RESEARCH SPECIALIST I, School of Medicine, Geriatrics

The Long-Life Family Study (LLFS) is an international collaborative study on the genetics and familial components of exceptional longevity and healthy aging. LLFS is based at six sites in the United States and Denmark. This position is for a LLFS Research Specialist (RS) at the Boston University site. In addition to LLFS, our research team at Boston University also includes members of The New England Centenarian Study (NECS), the largest study of centenarians and their offspring in the world. These two studies (LLFS and NECS) work side-by-side in a shared space at BU under the guidance of Dr. Tom Perls and Dr. Stacy Andersen. The LLFS grant was renewed in September 2025 to provide funding for another five-year period of recruitment, enrollment, data collection, and analysis. Under the supervision of the Principal Investigators and the Research Project Manager, the Research Specialist will primarily assist the study with enrollment efforts and specialized clinical data collection through in-person and telephone visits with participants. Under the supervision of the Principal Investigators and the Research Project Manager, the Research Specialist will primarily assist the study with enrollment efforts and specialized clinical data collection through in-person and telephone visits with participants. Candidates should be willing to travel to participants' homes within 3 hours of Boston. This is an ideal position for college graduates on a pre-med, pre-allied health, or pre-PhD track.

The RS recruits and enrolls study participants using approved methodologies, such as mailings, surveillance of the internet for finding potential participants, approved advertisements, etc and explaining research procedures and obtaining informed consent of participant. Excellent interpersonal skills and patience needed to deal with this older participant population. Using screeners and their judgement, the RS determines whether the participant has capacity to provide consent or needs to be enrolled with the authorization of a Legally Authorized Representative. The RS will receive standardized training in conducting and scoring the following measures and will work toward certification in these measures in order to perform them independently. The RS will be trained and certified in administration of the neuropsychological assessments, Short Physical Performance Battery, vitals and anthropometry assessments, neuromotor exam, carotid ultrasound, spirometry, blood sample processing, and/or phlebotomy as needed by the study. The RS conducts routine and specialized tests (phlebotomy, cognitive assessments, physical function assessments, carotid ultrasound) with a higher level of problem resolution, analytical ability, and self-direction. The RS modifies optimal testing procedures in unpredictable settings (in-home settings with environmental distractions) while maintaining test fidelity within the scope of study protocols. The RS independently determines the best engagement methods to achieve the participants maximal performance while ensuring their safety and gauges the participants stamina and effort to determine the pace of the visits and when to terminate the assessments. The RS meets with project managers and the study directors on a weekly basis to provide feedback on process improvements for the study. Once fully trained in these tests, the research specialist will perform vitals measurements, conduct cognitive testing, perform carotid ultrasounds, administer physical function assessments, troubleshoot technology, and draw blood, if interested, or coordinate phlebotomy and stool collection with lab agencies. Scores cognitive and physical function assessments and carotid ultrasounds, processes digital data, uploads data to the appropriate repositories, and performs data entry after participant visit. Cognitive scoring The RS consults technical manuals to provide summary test scores and interpret and code qualitative and error data. The RS synthesizes performance on the cognitive testing and information collected from an informant to determine a Clinical Dementia Rating Score, which assigns a cognitive status of normal, cognitively impaired, or demented to each participant. Additionally, based on the RSs impression the participants cognitive status from formal testing and interactions with the participant, he/she gauges whether the participant is able to reliably provide self-reported health data or whether a Study Partner needs to complete the participants health history. Carotid ultrasounds The RS reads the carotid scans to score for the presence of plaques in the carotid arteries and determines whether the scan needs to be prioritized for clinical reading by the Ultrasound Reading Lab due to potentially clinically relevant findings (i.e., alerts) Coordinates scheduling of local and long-distance travel to perform home visits and biospecimen collections, conducts reminder phone calls, and manages mailings and shipments. Assists investigators with manuscript and presentation preparation and research. There may be opportunity to co-author and present results for national academic meeting. The RS may be asked to help prepare descriptive data for manuscripts and presentations and may be included as co-authors. Additionally some RSs may be afforded the opportunity to develop a well-defined research question with feedback from the PIs, analyze the data to answer the research question, interpret the results, and write up the findings as a first author or co-author for submission as an abstract to a national academic meeting.