Clinical Research Nurse III - Center for Immuno-Oncology (CIO) - Frederick National Laboratory for Cancer Research

Clinical Research Nurse III - Center for Immuno-Oncology (CIO)

Job ID: req3984
Employee Type: exempt full-time
Division: Clinical Research Program
Facility: NIH
Location: NIH Campus 9000 Rockville Pike, Bethesda, MD 20892 USA

The Frederick National Laboratory is a Federally Funded Research and Development Center (FFRDC) sponsored by the National Cancer Institute (NCI) and operated by Leidos Biomedical Research, Inc.  The lab addresses some of the most urgent and intractable problems in the biomedical sciences in cancer and AIDS, drug development and first-in-human clinical trials, applications of nanotechnology in medicine, and rapid response to emerging threats of infectious diseases.

Accountability, Compassion, Collaboration, Dedication, Integrity and Versatility; it's the FNL way.

PROGRAM DESCRIPTION

Within Leidos Biomedical Research Inc. (operator of the Frederick National Laboratory for Cancer Research), the Clinical Research Directorate (CRD) provides clinical supervision of programs at the clinical end of the research spectrum. The quality assurance programs provide the required autonomy and transparency of Good Manufacturing Practice quality assurance operations. CRD also provides operational support for clinical research and supports clinical trials management, regulation, pharmacovigilance, and protocol development/protocol navigations. These support services include dedicated clinical research professionals who provide patient care to clinical trial participants at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Clinical Center, and other research services that support the domestic and international clinical research initiatives of the National Cancer Institute (NCI), the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), and several other institutes within NIH. CRD’s support services are strategically aligned with its mission to provide comprehensive, dedicated support to assist NIH researchers in providing the highest quality of clinical research in compliance with applicable regulations and guidelines, maintaining data integrity, protecting human subjects, and helping to advance scientific clinical research. CRD facilitates the conduct of NIH-sponsored clinical trials that investigate the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of cancer, influenza, HIV, infectious diseases and emerging health challenges like Ebola virus and COVID-19, parasitic infections, heart, lung and blood disorders, and rare and neglected diseases. CRD’s collaborative approach to clinical research support and the expertise and dedication of staff to the continuation and success of CRD’s mission has contributed to improving the overall standards of public health on a global scale.

The Clinical Research Directorate (CRD) provides clinical research nursing support for the National Cancer Institute (NCI), Center for Cancer Research (CCR), Center for Immuno-Oncology (CIO).

KEY ROLES/RESPONSIBILITIES

• Alerts physicians of adverse events, abnormal outcomes or problematic trends, specifically in regard to protocol mandates
• Coordinates various activities to ensure proper and timely filing of serious adverse events, amendments, annual reports, and other regulatory documents
• Drafts source documents to be used in new studies
• Provides assistance for all aspects of the protocol lifecycle including initial IND submission, IRB submission, continuing review applications, protocols, protocol amendments, annual reports, and protocol inactivation with IRB and FDA
• Serves as liaison between the investigators, the IRB and the study DSMB
• Assists the Principal Investigator in data collection (including patient specimens) and data analysis; the writing of interim reports, annual protocol reports, and scientific publications; the interpretation of research data for the protocol team; and with performing site visits
• Completes flow sheets and case report forms according to the provisions of approved investigational protocols
• Coordinates Clinical Trial Agreement requirements with applicable Clinical Research Oversight Managers (e.g., safety reporting requirements) and data management, if data is to be provided to third party at end of trial
• Follows up on monitoring reports to ensure that identified problems are adequately addressed and resolved
• Works with the Clinical Trials Management Clinical Research Oversight Manager to ensure consistency of case report forms with the management plan and coordinate site initiation and other monitoring site visits with all necessary parties
• Appropriately screens and collects blood samples from patients and donors
• Assists in the management of patient files, copying and organizing research data
• Conducts updates for clinical staff on patient care, protocol process and progress, human subject’s protection, ICH GCPs, and quality assurance education
• Confirms the collection of appropriate patient samples per protocol schema
• Consults with other health care professionals to meet medical, psychological and/or social patient needs
• Coordinates patient schedules and provide information for a successful visit to meet the required protocol procedures, data collection time points and nursing care
• Defines, establishes, and manages inclusion criteria such as patient population, diagnostic criteria, and patient condition
• Develops patient rapport and assists in explaining the protocol and tests/procedures to the patients
• Discusses toxicities experienced and drugs/dosages received by patient while at home.
• Documents patient care via established guidelines
• Collaborates with the patient’s community physician and other health care providers to further the continuity of care and protect the integrity of the clinical research trial/data
• Maintains communication with the patient’s home physicians to ensure any ongoing home care is in accordance with the protocol guidelines
• Provides assistance in the management of patient data for the Protocol Chairman of a variety of clinical trials
• Recognizes and supports the needs of data integrity and retrieval, and interpret needs appropriately for Principal Investigators, patients, and other staff members
• Recruits and enrolls patients
• Assesses, plans, and follows up with disease-noted attributes
• Assists in the identification of the responsible party for data input into ClinicalTrials.gov at study conclusion, as applicable
• Assists/trains local study staff in explaining the protocol and tests/procedures to the study participants
• Participates in quality improvement and quality assurance initiatives involving database and data system development efforts as well as training programs for research nurses
• Ensures scientific quality and human subject’s protection
• Collaborates with international/national cancer centers
• Collects and interprets data as specified by the investigators in support of the clinical trial including drug administration, toxicity, laboratory parameters and response interpretation
• Collects and maintains current regulatory documentation from numerous ongoing clinical trials
• Coordinates and reviews daily operations and logistics
• Coordinates the writing and regulatory review process and assists investigators and medical writers on the production/revision of clinical research protocols
• Coordinates with investigators and medical writers to ensure IRB and FDA stipulations are appropriately addressed in a timely manner
• Distributes test kits, coordinate outside specimens for testing and diagnostic purposes (including referring MDs, NIH labs and repositories) and logs received samples in appropriate database
• Drafts, reviews and manages program correspondence from multiple sources
• Ensures the communication of study changes to all care givers
• Interacts with auditing and monitoring agencies to facilitate the exchange of data
• Interfaces with the Protocol Support Office
• Manages and coordinates intramural and extramural sites participating in clinical protocols for which the Principal Investigator is the coordinating center
• Manages dose modifications and/or other modifications of the treatment regimen made in response to toxicity, pharmacokinetics, and tissue studies
• Manages quality assurance and quality improvement initiatives
• Manages the flow of information, direction, planning, etc. for the projects as they migrate between the various groups
• Obtains informed consent
• Orders labs, x-rays and other diagnostic procedures prescribed by the protocol and/or clinically indicated
• Oversees ongoing protocol operations to ensure study compliance and troubleshoot possible protocol violations
• Participates in the management and evaluation of multiple clinical protocols, potentially including international sites
• Provides support to the research team for research in an emerging clinical arena to include clinical trial support for combination therapies and translational research
• Works with site staff to put systems in place to ensure timely resolution of queries
• Completes NIH Credentialing Process
• Other: works with the participating Branches within CCR to maintain protocol compliance and adherence
• This position is located at NIH, Bethesda, MD

BASIC QUALIFICATIONS

• Possession of Bachelor’s degree from an accredited college/university according to the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA). Foreign degrees must be evaluated for U.S. equivalency  
  • Must possess a degree or diploma from a professional nursing program approved by a legally designated State accrediting agency at the time the program was completed
• Current State license as a registered nurse (RN)
• In addition to the education requirement, a minimum of five (5) years nursing and/or related clinical research experience
• Knowledge of clinical research data collection and clinical data report preparation
• Demonstrated experience in the coordination, implementation, and execution of clinical trials
• Ability to work in a data management setting in the capture and analysis of patient data including toxicity assessment, drug administration, laboratory results, and tumor response
• Ability to obtain and maintain a security clearance

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS

• Experience in a clinical trials outpatient setting and/or experience in data management and collection
• Experience in cancer immunotherapy

JOB HAZARDS

• This position is subject to working with or have potential for exposure to infectious material, requiring medical clearance and immunizations

Commitment to Diversity
All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to sex, race, ethnicity, age, national origin, citizenship, religion, physical or mental disability, medical condition, genetic information, pregnancy, family structure, marital status, ancestry, domestic partner status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, veteran or military status, or any other basis prohibited by law. Leidos will also consider for employment qualified applicants with criminal histories consistent with relevant laws.

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