended will take into account your skills, relevant experience if applicable, education, certifications and other essential factors. The base pay information provided offers an estimate based on the minimum job qualifications; however, it does not encompass all elements contributing to your total compensation package. In addition to competitive base pay, we offer comprehensive benefits, career advancement opportunities, differentials, premiums and bonuses as applicable and recognition programs designed to celebrate your contributions and support your professional growth. We invite you to apply, and our Talent Acquisition team will provide an overview of your potential compensation and benefits package.

 

2200 The Brigham and Women's Hospital, Inc. is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religious creed, national origin, sex, age, gender identity, disability, sexual orientation, military service, genetic information, and/or other status protected under law. We will ensure that all individuals with a disability are provided a reasonable accommodation to participate in the job application or interview process, to perform essential job functions, and to receive other benefits and privileges of employment. To ensure reasonable accommodation for individuals protected by Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, the Vietnam Veteran’s Readjustment Act of 1974, and Title I of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, applicants who require accommodation in the job application process may contact Human Resources at (857)-282-7642.

 

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