Research Assistant

at  Western University

ABOUT WESTERN

With an international reputation for success, Western ranks as one of Canada’s top research-intensive universities. Our research excellence expands knowledge and drives discovery with real-world application. Western also provides an exceptional employment experience, offering competitive salaries, a wide range of employment opportunities and one of Canada’s most beautiful campuses.

ABOUT US

The Family Studies and Human Development Program in the Faculty of Health of Sciences at Western explores human development across our lifespan – from birth through adulthood. We explore individual health, well-being and relationships through a biological, cognitive and psychosocial lens. Part of our mandate is to understand areas that may challenge individuals and families such as homelessness, discrimination, immigration, and we aim to learn how to promote resilience to address these challenges”.
The Youth Sexual Health and HIV Prevention in Middle Eastern and North African Communities in Canada (YSMENA) is an innovative, strength-focused, resilience-based, and youth-driven research program aimed at promoting sexual health and well-being and reducing HIV vulnerabilities and sexual health disparities among Middle Eastern and North African (MENA) youth, including youth with diverse gender identities and sexual orientations. YSMENA is the first community- based research program in Canada to center the voices of diaspora MENA youth and explore experiences and perceptions of discrimination, racism, and health and well-being and address gaps in health services.
Study Title, Goals and Objectives: Promoting Mental Health and Reducing HIV Risk Behaviours through Self- compassion, Mindful Acceptance & Resilience Transformation (SMART): Randomized Controlled Trial with Diaspora MENA Gay, Bisexual and Trans Youth in Ontario (YSMENA SMART Intervention Study). The YSMENA SMART Intervention Study is a new project under the umbrella of the YSMENA program. Funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR)/Canadian HIV Trials Network (CTN), (CIHR/CTN), the overall goal of this project is to pilot SMART, a mindfulness-based group intervention with MENA gay, cis bisexual, or trans youth living in Ontario. The primary objectives are to determine the feasibility and acceptability of SMART intervention and assess the impact of SMART intervention on HIV-risk acts or practices. Secondary objectives are to assess the impact of SMART intervention on mental health and self-compassion. We are also interested in exploring the impact of SMART intervention on HIV literacy, mindfulness and young adults’ resilience.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS:

Education: University bachelor’s degree in a relevant area of focus with 1 year of experience supporting research.

SKILLS, ABILITIES & EXPERTISE:

• Excellent organizational, facilitation and communication skills
• Demonstrated ability to deliver timeline sensitive project outcomes
• Proven ability to work in a collaborative and fast paced environment
• Demonstrated ability to exercise initiative, sound judgment, discretion, and tact
• Ability to maintain a positive, outgoing attitude with genuine interest in participants
• Personable and courteous in working relationships with colleagues, participants and research team
• Passion to work hard with a propensity to pursue goals with energy and persistence
• Ability to support a range of activities with a demonstrated ability to understand and resolve issues
• Reliable with the consistent ability to work weekends.
• Competency with MS Office suite of programs (Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook), NVivo, and Qualtrics
• Knowledge and/or experience with issues faced by the project’s target communities (racial and sexual and gender minority youth, and economically marginalized young adults)
• Knowledge of the effects of marginalization on health and strategies to promote health equity
• Proven commitment to social justice and anti-oppression

The Research Assistant will work under the guidance of the study research team: Principal Investigator, Dr. Roula Hawa (Western University), Principal Knowledge User, Praney Anand (Alliance for South Asian AIDS Prevention), Principal Knowledge User, Khaled Salam (AIDS Committee of Ottawa), Co-Principal Investigators, Dr. Josephine Wong (Toronto Metropolitan University) and Dr. Ahmed Bayoumi (St. Michael’s Hospital, University of Toronto). This is a part-time job (9 hrs/week), with an hourly rate of: $28/hr, from May 6, 2024 – Feb 28, 2025, with a possibility for 2 months’ extension, depending on budget. This is a weekends-only and virtual part-time position.

The Research Assistant will:

• Report directly to: the Principal Investigator, Dr. Roula Hawa for job deliverables and project content issues.
• Report to Dr. Roula Hawa for all administrative, financial, and human resources issues.
• Report to the Research Team on project implementation, progress, outcomes, and evaluation issues. The Research Assistant will be responsible for delivering listed tasks, including but not limited to: