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yoga research coordinator

title: Key Responsibilities and Required Skills for Yoga Research Coordinator
salary: $50,000 - $75,000
categories: [Research, Healthcare, Integrative Medicine, Yoga]
description: A comprehensive overview of the key responsibilities, required technical skills and professional background for the role of a Yoga Research Coordinator.
Comprehensive job brief for a Yoga Research Coordinator: detailed responsibilities, SEO-optimized skills, career progression, education and experience typical for coordinating yoga and mind-body research studies (clinical trials, pilot studies, qualitative and mixed-methods research).

🎯 Role Definition

The Yoga Research Coordinator is responsible for planning, executing, and managing yoga and mind-body research projects across clinical, community, and academic settings. This role combines study coordination, participant recruitment and retention, data collection and management, protocol fidelity monitoring, instructor/trainer liaison, and regulatory compliance. The coordinator will collaborate with principal investigators, clinicians, yoga therapists, statisticians, and community partners to ensure rigorous, reproducible, and ethically conducted research that evaluates the efficacy, mechanisms, and implementation of yoga interventions.

📈 Career Progression

Typical Career Path

Entry Point From:

  • Research Assistant or Research Technician in health sciences
  • Certified Yoga Teacher (RYT-200/RYT-500) moving into research coordination
  • Clinical Research Coordinator in related therapeutic trials

Advancement To:

  • Senior Research Coordinator or Study Manager for mind-body trials
  • Project Manager, Integrative Health Research Programs
  • Research Program Director or Clinical Trials Manager
  • Research Scientist or Principal Investigator (with advanced degree)

Lateral Moves:

  • Community Engagement or Outreach Manager for health programs
  • Program Coordinator for clinical integrative medicine services
  • Clinical Trials Specialist or Regulatory Affairs Coordinator

Core Responsibilities

Primary Functions

  • Develop, implement, and manage detailed study protocols for yoga and mind-body research (including randomized controlled trials, pilot feasibility studies, and mixed-methods projects), ensuring all procedures align with study aims and funding agency requirements.
  • Lead preparation, submission, and ongoing communication with Institutional Review Boards (IRBs), including writing consent forms, amendments, safety reports, and responses to IRB queries to maintain human subjects protections.
  • Recruit, screen, and enroll study participants using evidence-based recruitment strategies (community outreach, clinic referrals, digital advertising), ensuring representative samples and meeting target enrollment goals.
  • Conduct informed consent processes in-person and virtually, ensuring participants understand study procedures, risks, benefits, and confidentiality in plain language and documented per protocol.
  • Coordinate scheduling and delivery of yoga intervention sessions and control conditions, including booking facilities, setting up space, coordinating equipment (mats, props, audiovisual), and ensuring instructor availability.
  • Train, supervise, and assess intervention providers (yoga teachers, therapists, research staff) on standardized intervention manuals, fidelity checklists, and safety protocols to maintain consistent delivery across sites and cohorts.
  • Monitor intervention fidelity via live observations, recorded session reviews, and fidelity scoring; provide feedback and re-training to instructors to optimize adherence to the manualized protocol.
  • Collect quantitative outcome measures (surveys, PROMIS, pain scales, blood pressure, wearable-derived metrics such as HRV) and qualitative data (semi-structured interviews, focus groups) following standardized procedures and timelines.
  • Manage study databases (e.g., REDCap, Qualtrics), including data entry verification, database design, data dictionaries, and maintenance of audit trails to ensure high data quality and reproducibility.
  • Oversee biospecimen logistics when applicable (saliva, blood, cortisol), including participant instruction, sample labeling, cold chain management, and coordination with biorepository or lab partners according to protocol and biosafety guidelines.
  • Implement robust data quality assurance procedures: range checks, query resolution, source document verification, and regular data audits in partnership with biostatisticians and data managers.
  • Coordinate and document adverse event (AE) monitoring and safety reporting, escalating serious adverse events to the PI and IRB, and assisting with Data Safety Monitoring Board (DSMB) communications when required.
  • Assist with grant administration and fiscal management: prepare budget justifications, track study expenses, manage subawards, and generate financial reports for sponsors and institutional administrators.
  • Facilitate collaboration among multidisciplinary stakeholders — investigators, clinicians, yoga teachers, community partners, and vendors — to align timelines, deliverables, and dissemination plans.
  • Conduct literature reviews, assist with development of measurement plans, select validated patient-reported outcome instruments, and pilot test new assessment tools for acceptability and reliability.
  • Coordinate training and certification processes for research staff on Good Clinical Practice (GCP), HIPAA, human subjects protection, and study-specific procedures to maintain regulatory compliance.
  • Lead participant retention strategies such as appointment reminders, flexible scheduling, transportation supports, and culturally responsive engagement to minimize attrition and improve data completeness.
  • Manage scheduling, logistics, and materials for baseline, mid-point, and follow-up assessment visits including remote/telehealth assessments and online data capture workflows.
  • Prepare study progress reports, draft sections for manuscripts, abstracts, and presentations; support dissemination efforts by formatting results for lay audiences, community partners, and academic stakeholders.
  • Support statistical and qualitative analysis workflows by preparing analysis-ready datasets, performing basic descriptive analyses, coding qualitative transcripts, and coordinating with biostatisticians and qualitative analysts.
  • Create, update, and maintain Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs), study manuals, and training materials to support onboarding, continuity, and reproducibility across study personnel and sites.
  • Maintain strict confidentiality and data security practices under HIPAA and institutional policies, including secure storage of identifiers, encrypted communication of PHI, and regular access audits.
  • Coordinate multi-site logistics for consortium or collaborative studies, including site initiation, harmonization of measurement approaches, and centralized data reporting.
  • Serve as the primary contact for study participants and community stakeholders, responding to inquiries, managing expectations, and cultivating long-term partnerships for future research and implementation.

Secondary Functions

  • Support ad-hoc data requests, prepare analytic datasets for secondary analyses, and assist investigators in exploratory data analysis and hypothesis generation.
  • Contribute to dissemination and implementation planning, helping translate research findings into training modules, community workshops, and policy briefs.
  • Manage equipment inventories, order supplies, and maintain vendor relationships for yoga props, biometric devices, and transcription services.
  • Participate in grant-writing activities by assembling methods sections, contributing to preliminary data summaries, and preparing appendices and timelines for proposals.
  • Mentor and supervise undergraduate or graduate research assistants, interns, and volunteers, providing development feedback and delegating tasks according to study needs.
  • Represent the research program at community events, professional conferences, and stakeholder meetings to promote study awareness and participant recruitment.
  • Participate in institutional working groups focused on integrative health, community-engaged research, or protocol harmonization.

Required Skills & Competencies

Hard Skills (Technical)

  • Certified yoga teaching credential (RYT-200 required; RYT-500 or Yoga Therapy certification preferred) combined with applied experience delivering standardized yoga interventions in research or clinical settings.
  • Clinical research coordination: IRB protocol submission and management, informed consent administration, AE reporting, and regulatory compliance (GCP, HIPAA).
  • Data management platforms: proficiency with REDCap (project design, forms, exports), familiarity with Qualtrics, and experience preparing analysis datasets for statisticians.
  • Quantitative data skills: ability to perform descriptive statistics, basic data cleaning, and collaborate on statistical analysis using R, SPSS, SAS, or Stata.
  • Qualitative research skills: conducting interviews and focus groups, transcription review, coding with NVivo or Dedoose, and supporting thematic analysis.
  • Participant recruitment and retention strategies: community outreach, clinic-based recruitment workflows, advertising best practices, and culturally responsive engagement.
  • Intervention fidelity monitoring: creating checklists, conducting observations, scoring fidelity, and delivering instructor feedback.
  • Clinical measures and biospecimen handling: experience with standardized physiological measures (HRV, blood pressure), specimen labeling, storage, and coordination with labs.
  • Project and budget management: using project management tools (Asana, Trello, MS Project), developing timelines, tracking expenses, and reporting to sponsors.
  • Grant writing and reporting: assisting with methods sections, budgets, progress reports, and deliverable tracking for funders (NIH, foundations).
  • Electronic health record (EHR) navigation and extraction for recruitment/eligibility screening (basic familiarity with Epic or Cerner preferred).
  • Telehealth and remote assessment technologies: administering virtual assessments, using HIPAA-compliant video platforms, and integrating wearables or mobile health data.

Soft Skills

  • Excellent written and verbal communication tailored to academic investigators, clinicians, community participants, and funders.
  • Strong organizational skills with attention to detail and the ability to manage multiple concurrent studies and timelines.
  • Cultural competence and sensitivity to diverse populations, ensuring inclusive recruitment and respectful intervention delivery.
  • Leadership and team-building abilities to train, supervise, and motivate multidisciplinary research staff and instructors.
  • Problem-solving and adaptability in fast-moving research environments—anticipating challenges and implementing contingency plans.
  • Empathy and participant-centered approach to support retention, address barriers to participation, and respond to participant concerns.
  • Time management and prioritization under competing deadlines and grant-driven milestones.
  • Ethical judgment and integrity in protecting participant rights and maintaining data confidentiality.
  • Collaborative mindset to work with statisticians, clinicians, community partners, and external vendors to meet study goals.
  • Teaching and mentoring skills for onboarding new staff and training interventionists and research assistants.

Education & Experience

Educational Background

Minimum Education:

  • Bachelor’s degree in Public Health, Kinesiology, Psychology, Nursing, Integrative Medicine, Health Sciences, or related field plus significant applied experience coordinating research or delivering yoga interventions.

Preferred Education:

  • Master’s degree (MPH, MS, MDiv, MPT) or PhD in Public Health, Clinical Research, Integrative Medicine, Psychology, Kinesiology, or an allied field with coursework or experience in research methods, biostatistics, and human subjects protections.

Relevant Fields of Study:

  • Public Health
  • Kinesiology / Exercise Science
  • Psychology or Behavioral Science
  • Integrative Medicine / Complementary and Alternative Medicine
  • Nursing or Allied Health
  • Social Science Methodology

Experience Requirements

Typical Experience Range: 2–6 years of progressive experience in clinical research coordination, program management, or applied yoga instruction; at least 1–2 years of experience directly in yoga or mind-body research preferred.

Preferred:

  • 3+ years coordinating clinical trials or behavioral intervention studies, with demonstrated success in recruitment, retention, and regulatory compliance.
  • Experience delivering or supervising standardized yoga interventions in research or clinical settings and familiarity with yoga teacher training standards.
  • Prior experience with REDCap, IRB submissions, and collaborative multi-site research advantageous.
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