Career Opportunities.
Community-Based Research Assistants
Posted: October 13, 2026
About the Research
We are seeking two Senior Clinical Research Specialists, who will support two projects (CROSSROADS and STEPS) that aim to reduce negative health outcomes of substance use. The CROSSROADS study is designed to compare the community paramedic standard of care to an intervention that leverages Medical-Legal Partnerships. The STEPS Study aims to address this gap by evaluating a novel individually tailored behavioral therapy for PWUD with recent history of incarceration.
About CROSSROADS:
Overdose is one of the leading causes of death in the US. People who are exposed to or impacted by the criminal legal system disproportionately report using substances and experience high rates of overdose. Community Paramedic or Post-Overdose Response Team programs have grown across the country to address this crisis.
These teams respond during and after overdoses to offer life-saving support—including naloxone, medications for opioid use disorder (MOUD), and connections to health and social services to help people get care rather than face arrest or incarceration. However, these programs mostly focus on individual-level care. Research shows that broader issues—like lack of housing, difficulty accessing public benefits, and unmet legal needs—also drive overdose risk. These are sometimes called “health-harming legal needs” (HHLN). Medical-Legal Partnerships bring together legal and healthcare professionals to address these deeper challenges and reduce the chance of future overdose harm.
The hired candidates will support the work of the CROSSROADS study, which is designed to compare the community paramedic standard of care to an intervention that leverages Medical-Legal Partnerships. The study is taking place at four sites—Durham and Orange Counties, NC; Portland, ME; Miami, FL; and Huntington, WV. The hired positions will join an existing team to support research activities at the NC site, including participant recruitment, retention, and survey administration. Responsibilities may include:
Recruitment and Retention: 75%
Regulatory and Administrative Activities: 15%
Team Meetings: 5%
Data Management: 5%
About STEPS:
People who use drugs (PWUD) often experience adverse outcomes in the year following release from incarceration, including overdose, suicide, and infectious disease acquisition. Depressive symptoms and illicit drug use are key mediators of these adverse outcomes, and risk is compounded by low health service engagement among PWUD. Yet empirically supported interventions that directly target these mechanisms among people with past-year incarceration are lacking. The STEPS Study aims to address this gap by evaluating a novel individually tailored behavioral therapy for PWUD with a recent history of incarceration. The hired candidates will support the work of the STEPS study. Responsibilities may include:
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Recruitment and Retention: 75%
Regulatory and Administrative Activities: 20%
Team Meetings: 5%
Minimum Requirements
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An Associate’s degree is required.
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Work requires a minimum of one year of research experience.
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Must live within driving distant of the Durham/Orange County area.
Special Skills
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Previous experience supporting the work of multi-site or complex research studies;
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Strong communication skills, especially with stakeholders and members of the community;
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Experience or expressed interest in working with individuals impacted by the criminal legal system;
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Interest or experience in scholarly writing.