Research Assistant (SRI) - Evaluative Clinical Sciences

About the Organization

Sunnybrook Research Institute is part of Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, a teaching hospital affiliated with the University of Toronto. Recognized among Canada’s leading research hospitals, it works to improve care for more than 1.3 million patients treated each year. Its research activity spans three Toronto campuses, eight programs, and three scientific platforms. The institute’s focus is on preventing disease, advancing treatments, and shaping the future of health care. It carries out roughly $100 million in research annually across 500,000 square feet, including the world’s first Centre for Research in Image-Guided Therapeutics.

Program Overview

The Family Navigation Project at Sunnybrook is a non-profit initiative that helps youth and their families in the Greater Toronto Area find and navigate mental health and addiction services. Support is offered by phone and email and combines clinical expertise with lived experience. The program is committed to fair hiring and to building a team that reflects diverse communities, including equity-deserving groups.

Role Summary

Sunnybrook Research Institute is looking for a Research Assistant to join the Family Navigation Project and help with the daily research activities for its flagship studies, including work focused on youth from equity-deserving communities facing mental health and addiction challenges. The role reports to a Scientist and is a temporary, part-time position.

What You Will Do

• Contribute across the full research cycle, including Research Ethics Board submissions, literature reviews, participant recruitment, compensation, and data analysis.
• Build, update, and organize study records, logs, documentation, and datasets.
• Perform qualitative analysis using tools such as MAXQDA.
• Carry out quantitative analysis using software such as R.
• Manage citations and references using tools such as Mendeley.
• Help prepare manuscripts for peer-reviewed publication.
• Develop reports, visuals, presentations, papers, and publications, and support sharing findings in seminars, conferences, and other academic settings.
• Work with collaborators, team members, ethics boards, granting bodies, contracts and finance teams, and regulatory organizations.
• Connect with stakeholders, including Family Navigation Project staff, advisory councils, Sunnybrook staff, and equity-deserving and community groups, to support informed implementation.
• Collect demographic information, track goals, and assess client experiences against best practices in mental health care.
• Support outreach work through community research and database building to better understand catchment areas.
• Ensure lived experience is reflected throughout the research process and in the final outputs.
• Assist with additional program-related tasks as needed.

What You Need

• A bachelor’s degree in a relevant discipline such as Psychology, Life Sciences, or a similar field; a research-stream master’s degree is an advantage.
• At least 1 year of related research experience.
• Strong background in qualitative methods, such as thematic or content analysis, and quantitative methods, such as community surveys, experimental design, and inferential statistics.
• Knowledge of, or prior experience with, equity-deserving communities is considered an asset.
• Experience in family or youth mental health and addiction services research is preferred.
• Strong self-management, organization, and time management abilities.
• Excellent communication skills, both spoken and written, including presentation skills.
• Ability to work well with a team while also handling tasks independently and knowing when to seek guidance.
• Solid understanding of participant privacy and confidentiality in research and clinical settings.
• Strong data management and analytical ability, with comfort using tools such as R, MAXQDA, or similar applications.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office applications, including Word, Excel, and PowerPoint.

Application Notes

Applicants should submit both a cover letter and a resume/CV. If accommodation is needed during any stage of the hiring process because of a disability, this should be mentioned in the cover letter. Only candidates chosen for an interview will be contacted. Sunnybrook is committed to accessible hiring practices in line with the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA) and welcomes applicants from all backgrounds, including visible minorities, all religions and ethnicities, persons with disabilities, LGBTQ persons, Black, Indigenous, and other people of colour, 2SLGBTQI+ persons, and others who add to the diversity of ideas.

Inclusion Statement

The organization supports equitable hiring and values a workforce that reflects the communities it serves. Applications are encouraged from people who are part of equity-deserving groups and from those with a wide range of lived experiences.