Medical research assistants' main responsibilities are to assist the lead researchers in any form necessary. This usually includes conducting and investigative clinical trials in a laboratory setting. They are normally employed by universities, doctors, hospitals, pharmaceutical companies, biotechnology firms, and private research labs all with the aims to develop new drugs to help fight devastating diseases. Within the clinical trial they are responsible for first securing the necessary consent from the research subjects or their guardians. This is because clinical trials often involve testing the effectiveness and potential problems of new drugs on volunteer human participants. At the discretion of the lead researchers, the medical research assistant then conducts experiments and records their findings. These findings are then reported into extreme large databases. It is vital that these databases are well managed, so a medical research assistant must always verify the accuracy and validity of data entered into these databases. Their role isn't solely located within the laboratory either. Once the clinical trial is over they are responsible for providing assistance with the preparation of project related reports, manuscripts, and presentations. These reports are then presented to whoever funded the clinical trial. A person who wants to become a medical research assistant usually needs to hold at least a bachelor's degree in biology, biochemistry, or another subject related to human health. It is also very common for graduate and doctoral students to apply for research assistant jobs in order to prepare them for their eventual careers as clinical scientists or physicians.
Research Assistant, Medical Tasks
- Provide assistance with the preparation of project-related reports, manuscripts, and presentations.
- Prepare, manipulate, and manage extensive databases.
- May obtain informed consent of research subjects or their guardians.
- Verify the accuracy and validity of data entered in databases.
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