Research (FMPH 199)

Dr. Wael Al-Delaimy

Position(s) Closed

Commitment

Fall 2023, Winter 2024, Spring 2024, and/or Summer 2024

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

Dr. Cheryl Anderson

Position(s) Closed

Commitment

Fall 2023, Winter 2024, Spring 2024, and/or Summer 2024

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 2023, Winter 2024, Spring 2024, and/or Summer 2024

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) 

Dr. Tarik Benmarhnia

Position(s) Open

Commitment

Winter 2024, Spring 2024, and/or Summer 2024

Units

2 units per quarter (6-8 hours per week)

Contact

Katie Crist, PhD, MPH - Co-Principal Investigator kcrist@ucsd.edu

Please submit the following to apply: 

1) Your resume or CV

2) A brief paragraph describing your interest, whether you wish to receive academic credit and your weekly availability for 2 quarters

Description

TROLLEY study: TRansit Opportuntities for HeaLth, Livability, Exercise and EquitY

Reducing the health burden from physical inactivity and air pollution are UN priorities. COVID-19 has drastically changed many aspects of how we live, work, and move around in our communities and the pandemic disproportionately impacted the most vulnerable population groups. Public transit presents an opportunity to address these major challenges by increasing physical activity through active transportation, mitigating greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by decreasing vehicle trips, and providing equitable access to jobs, healthcare, and essential services.

We are looking for interns to work on a new research study funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Evidence for Action program. This exciting study aims to assess change in multiple health, equity, and climate-related outcomes during the COVID-19 recovery period. We will additionally learn how access to transit and socioeconomic (income, race/ethnicity) and geographic factors (walkability, density) impact these changes over time. Outcomes under study will include physical activity, commute mode, stress, quality of life, spending on transportation costs, and transit perceptions.

Requirements

• 12 hours per week minimum commitment
• Detail oriented, organized and able to follow protocols
• Possess good communication skills and would enjoy speaking with participants about the study
• Work will likely include a hybrid of on-campus and remote tasks, but must be in San Diego and able to come to campus
• Fluent in Spanish and English (preferred)

Student Responsibilities

• Completing Human Subjects and data collection trainings
• Screening study participants for eligibility
• Obtaining informed consent from participants and scheduling measurement visits
• Assisting with participant recruitment and data collection
• Entering measurement data and controlling for data quality
• Assisting with other administrative tasks as needed
• Translation of materials to Spanish (desired, not required)
• Opportunity to assist with literature reviews, data analysis and manuscript preparation

Dr. Rebecca Fielding-Miller

Position(s) Open

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

Dr. Beatrice Alexandra Golomb

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

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

Dr. Erik Groessl

Position(s) Closed

Commitment

Winter 2021 and Spring 2021

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 Neck Pain in Veterans with PTSD. 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.

Dr. Eric Hekler

Position(s) Open

Commitment

Spring 2024, Summer 2024, and/or Fall 2024

Units

3-4 units per quarter (9-12 hours per week)

Contact

Drs. Meelim Kim (mek007@health.ucsd.edu) and Steven De La Torre (s2delatorre@health.ucsd.edu): email cover letter and resume to both individuals to apply.

Description

Dr. Eric Hekler and colleagues are conducting research to develop digital health physical activity interventions, including the YourMove research study (NCT05598996). The purpose of YourMove is to evaluate if an intervention that uses methods from control systems engineering to adjust support to each person’s changing needs will promote increased physical activity compared to another intervention that does not use these methods. In addition, this study aims to better understand individuals' behavioral mechanisms of action for initiating, maintaining, and adhering to physical activity levels, as well as their lived experiences with the YourMove study.

As part of the evaluation of the YourMove, we are conducting interviews with participants to get a sense of their experience and physical activity throughout their participation. This will be done through hour-long individual interviews with each participant. Student research assistants will be asked to help conduct, code, analyze, and interpret these interviews alongside the research team.

Requirements

• Undergraduate student pursuing a degree in Public Health, Biology, Psychology, or another related field
• Two quarter minimum commitment
• Proficient in verbal and written communication
• Interested in digital health research with an interest in obtaining qualitative study method experience
• Experience or interest in working on a large clinical research project

Student Responsibilities

• Transcribing, reviewing, and organizing the transcripts from the qualitative study
• Assist in participant interview appointments
• Assisting in the qualitative data coding, analysis, and interpretation
• Assist with other study tasks identified by team

Position(s) Open

Commitment

Fall 2023, Winter 2024, Spring 2024, and/or Summer 2024

Units

3-4 units per quarter (9-12 hours per week)

Contact

Michael Higgins mdhiggins@health.ucsd.edu – email resume and cover letter that includes a brief introduction of who you are (including your current major and academic year as of Fall 2020), what made you interested in this position, the kinds of experience you would hope to gain from this position, and also the amount of time you would be interested in committing to the project (e.g., 1 quarter, 1 academic year, 1 full year, etc.)

Description

Dr. Eric Hekler and colleagues are conducting research to develop more potent digital health, physical activity interventions. The purpose of this NIH-funded R01 project, named the YourMove Study, is to evaluate if an intervention that uses methods from control systems engineering to adjust support to each person’s changing needs will promote increased physical activity compared to another intervention that does not use these methods.

Requirements

• Undergraduate student pursuing a degree in Public Health, Biology, Psychology, or another related field
• Interested in human health research experience
• Experience working on research projects and have knowledge of health promotion, a plus
• IRB protocol, statistics, and REDcap experience, a plus

Student Responsibilities

• Learn the aims and modalities of the YourMove research project
• Assist in the intervention development, recruitment, and implementation of the YourMove research project
• Learn how to use wearable technologies and text messaging for health promotion
• Assist in participant measurement appointments
• Learn to use REDcap

Position(s) Open

Commitment

Fall 2023, Winter 2024, Spring 2024, and/or Summer 2024

Units

3 or 4 units per quarter (9 or 12 hours per week)

Contact

dwing@health.ucsd.edu 

Description

The School of Public Health is the home of the Exercise and Physical Activity Resource Center (EPARC). EPARC provides research support for researchers at UCSD and across the country. EPARC currently supports several funded projects the role of different kinds of exercise in promoting physical, emotional, and cognitive health. Students will have the opportunity to be specifically involved with one of EPARC’s ongoing studies (depth) and also be exposed to the study hypothesis, design, and measures of multiple other ongoing studies (breadth). This position requires direct participant interaction, remote participant interaction (phone calls), and data entry/management.

Requirements

• Minimum GPA of 3.0
• Two quarter minimum commitment
• Interview Required
• Ability to work as part of a team
• Comfort working with older adults
• Comfort working with clinical (i.e. sick) populations
• Attention to detail

Student Responsibilities

• Provide set-up, break-down, and during assessment support during a variety of physical, cognitive, and questionnaire based assessments. Conduct literature reviews and internet searches on exercise related topics
• Perform data entry and aggregation tasks under direction
• Assist with other tasks identified by 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) Closed

Commitment

Fall 2021, Winter 2022, Spring 2022, and/or Summer 2022

Units

2, 3 or 4 units per quarter (6, 9 or 12 hours per week)

Contact

Job Godino jgodino@ucsd.edu and Sydney Lewis sydneyl@fhcsd.org (email cover letter and resume to both individuals to apply)

Description

The novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) and associated illness (COVID-19) have caused a pandemic of unprecedented scale, and studies suggest that a bidirectional relationship exists between COVID-19 and neuropsychiatric disorders, in that pre-existing psychiatric disorders are associated with increased COVID-related morbidity and mortality; conversely, COVID-19 is also associated with neuropsychiatric sequelae. However, the scope of COVID-related psychiatric burden and its long-term impact on health systems remains to be elucidated.

In this electronic medical record (EMR)-based study at Family Health Centers of San Diego (FHCSD), we aim to understand if 1) pre-existing psychiatric disorders confer risk for diagnosis of COVID-19 and 2) if COVID-19 infection is associated with increased risk for subsequent onset of psychiatric disorders, to assist in tailoring FHCSD’s mental health services to meet the needs of those most adversely impacted by the pandemic.

Requirements

• Undergraduate student pursuing a degree in Public Health, Biology, Psychology, or another related field

Student Responsibilities

• Review medical records
• Attend team meetings
• Monitor data fidelity
• Assist in data analysis and data management, depending on individual skills

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

Dr. Rohit Loomba

Position(s) Open

Commitment

Fall 2022, Winter 2023, Spring 2023, and/or Summer 2023

Units

2, 3, or 4 units per quarter (6, 9, or 12 hours per week)

Contact

Dr. Suzy Kim smk018@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. 

Dr. Becky Marquez

Position(s) Open

Commitment

Fall 2022, Winter 2023, Spring 2023, and/or Summer 2023

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

Dr. Camille Nebeker

Position(s) Closed

Commitment

Fall 2023, Winter 2024, Spring 2024, and/or Summer 2024

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

Dr. Borsika Rabin

Position(s) Open

Commitment

Fall 2023, Winter 2024, Spring 2024, and/or Summer 2024

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
• 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

Dr. Marva Seifert

Position(s) Open

Commitment

Spring 2024, and/or Summer 2024

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 CO-CREATE-Ex program is a NIH-funded research study that aims to ensure that all individuals have access to COVID-19 testing, with a focus on typically medically underserved communities. CO-CREATE is looking for students to help with on-site data collection and COVID-19 testing. 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 the San Ysidro Health Center (4004 Beyer Blvd., San Ysidro) and San Ysidro Health-Chula Vista (678 Third Ave., Chula Vista) and our hours of operation are Monday through Thursday 7:30-12PM.

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

Dr. Argentina Servin

Position(s) Open

Commitment

Fall 2023 and Winter 2024

Units

3 or 4 units per quarter (9 or 12 hours per week)

Contact

arservin@health.ucsd.edu (email cover letter and resume to apply)

Description

Project 2VIDA! aims to combat vaccine hesitancy and misinformation among Latinx and African American communities and address health disparities in San Diego county. We are conducting focus group discussions and interviews to explore perceptions of trust and vaccine hesitancy among study participants. The intern will have the opportunity to co-lead FGDs, manuscript preparation, work with local communities and health centers, and other responsibilities determined by the student and PI

Requirements

• Able to work independently and on a team
• Detail oriented and organized
• Strong writing and analytic skills
• Willing to travel around San Diego county
• Fluent in Spanish and English

Student Responsibilities

• Conduct literature reviews under the guidance of the PI
• Support focus group (FG) sessions
• Receive training in and participate in qualitative data analysis
• Manuscript preparation and opportunity to serve as a co-author
• Participate in community outreach events