Background

Information is a fundamental determinant of health but often there is a struggle to find relevant information among the overwhelming number of conflicting clinical guidelines. Large Medical Language Models (LLMs) have been proposed as a solution, compressing complex information into a conversational interface. If validated and appropriately coordinated, these tools present a transformative opportunity to dramatically scale and decentralize access to potentially life-saving information. The Malawi University of Business and Applied Sciences (MUBAS) in collaboration Laboratory for Intelligent Global Health & Humanitarian Response Technologies (LiGHT), would like to carry out a research project aimed at contributing to a framework for the critical and transparent expert evaluation of large language models (LLMs) in Malawi in order to determine their suitability and safety for clinical use in low- and middle-income country (LMIC) settings.

The Malawi University of Business and Applied Sciences (MUBAS) therefore invites applications for the post of Research Assistant (2 positions) to be based in the department of Public and Environmental Health Sciences. The Research assistant will report directly to the Malawi Principal Investigator.

The position is for a period of four (4) months and is not renewable.

Job Responsibilities

• Support day-to-day coordination of project activities in participating health facilities in accordance with the approved protocol.
• Ensure strict adherence to study SOPs, ethical approvals, and data governance requirements in all participating sites.
• Follow up with study participants after study enrolments.
• Assist with preparation and maintenance of study reports.
• Liaise with health centre management committees, other clinical teams, and broad study teams to facilitate smooth project implementation.
• Support health facilities clinicians to collect and enter patient encounter data needed to reconstruct clinical vignettes in real time, ensuring completeness and accuracy.
• Perform routine data audits to detect inconsistencies, missing fields, or protocol deviations.
• Generate periodic data quality reports for internal monitoring.
• Support the administration of surveys, interviews, and usability assessments at participating health facilities.
• Record, transcribe, and organize qualitative data where applicable.
• Support logistics for health facility meetings, workshops or stakeholder engagements.
• Assist in drafting internal technical reports and documentation.
• Support preparation of materials for dissemination and stakeholder engagement.
• Willingenss to work in health facilities where the study will be conducted.

Required Qualifications

Education

• A university degree in one of the following or a closely related field: Medicine, Nursing, Epidemiology, Environmental Health or Public Health
• Research Ethics certificate
• Primary & Secondary Schooling (K-12)

Desired Attributes

• Experience conducting or coordinating research in the health field
• Involvement in a peer-reviewed publication
• Knowledge of both qualitative and quantitative methods in research
• Sound understanding of national and international health policy frameworks
• Good interpersonal skills

• Support day-to-day coordination of project activities in participating health facilities in accordance with the approved protocol.
• Ensure strict adherence to study SOPs, ethical approvals, and data governance requirements in all participating sites.
• Follow up with study participants after study enrolments.
• Assist with preparation and maintenance of study reports.
• Liaise with health centre management committees, other clinical teams, and broad study teams to facilitate smooth project implementation.
• Support health facilities clinicians to collect and enter patient encounter data needed to reconstruct clinical vignettes in real time, ensuring completeness and accuracy.
• Perform routine data audits to detect inconsistencies, missing fields, or protocol deviations.
• Generate periodic data quality reports for internal monitoring.
• Support the administration of surveys, interviews, and usability assessments at participating health facilities.
• Record, transcribe, and organize qualitative data where applicable.
• Support logistics for health facility meetings, workshops or stakeholder engagements.
• Assist in drafting internal technical reports and documentation.
• Support preparation of materials for dissemination and stakeholder engagement.
• Willingenss to work in health facilities where the study will be conducted.

• Good interpersonal skills

• A university degree in one of the following or a closely related field: Medicine, Nursing, Epidemiology, Environmental Health or Public Health
• Research Ethics certificate
• Primary & Secondary Schooling (K-12)
• Experience conducting or coordinating research in the health field
• Involvement in a peer-reviewed publication
• Knowledge of both qualitative and quantitative methods in research
• Sound understanding of national and international health policy frameworks