Dr. Brett Thombs (www.thombsresearchteam.ca/) of McGill University and the Scleroderma Patient-centered Intervention Network (SPIN; www.spinsclero.com), is looking
for a candidate to fill a full-time Research Coordinator position within our team at the Lady Davis Institute of the Jewish General Hospital in Montreal.

Scleroderma is a rare chronic autoimmune connective tissue disease characterized by abnormal
fibrotic processes and excessive collagen production, which leads to substantial damage to the skin, blood vessels, muscles, and internal organs. Common problems faced by people with scleroderma include limitations in hand function and mobility, pain, fatigue, constant itch, depression, and body image distress from disfiguring aspects of the disease.

SPIN was created to bring together people living with scleroderma, healthcare professionals who care for them, and scleroderma researchers from around the world to develop and test accessible patient support tools for people with scleroderma, including psychological supports, self-management, rehabilitation, and educational tools. SPIN’s mission is to help people with scleroderma live better with their disease and to serve as a model for other rare diseases.

SPIN maintains an international patient cohort of over 1,500 patients from 7 countries and has
developed and tested, or is finalizing development, of patient-engaged interventions, including a program to support coping emotionally with scleroderma, a program to help patients cope with body image distress due to disfiguring aspects of the disease, an exercise rehabilitation program, a disease self-management program, and a training program for individuals with scleroderma who lead patient support groups.

A central component of SPIN’s current research involves research on how patients can be best engaged as research team members in SPIN projects and how to effectively communicate research results to patients. SPIN has recently received funding to conduct a series of randomized controlled trials to compare research dissemination tools for people with scleroderma. Our trials will evaluate which dissemination tools most effectively communicate information patients want to know, in an understandable way, and easy to use format, if different tools and tool features are more effective for different types of studies and patients with different sociodemographic or educational characteristics.

The tasks of the Research Coordinator include:
• Coordinating the series of randomized controlled trials of research dissemination tools
• Organizing meetings with researchers, clinicians, and patient partners
• Overseeing development of research dissemination tools
• Contributing to manuscripts on studies of research dissemination, mental health and other patient-important outcomes
• Helping to draft and review ethics and grant submissions
• Helping with other organizational tasks related to a range of SPIN projects, including
assisting in the implementation of SPIN interventions
• Working on study design and conducting analyses with SPIN Cohort data


The candidate must meet the following qualifications:
• Degree in epidemiology, public health, health sciences or related field with strong
academic record
• Good interpersonal skills and strong capacity for teamwork
• Excellent computer skills
• Excellent organizational, communication, and time-management skills
• Ability to meet deadlines
• Initiative and flexibility
• Should be able to commit for at least one and ideally two years
• Able to work in English and French would be ideal

Salary: To be determined based on institutional guidelines and candidate experience.

Start date: August/September 2024

To apply: Applicants should send (1) a cover letter explaining their interest in the position, (2) a curriculum vitae, (3) an unofficial transcript, and (4) an English writing sample and, if possible, an additional writing sample in French, to Marie-Eve Carrier at carrier.marie.eve@gmail.com. Applications will be reviewed until the position is filled.