Houston Methodist · 17 hours ago
Research Scientific Director
Houston, TX
Full-time
Onsite
Director/Executive
10+ years expHouston Methodist is a leading academic institute focused on advancing research in health and innovation. The Research Scientific Director will oversee the research mission, providing strategic scientific leadership in areas such as implementation science, digital health, and AI-enabled research, while ensuring compliance with institutional policies and fostering collaboration across departments.
Health CareMedical
Responsibilities
Lead and define the scientific strategy for innovation, implementation, digital health, and AI-focused research programs aligned with institutional priorities
Provide senior leadership in research methods, study design, data science, analytics, and evaluation frameworks for health services and implementation research
Lead and oversee scientific writing, including manuscripts, abstracts, white papers, and institutional reports, ensuring high-quality scholarly output
Co-lead the scientific design and execution of clinical trials and pragmatic studies, particularly those involving digital tools, AI, and health system interventions
Co-lead grant development efforts, including conceptualization, methodological design, and scientific sections for federal, foundation, and industry-sponsored funding
Serve as a scientific mentor for postdoctoral fellows, MD research fellows, PhD students, and other trainees, fostering academic development and research independence
Collaborate with internal stakeholders to align research initiatives with operational goals, clinical priorities, and system-wide innovation efforts
Ensure responsible stewardship of research resources, including budgets, data assets, and external partnerships
Provides expert scientific guidance to departmental scientists, data scientists, research staff, management, and executive leadership, and advises Principal Investigators on study design, methods, analytics, and scientific direction within areas of innovation, implementation science, digital health, and AI
Serves as a liaison between research teams, departmental leadership, institutional committees, and executives to ensure scientific alignment and effective communication, and ensures team members are appropriately trained in the responsible and effective use of analytic platforms, digital tools, and research systems
Collaborates with Communications and External Relations to develop internal and external communication materials that highlight the department’s research capabilities and impact, including web content, digital assets, presentations, seminars, Grand Rounds, posters, and other dissemination and outreach efforts
Provides scientific leadership to research and analytic teams, fostering productivity, accountability, and collaboration among data scientists, clinical research fellows, and research specialists, and contributes to initiatives that strengthen team engagement, peer accountability, and a high-performance research culture
Provides scientific leadership and oversight for departmental research programs, including in-house and vendor-sponsored projects, ensuring high-quality scientific execution, rigor, and accountability
Develops and implements a scientific strategy that supports sustainability and appropriate business models for existing research programs, while defining priorities for future methodological, analytic, and technological capabilities
Coordinates the preparation and submission of annual and project-level scientific reports summarizing program activities, milestones, and outcomes, and maintains accurate records of research expertise, outputs, and data assets
Leads and oversees complex research and field-based studies, designs and applies original methods and analytical approaches, interprets and synthesizes research findings, and drives continuous improvement of research methods, processes, and workflows to enhance scientific quality, efficiency, and impact
Works closely with staff to ensure departmental research activities are prepared for internal and external reviews and audits, including Houston Methodist compliance mechanisms and Institutional Review Board (IRB) oversight, and adhere to all applicable institutional, regulatory, and sponsor requirements
Serves as a regulatory and scientific gatekeeper for departmental studies, including device and survey-based clinical trials, ensuring staff compliance with protocol requirements, human subjects protections, data governance standards, and reporting obligations
Establishes, implements, and oversees departmental research processes for project intake, prioritization, scheduling, and tracking of in-house and vendor-sponsored studies, including coordination of project timelines, deliverables, through established systems
Reviews and maintains study documentation, protocols, and analytic plans to ensure visibility into all ongoing prospective and retrospective research activities and to support effective oversight of project teams
Ensures departmental policies and procedures related to research conduct, data security, privacy, and ethical standards are current and consistently applied, including coordinating required training for new hires and team members transitioning into new research roles, and reinforcing compliance with institutional policies governing human subjects research, digital tools, and clinical technologies
Actively engages in grant writing to federal agencies and private corporations. Participates in developing new research proposals and prepares all required materials for submission for external funding opportunities
Provides scientific and technical guidance within the area of expertise to strengthen proposal development, ensuring alignment with institutional priorities and sponsor requirements
Leads and coordinates the preparation of grant application components, including narratives, supporting documents, compliance materials, and submission forms
Works collaboratively with the Operations Manager to ensure all grant preparation activities follow institutional policies, timelines, and procedural requirements
Collaborates with internal offices and stakeholders to ensure proposals meet federal, state, and institutional guidelines prior to submission
Serves as a liaison between investigators, administrative units, and external partners to facilitate timely and competitive grant submissions
Seeks opportunities to identify self-development needs and takes appropriate action. Ensures own career discussions occur with appropriate management. Attends annual national or international Leadership/Officer conferences. Completes and updates the My Development Plan on an on-going basis
Qualification
Required
PhD, terminal degree in one of the natural sciences
Ten years of relevant research/academic experience
Leadership or administrative track record, ideally with prior experience in developing or overseeing multi-faceted, interprofessional research enterprises within a lab environment
Certification as applies to specific expertise. Licensed to provide clinical care/services as appropriate
Demonstrates the skills and competencies necessary to safely perform the assigned job, determined through on-going skills, competency assessments, and performance evaluations
Sufficient proficiency in speaking, reading, and writing the English language necessary to perform the essential functions of this job, especially with regard to activities impacting patient or employee safety or security
Ability to effectively communicate with patients, physicians, family members and co-workers in a manner consistent with a customer service focus and application of positive language principles
Excellent verbal and written communication, presentation and public speaking skills to work with others in a collegial atmosphere
Experience developing and maintaining collaborative working relationships among stakeholders and partners on campus, in university, industry, government and/or the non-profit sector
Expertise in a Core Facility/Laboratory specific scientific area
Success in grant writing/proposal development and the acquisition of extramural funding
Extensive understanding of scientific principles
Aptitude to learn computer-based Core management/invoicing systems
Expert level knowledge and skills in field of science related to research project
Company
Houston Methodist
Houston Methodist is one of the nation’s leading health systems and academic medical centers.
10001+ employees
H1B Sponsorship
Houston Methodist has a track record of offering H1B sponsorships. Please note that this does not
guarantee sponsorship for this specific role. Below presents additional info for your
reference. (Data Powered by US Department of Labor)
Distribution of Different Job Fields Receiving Sponsorship
Represents job field similar to this job
Trends of Total Sponsorships
2025 (15)
2024 (11)
2023 (14)
2022 (12)
2021 (10)
2020 (10)
Funding
Current Stage
Late StageLeadership Team
Brooke Graham
CEO Project Director
David P. Bernard
Chief Executive Officer & Senior Vice President
Recent News
2025-12-07
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