Health Science Specialist - Research Assistant

This position serves as Without Compensation Research Health Science Specialist, Research Assistant within the Research Service Line of VA Pittsburgh Healthcare System. Please note, there is not pay associated with this position.

Qualifications:

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 05/29/2026. You may qualify based on your education as described below: You will be rated on the following

Basic Qualification:

Bachelor's or graduate/higher level degree: major study in an academic field related to the medical field, health sciences or allied sciences appropriate to the work of the position.

Preferred Criteria:

At least 6 months postdoctoral experience performing translational research in a spine lab Experience in cervical spondylitic myelopathy and other degenerative spine diseases research Experience in patient interactions and obtaining IRB consent for clinical neurological research studies Experience assessing and grading disease severity and obtaining questionnaire-based patient-reported outcome measures Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service programs (e.g., Peace Corps, AmeriCorps) and other organizations (e.g., professional; philanthropic; religions; spiritual; community; student; social). Volunteer work helps build critical competencies, knowledge, and skills and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience.

Note :

A full year of work is considered to be 35-40 hours of work per week. Part-time experience will be credited on the basis of time actually spent in appropriate activities. Applicants wishing to receive credit for such experience must indicate clearly the nature of their duties and responsibilities in each position and the number of hours a week spent in such employment.

Physical Requirements:

There are no specific physical requirements for this role. For more information on these qualification standards, please visit the United States Office of Personnel Management's website at https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/ .