Position(s) Open
Commitment
At least 10 hours/week: Spring 2026, Summer 2026, Fall 2026, Winter 2027, Spring 2027
Compensation:
Hourly pay or academic credit
Contact
Yuyan Shi, yus001@ucsd.edu, please submit resume and state your availability during Spring 2026-Spring 2027
The Shi team (PI: Yuyan Shi) at HWSPH is seeking undergraduate and MPH student research assistants to support an ongoing eye-tracking experiment and online survey study. This project examines how cannabis packaging, product features, and marketing information influence consumer attention, perceptions, and decision-making. We welcome applications from BSPH and MPH students who are reliable, detail-oriented, and interested in research related to drug policy and health communication.
- Minimum 10 hours per week commitment starting Spring quarter 2026
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- Interview required before acceptance
- Willing to work in an on-campus environment
- Expected graduation no earlier than June 2027
- Strong interpersonal communication skills (phone and in-person)
- Prior experience or basic knowledge of human subject research and experiments is a plus (but not required)
- Taking training in eye-tracking research
- Recruiting and scheduling human research participants
- Conducting in-person eye-tracking experiments in our lab
- Assisting with administration of online surveys
- Supporting general research activities related to human subject studies
Position(s) Closed
Commitment
Fall 2024, Winter 2025, Spring 2025, and/or Summer 2025
Units
2 units per quarter (6 hours per week)
Contact
waldelaimy@health.ucsd.edu
Description
Climate change, environmental health, and mental health topics and statistical analyses of data.
Requirements
- Has independent statistical analyses skills
- GPA 3.3 or higher
- Contact the Instructor prior to submission of request
Student Responsibilities
- Commitment to complete an assigned project
- Produce biweekly updates
Position(s) Closed
Commitment
Fall 2024, Winter 2025, Spring 2025, and/or Summer 2025
Units
2, 3, of 4 units per quarter (6, 9, or 12 hours per week)
Contact
Valerie Mercer, vjmercer@health.ucsd.edu, please submit resume
Description
The Anderson Lab (PI: Cheryl Anderson, MS, Ph.D.) at the University of California, San Diego is looking for interns to help with a pilot research study to develop a community-based dietary intervention emphasizing home cooking while using spices and herbs to reduce sodium intake. Ideal intern candidates are undergraduate students in public health, nutrition or a related field or equivalent combination of education and experience.
Requirements
- Minimum GPA of 3.0
- Minimum 6-12 hours per week commitment
- Interview required before acceptance
- Willing to work in an on-campus or off-campus environment
Student Responsibilities
- Subject recruitment including online and telephone screenings, obtaining informed consent, interviewing, and maintaining confidentiality.
- Packing and distribution of study meals to study participants.
- Meal observation.
- Data entry in word processing and spreadsheet applications such as REDCap, MS Word and Excel.
- Meeting and/or guiding participants between various study locations on study measurement days.
- Administration of related tasks based on overall staffing needs.
- Attending weekly virtual joint lab meetings and meeting individual staff based on needs.
Position(s) Closed
Commitment
Fall 2024, Winter 2025, Spring 2025, and/or Summer 2025
Units
2 or 3 units per quarter (6 or 9 hours per week)
Contact
Jolie Susan, jsusan@health.ucsd.edu, please submit resume
Description
The Anderson Lab (PI: Cheryl Anderson, MS, Ph.D.) at the University of California, San Diego is looking for interns to help with research tasks in our study where we provide participants with healthy, dietitian-prepared meals and measure the salt in the body. Ideal intern candidates are undergraduate students in public health, nutrition or a related field or equivalent combination of education and experience.
Requirements
- Minimum GPA of 3.0
- 6-9 hours per week commitment
- Interview required before acceptance
- Willing to work in an on-campus or off-campus environment
Student Responsibilities
- Screening potential participants over the phone or in-person in English (or Arabic, Amharic, Swahili or Somali, if fluent/competent)
- Administration of informed consent activities
- Collaborating with staff from community-based partner organization (UWEAST) to reserve and prepare required rooms for study activities
- Development of cooking class materials
- Development of REDCap and Qualtrics Survey tools
- Recipe and nutrient analysis
- Shopping for groceries and ingredients for cooking class using Instacart, Amazon or in-store visits.
- Transcription of group and key informant interviews from audio recordings
- Data collection using Qualtrics and REDCap
- Data entry
- Data analysis (basic statistical analysis using software, e.g., R, STATA, SAS or Excel)
Position(s) Closed
Commitment
Fall 2023
Units
2 units per quarter (6 hours per week)
Contact
Araz Majnoonian a2majnoonian@health.ucsd.edu (email cover letter and resume to apply)
Description
The Student Advisory Board (SAB) is a critical component of our research project, "Scripting sexual consent: a pilot study of a sexual wellness app among college students." We are seeking dedicated and passionate undergraduate students to join the SAB and actively contribute to this impactful research endeavor. Students will gain hands-on experience in public health research and contribute to a meaningful project that addresses sexual health and campus based sexual violence prevention. Students will receive course credit for their time spent working on the research project.
Requirements
- Must be a full-time undergraduate student at UC San Diego during the 2023-2024 academic year
- Demonstrated interest and knowledge in campus climate and gender-based violence prevention efforts
- Must have an understanding of public health research principles
- Ability to work effectively in a team and actively engage in the research project
Student Responsibilities
- Attend weekly Student Advisory Board meetings, workshops, and project-related activities
- Contribute to research methodology, participant recruitment efforts, and offer valuable feedback on project-related matters
Position(s) Open
Commitment
Fall 2024, Winter 2025, Spring 2025, and/or Summer 2025
Units
3 or 4 units per quarter (9 or 12 hours per week)
Contact
bgolomb@ucsd.edu
Description
The lab has studies of nutrition (including chocolate!), oxidative-stress related conditions, aging, drug and chemical/environmental side effects, Gulf War illness, predictors of cognition and behavior, alternative medical approaches, and research methods (e.g. Placebos).
Requirements
- Enthusiasm, interest in research
- Minimum GPA of 3.7
- Students looking for a longer term laboratory experience especially welcome
Student Responsibilities
- TBD; will align with the applicant’s experience and training
Position(s) Closed
Commitment
Winter 2026, Spring 2026
Units
3 units per quarter (9 hours per week)
Contact
egroessl@ucsd.edu
Description
Students will assist with and learn about a VA-funded research project studying Yoga for Back and NeckStudents will assist with and learn about a VA-funded research project promoting long-term yoga practice for military veterans with chornic low back pain. In addition, students will receive broad training in yoga research.
Requirements
- Minimum GPA of 3.0
- 9 hours per week
- 2 quarters minimum commitment
- Willingness to apply in advance as a research volunteer at VA San Diego (2-month process)
Student Responsibilities
- Assist with patient recruitment, screening, and consent. Students will also read the study documents and learn about yoga interventions and the needs of military veteran populations.
- Students will learn about and conduct reviews of scientific literature in this area.
- Students will learn about human subjects protection, data safety, and IRB procedures.
Position(s) Open
Commitment
Two consecutive quarters of 9-12 hours per week to total 200 hours
Units
3 or 4 units per quarter (9 or 12 hours per week)
Contact
Please email your resume and a cover letter to David and Michael at dwing@health.ucsd.edu and mdhiggins@health.ucsd.edu
Description
The Exercise and Physical Activity Resource Center (EPARC), part of the UC San Diego School of Public Health, is seeking motivated students interested in gaining hands-on research experience. EPARC supports funded studies examining how different types of exercise influence physical, emotional, and cognitive health, collaborating with investigators at UC San Diego and institutions across the country.
Interns will work closely with the research team on an active study, gaining in-depth experience with study procedures, participant interaction, and data collection. In addition, interns will be exposed to EPARC’s broader research portfolio, including study design, hypotheses, and measurement approaches across multiple ongoing projects. Responsibilities include in-person and phone-based participant interaction, as well as data entry and research device and data management.
Requirements
-
Minimum GPA of 3.0
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Commitment of at least two academic quarters
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Interview required
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Ability to work effectively as part of a team
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Comfortable interacting with older adults
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Comfortable working with clinical populations
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Comfortable speaking on the phone with participants
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Strong attention to detail
Student Responsibilities
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Assist with set-up, break-down, and on-site support during in-person measurement assessments
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Conduct literature reviews and background research on exercise-related topics
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Screen and consent potential research study participants over the phone/zoom
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Perform data entry and data organization under supervision
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Support additional research tasks as assigned by the team
Position(s) Open
Commitment
Fall 2022, Winter 2023, Spring 2023, and/or Summer 2023
Units
3 or 4 units per quarter (9 or 12 hours per week)
Contact
Amy Westermann H4Y@health.ucsd.edu (Please submit resume and cover letter via online application: https://tinyurl.com/h4yintern)
Description
HEALthy4You is a UC San Diego Health led targeted Adverse Childhood Experiences and toxic stress family-based intervention focused on strengthening the caregiver-child relationship, developing healing-centered prevention, reducing associated childhood obesity and identifying individually tailored therapies in collaboration with Latino families, promotoras (community health workers) and community clinics. This intervention will take place in four Family Health Center clinics across San Diego. The project is part of the California Initiative to Advance Precision Medicine (CIAPM) funded by the California Comeback Plan. (Flyer)
Requirements
- Must be able to commit 9 or 12 hours per week for at least 2 quarters.
- All majors are welcome to apply. We highly value multi-disciplinary teams. (We work with undergraduate and graduate students in disciplines such as public health, health sciences, human-centered design/cognitive science, urban studies and planning, ethnic studies, and communications.)
- Fluency in Spanish is strongly desired, but not required.
- Prior experience working in public health, clinical research design (REDCap), participatory research (CBPR, CPAR, etc.), human-centered design (participatory design, service design), and/or social media & communications is a plus, but it is not a requirement.
- Above all, we are looking for students who are collaborative, curious, and comfortable taking initiative when faced with ambiguous or novel projects.
Student Responsibilities
- Participating in the development and implementation of formative research activities, programs and activities (i.e. data collection tools, key informant interviews, curriculum, program delivery, etc.)
- Data entry, management and analysis
- Contributing to the presentation of evaluation findings and the production of internal/external reports
- Assisting in the development and implementation of programming and
- Supporting program manager with healthcare systems research project aimed to establish partnerships with – hospitals, community clinics and other clinical settings
- Others responsibilities based on student interest/skill level
Position(s) Open
Commitment
Spring 2026, Summer 2026, Fall 2027, Winter 2027
Units
Fall, Winter, and Spring: 2, 3 or 4 units per quarter (6, 9 or 12 hours per week)
Summer: 2 or 3 units (12 or 18 hours per week)
Contact
Job Godino jgodino@ucsd.edu and Jane Samaniego janes@fhcsd.org (email cover letter and resume to both individuals to apply)
Description
FHCSD is one of the top 10 largest federally qualified health centers (FQHCs) in the country. We operate more than 90 sites across San Diego County, including 29 primary care clinics, 23 behavioral health facilities, 10 physical rehabilitation clinics, nine dental clinics, five vision clinics, four outpatient substance use treatment programs, three mobile medical units, two mobile counseling centers, two urgent care centers, and a pharmacy. The Laura Rodriguez Research Institute was built within FHCSD to advance community-engaged research that translates science into equitable care. Alongside the research institute, FHCSD Quality Improvement and Innovation departments aim to enhance standard of care across FHCSD clinics through existing quality measures.
The student intern will support ongoing research studies and quality improvement initiatives within the organization. This role provides hands-on experience in data collection, analysis, and project coordination while contributing to evidence-based improvements in processes, outcomes, and services. Each applicant will be assessed for best fit depending on ongoing study and project availability within FHCSD.
Requirements
- Undergraduate student pursuing a degree in Public Health, Biology, Psychology, or another related field
Student Responsibilities
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Attend team meetings
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Ability to commute to FHCSD office
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Assist in engagement/outreach of patients, depending on projects
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Participate in data analysis and data management, depending on individual skills
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Contribute to creation of documentation for workflows and/or other supplemental materials
Position(s) Open
Commitment
Fall 2022, Winter 2023, Spring 2023, and/or Summer 2023
Units
4 units per quarter (12 hours per week)
Contact
aaront@fhcsd.org (email cover letter and resume to apply)
Description
Family Health Centers of San Diego is the largest provider of health care to the uninsured in Southern California. It is one of the 10 largest community clinic organizations in the country, and it offers services in adult and pediatric medicine, pediatric development services, dental care, counseling and mental health services, LGBT health, physical therapy and chiropractic care, HIV, HBV, HCV prevention, screening and treatment services, vision care, women’s health. They also recently began offering COVID-19 Testing to the community.
Family Health Centers of San Diego is running a research study to analyze the impact the COVID-19 pandemic has had on patient’s attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors. The study also serves as a quality improvement project within a health system, focusing on communication efforts for vaccines and risk mitigation. The study will be conducted by contacting patients via phone calls Monday through Friday, with the intention of completing our detailed survey. The position will be helping with the functions of the research study including administering surveys to patients, managing study procedures, and analyzing data.
Essential functions of the position include, but are not limited to, administering surveys via phone, gathering and analyzing data, and managing study procedures.
Requirements
- Undergraduate junior or senior student pursuing a degree related to Public Health (senior undergraduate students preferred)
- Proficient in verbal and written communication
- Experience with working in research studies
Student Responsibilities
- Efficiently administer surveys during designated shift
- Properly editing study procedures using the Microsoft Office Suite
- Completing surveys in a timely manner
- Improving and creating new iterations of the study survey
Position(s) Open
Commitment
Fall 2024, Winter 2025, Spring 2025, and/or Summer 2025
Units
2, 3, or 4 units per quarter (6, 9, or 12 hours per week)
Contact
Egbert Madamba emadamba@health.ucsd.edu and Seema Singh ses060@health.ucsd.edu
Description
The NAFLD Research Center is looking for research assistants to work on a large-scale screening study that will assess the risk of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). NAFLD affects an estimated 30% of the adult U.S. population and encompasses a spectrum of diseases including steatosis, nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), and cirrhosis. Several studies suggest T2DM is a strong independent risk factor for NAFLD progression to NASH and liver fibrosis and confers an increased risk of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).. Our overarching goal is to collect the necessary evidence to make an informed decision on whether screening the T2DM population for advanced fibrosis due to NAFLD is advisable and cost-effective. Students on this project will investigate the prevalence of NAFLD and advanced liver fibrosis in the T2DM population using advanced MRI data. Students will also investigate rates of fibrosis progression in this population and assist with research looking into risk factors and biomarkers that may help identify fast progressors.
Requirements
- Minimum GPA of 3.0
- Freshman through senior students who have strong communication skills and are highly conscientious and reliable
Student Responsibilities
- Students must strictly adhere to COVID-19 office policies and the highest standards of ethical conduct, especially pertaining to human subjects research. Student will be responsible for assisting clinical research coordinators, data entry, data quality control, data analysis, and preparing data presentations. They will also be asked to occasionally present at Zoom team meetings.
Position(s) Open
Commitment
Fall 2024, Winter 2025, Spring 2025, Summer 2025 and/or Fall 2025
Units
2, 3, or 4 units per quarter (6, 9, or 12 hours per week)
Contact
bemarquez@health.ucsd.edu
Description
The MIHA study is a randomized control trial targeting Mexican-American families for obesity treatment. Overweight mothers and their adult daughters will be randomized to receive a 16 week standard behavioral weight loss program alone or a standard weight loss program with a communication skills training component. Students who have an interest in working with children will engage in educational activities with the children of intervention participants.
http://conmiha.cloud.ucsd.edu/research-team
Requirements
- Bilingual, fluent in English and Spanish
- Available some evenings
- Commit 6-12 hours per week
Student Responsibilities
- Communicate in English and Spanish both orally and in writing
- Assist with recruitment and screening
- Assist with participant measurements and assessments
- Assist with intervention delivery
- Assist with data entry and interview transcription
Position(s) Closed
Commitment
Fall 2024, Winter 2025, Spring 2025, and/or Summer 2025
Units
3 or 4 units (9 or 12 hours per week)
Location
UC San Diego, Atkinson Hall, 6th Floor, Office 6115, or remote if appropriate
Contact
TBD, Project Coordinator
Daniela Vital, MPH, Project Coordinator
Camille Nebeker (nebeker@health.ucsd.edu), Principal Investigator
Description
Our lab focuses on advancing knowledge of the ethical and social implications of technology-enabled health research drawing from public health, research ethics and educational theory. We work toward improving ethics education and the responsible conduct of digital health (aka mHealth and digital medicine) and community-engaged research (see https://recode.health).
Requirements
- Minimum 3.0 GPA
- Strong oral and written communication skills in English. Spanish language fluency is optional and welcomed.
- Computer skills to perform data entry and use the Microsoft Office Suite (Word, Excel and Access, PowerPoint), Internet and data management software
- Interest in community health research
- Interest in ethical and social dimensions of digital health research
- Interview required before acceptance
Student Responsibilities
- Assist data collection, analysis, interpretation and drafting of manuscripts
Position(s) Open
Commitment
Winter 2026, Spring 2026, Summer 2026, and Fall 2026
Units
4 units per quarter (12 hours per week)
Contact
Brian Blanco Brian.Blanco@va.gov - Must send a resume, unofficial transcript, and writing sample
Description
Join an innovative research team leading the Innovative Treatments for Recovery Implementation Program (iTRIP QUERI) — a 5-year VA Quality Enhancement Research Initiative focused on improving care for Veterans living with PTSD and treatment-resistant depression. Under the mentorship of Drs. James Pittman and Borsika Rabin, interns will contribute to advancing Implementation Science (IS) — the study of methods that help move research evidence into real-world practice to improve the quality and effectiveness of health care. You’ll gain hands-on experience with cutting-edge implementation research focused on delivering two evidence-based programs: (1) Mantram Repetition Program (MRP) and (2) Ketamine Therapy (KT). Both are designed to enhance Veteran recovery, resilience, and well-being — and your work will help make these treatments more accessible and effective across VA sites nationwide. (Flyer)
Requirements
Student Responsibilities
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Participate in weekly lab and project meetings
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Conduct literature reviews and data management
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Support data analysis and quality improvement efforts
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Contribute to posters, papers, and presentations
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Collaborate with a multidisciplinary team improving Veteran care
Position(s) Open
Commitment
Spring 2026, Summer 2026, Fall 2026, Winter 2027, Spring 2027, and/or Summer 2027
Units
3 or 4 units per quarter (9 or 12 hours per week)
Contact
Dr. Emily Treichler, Assistant Professor, etreichler@health.ucsd.edu (Must send a resume and one-page cover letter summarizing why you are qualified for this position)
Description
The Mental Health Mixed Methods position will support research and evaluation activities for ongoing studies focused on improving quality of public mental health care using participatory methods and implementation science. The Mental Health Mixed Methods position will work closely with Dr. Emily Treichler, Assistant Professor, and Dr. Borsika Rabin, Assistant Professor and Co-Director of the Dissemination and Implementation Science Center (DISC) to support research activities including quantitative and qualitative data analysis, coding of mental health appointments, chart review of mental health records, therapy manual development, and participation in other research activities including data collection and recruitment. Professional development guidance offered, and authorship on presentations/publications possible if students' work merits. Please ask further if interested.
Requirements
- Minimum GPA of 3.5
- Sophomore, Junior, or Senior level student
- 2 quarters commitment required
- Openness to continue through 3-4+ quarters
- Interest in dissemination and implementation science, psychology, mental health, program evaluation, public health, health promotion, community health sciences etc.
- Willingness to learn new research and evaluation tools such as REDCap, Qualtrics, and/or Balanced Scorecard Framework
- Understanding of mental illness and empathy towards people experiencing symptoms (lived experience welcome)
- Attention to detail and organizational skill is a must in order to ensure the quality of data collection and analysis
- Ability to participate in regular phone Zoom and WebEx team meetings
Student Responsibilities
- Participate in meetings about research and evaluation efforts
- Timely email communication
- Support research activities such as data collection and analysis
- Complete required Institutional Review Board CITI trainings and other regulatory procedures
- Conduct literature reviews
Position(s) Open
Commitment
Spring 2025, Summer 2025, Fall 2025, Winter 2026, Spring 2026 and/or Summer 2026
Units
2, 3 or 4 units per quarter (6, 9 or 12 hours per week)
Contact
mseifert@health.ucsd.edu (email cover letter and resume to apply)
Description
The UC San Diego PREVENT study is part of the CDC-funded network, the Community and Household Acute Respiratory Illness Monitoring (CHARM). This study includes three components, a community testing program, a longitudinal cohort, and a household transmission study. The longitudinal cohort will be established to estimate the burden, incidence, and transmission of respiratory pathogens in community settings and the household transmission components is designed to determine the risk factors for and protective factors against household transmission of respiratory pathogens of interest. The community testing program will provide access to PCR testing for respiratory pathogens in medically underserved communities. PREVENT is part of series of studies including CO-CREATE and CO-CREATE-Ex, that have been implemented in partnership with San Ysidro Health to improve access to respiratory testing in medically underserved communities in San Diego County.
PREVENT is looking for students to help with on-site/off-site data collection, registering participants, and providing support to study staff. Individuals we work with typically speak Spanish, Tagalog, or Arabic and students interested in working on this project should be comfortable communicating not only in English but also in one of the primary languages spoken by our participants. Our on-site locations include four San Ysidro Health Centers located in San Ysidro, Chula Vista, El Cajon, and National City areas along with UCSD sites in La Jolla and surrounding areas.
Requirements
- Reliable--must commit to set hours each quarter
- Enthusiasm, interest in research
- Excellent oral communication skills
- Own transportation/ability to travel off site
- Fluent in Spanish, Tagalog, or Arabic preferred
Student Responsibilities
- Guide participants through the consent process
- Instruct participants on sample self-collection
- Manage data in using REDCap and Excel
- Assist with general study tasks as needed
Position(s) Closed
Commitment
Not taking any additional students for 2024-2025 at this time
Units
2, 3 or 4 units per quarter (6, 9 or 12 hours per week)
Contact
dtrinidad@ucsd.edu
Description
Scientific manuscript writing and data presentation for a project comparing California’s progress relative to the rest of the US in reducing racial/ethnic disparities in cigarette smoking.
Requirements
- Minimum GPA of 3.0
- Excellent writing skills
- Preferred - Grade of B or higher in FMPH 101
- Preferred - Grade of B or higher in FMPH 120
- Contact the Instructor prior to submission of request
Student Responsibilities
- Commitment to complete an assigned project
- Produce biweekly updates
Position(s) Open
Commitment
Spring 2026
Units
2, 3 or 4 units per quarter (6, 9 or 12 hours per week)
Contact
aecwhite@health.ucsd.edu (email cover letter and resume to apply)
Description
Dr. Anne White at the University of California, San Diego is looking for interns to help on projects related to doctor-patient interaction and health communication. Dr. White works with videos of patient visits in real-life clinical settings, and the goal of her research is to help improve conversations around interactionally difficult topics like: correcting patient misconceptions, addressing patient requests for opioid medications, and reassuring (versus dismissing) patient concerns that do not need treatment. Dr. White uses mixed-methods, including ethnography, conversation analysis, interviews, and statistics.
Requirements
- Minimum GPA of 3.5
- Enthusiasm, interest in research
- Students looking for a longer term laboratory experience especially welcome
- Minimum 6-12 hours per week commitment
- Interview required before acceptance
- Willing to work in an on-campus or off-campus environment
- Ability to work effectively in a team and actively engage in the research project
- Contribute to research methodology and offer valuable feedback on project-related matters
Student Responsibilities
- Completing CITI training
- Transcribing and organizing a large data set of video-recorded clinical visits
- Learning the basics of Conversation Analysis coding, collection building, and analysis
- Data entry in word processing and spreadsheet applications such as REDCap, MS Word and Excel
- Attending weekly meetings
- Writing a research paper
