The Stress Health & Autism Research (SHARE) Study
Faculty Sponsor: Emily Hotez
Department: Medicine & Public Health
Contact Name: Emily Hotez
E-mail: ehotez@mednet.ucla.edu
Website: https://www.uclahealth.org/departments/medicine/medicine-pediatrics/faculty-and-staff/emily-hotez-phd
Description of Research Project:
Background
Autistic people experience unique stressors across childhood, adolescence, and young adulthood. In addition to everyday life stress, many autistic individuals face long-term or “chronic” stressors such as stigma, discrimination, and social rejection. Many also engage in “masking” or “camouflaging,” which involves changing or hiding autistic traits to navigate social situations. While masking can help people fit in or avoid negative interactions, it may also increase chronic stress and affect mental and physical health over time.
This project investigates how social and biological stress processes influence health and well-being among autistic adolescents and emerging adults.
Study Aims
1) Examine how masking relates to other long-term stress experiences (e.g., stigma, discrimination, and rejection).
2) Assess whether long-term cortisol levels (measured through hair samples) help explain how stress affects health outcomes.
3) Explore whether these patterns differ based on the participant’s level of autistic traits.
Research Plan
We will recruit 250 autistic adolescents and emerging adults (ages 15–30) without intellectual disability. All study procedures take place remotely via Zoom, totaling about two hours of participation. Participants complete surveys, brief assessments, and a hair sample collection for cortisol measurement.
Why This Project Matters
This project is among the first to examine masking as a contributor to chronic stress in autistic people using both psychological and biological measures. Findings will help researchers understand how long-term stress shapes health and may inform more supportive, affirming strategies for autistic individuals, families, and communities.
Description of Student Responsibilities:
Undergraduate Research Assistant Opportunities – SHARE Study (Autism & Health Research)
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Emily Hotez, UCLA Psychology
About This Study: We are seeking highly motivated undergraduate students to join our research team for a minimum one-year commitment. Students will gain hands-on experience in autism and health research, receive structured mentorship, and have opportunities for conference presentations and authorship. All Research Assistants are required to:
-Attend a weekly 1-hour meeting with Dr. Hotez (remote or hybrid)
-Commit to regular weekly hours (determined at onboarding)
-Submit a 5–8 page final paper by Friday of Finals Week, as required by the Psychology Department
-Students may indicate interest in multiple roles; assignments will be based on fit, skills, and availability.
Available RA Roles
1. Recruitment
-Disseminate recruitment materials to community partners, clinics, and online networks
-Communicate professionally with potential participants and caregivers
-Enroll participants and schedule data collection appointments
-Represent the study in a respectful, neurodiversity-affirming manner
2. Data Collection
-Lead or assist with screening, consent, and data collection (primarily via Zoom)
-Follow IRB-approved protocols to ensure ethical and inclusive participation
-Maintain accurate, confidential records
-Help troubleshoot issues during remote sessions
3. Study Coordination
-Maintain recruitment, screening, and enrollment logs
-Administer gift card compensation
-Collect and summarize participant feedback
-Review study materials for accessibility and inclusivity
-Track deadlines for conference abstracts and student presentations
4. Study Design
-Develop and refine study graphics and outreach materials
-Design and maintain a simple study webpage
-Troubleshoot basic technological issues
-Improve accessibility of virtual materials for autistic participants
What You Gain as an RA
-Direct experience in autism and chronic stress research
-Training in participatory research and neurodiversity-affirming practices
-Close mentorship from Dr. Hotez and senior lab members
-Opportunities for conference presentations and co-authorship
-Professional and transferable skills (research methods, communication, accessibility, design, participant interaction)
Center for MH
Faculty Sponsor: Howard Adelman
Department: Psychology
Contact Name: Sophia Mamonong
E-mail: sophiaysabel.mamonong@gmail.com
Description of Research Project:
Each quarter, the School Mental Health Project at UCLA and its national Center for MH in School & Student/Learning Supports invite a select group of UCLA students to participate in their research apprenticeship. As part of this experience, each student develops a project related to the Center’s focus on school mental health policy and practice. The specific topic is chosen collaboratively during the first week of the quarter, and I am currently considering several potential topics: the benefits of participating in extracurriculars on mental health
In addition to the independent project, I will also assist with the Center’s daily operational tasks.
Students submit brief weekly written updates summarizing their project progress and the tasks they completed. They receive ongoing feedback and guidance from Center staff and collaborate regularly with fellow team members.
Description of Student Responsibilities:
Evidence of my work will take the form of a written research paper on a topic that aligns with the Center’s focus. I will submit an initial outline followed by weekly draft updates, culminating in a final draft at the end of the quarter. The paper’s length will correspond to the progress I make throughout the project. When appropriate, the Center may adapt my project into a resource that can be featured on its website for others to use in their own work.
Cognitive and Perceptual Abilities in Card Game Players
Faculty Sponsor: Zili Liu
Department: Psychology
Contact Name: Lucy Cui
E-mail: lucycuilabRA1@gmail.com
Description of Research Project:
We will assess the cognitive and perceptual abilities (e.g., reasoning, numeracy, visual memory, visual attention) of Magic the Gathering players and compare them to non-Magic players.
Students should have taken Psych 100A already. Preference for students who have taken Psych 120A, 120B and/or 186C, have played tradition card games, such as Magic the Gathering, Legends of Runeterra, Hearthstone, etc., or have worked with Psychopy and Pavlovia. Students should be familiar with data cleaning and data analysis in R and/or Python, as well as as data analysis methods such as correlation, linear/logistic regression, and ANOVA/ANCOVA.
Description of Student Responsibilities:
Students will be responsible for creating/collecting stimuli, modifying images in photoshop, making/modifying psychopy experiments and pushing them to Pavlovia, maintaining a log of participants and/or email correspondence with them, and/or data cleaning and data analysis. Manuscript preparation may be possible.
Students must be able to commit a minimum of 8 hours a week for a minimum of 2 quarters. If interested, please email Lucy (lucycuilabRA1@gmail.com) your resume, unofficial transcript, and graduation term/year.
Neuroimaging Predictors of Post-Stroke Epilepsy: Quantitative MRIs and EEG Analysis
Faculty Sponsor: Dr. Rajarshi Mazumder
Department: Neurology
Contact Name: Rajarshi Mazumder
E-mail: rmazumder@mednet.ucla.edu
Description of Research Project:
Neuroimaging Predictors of Post-Stroke Epilepsy: Quantitative MRIs and EEG Analysis
Description of Student Responsibilities:
- Database entry for clinical and neuroimaging data
- Participate in data analysis, including statistical analyses of neurological, EEG, and imaging datasets
- Assist in formulating research hypotheses on post-stroke epilepsy risk factors and seizure outcomes
- Learn and understand testing methods, scoring procedures, and clinical interpretation relevant to post-stroke cognitive and motor outcomes
Social Perception and the Brain
Faculty Sponsor: Parkinson, Carolyn
Department: Psychology
Contact Name: Gina Jackson
E-mail: ginajackson@g.ucla.edu
Room Number: 3319 Franz Hall
Website: http://csnlab.org/
Description of Research Project:
Our social neuroscience lab studies how the human brain represents and navigates the social world. This research combines approaches from cognitive neuroscience, social network analysis, and social psychology to address questions like: How do our brains track and encode information about the structure of our social networks? How are our thoughts and actions influenced by the social networks we inhabit? How does the brain encode different kinds of distance from the self (e.g., distance in time, space, and social ties), and how does the encoding of this information interact with other mental processes? To address these and other questions, we use a combination of behavioral experimentation, social network analysis, and neuroimaging techniques.
Description of Student Responsibilities:
We are seeking enthusiastic, organized and independent students interested in getting first-hand exposure to research. Students will have the opportunity to be involved in multiple aspects of the research process, with the scope of each student’s responsibility increasing over time. Possible responsibilities include corresponding with and running participants, basic experimental design, generating experimental stimuli, developing and implementing participant recruitment strategies, literature reviews, data entry, coding data, and participating in lab group discussions. Excellent, exceptionally motivated students may also have the opportunity to get involved with fMRI research and data analysis. Students are asked to commit a minimum of 2 quarters. Interested students should email Gina Jackson at ginajackson@g.ucla.edu with your CV/resume, unofficial academic transcript and a brief statement summarizing your research interests and academic goals.
Quantitative Research Collaboratory
Faculty Sponsor: Montoya, Amanda
Department: Psychology
Contact Name: Amanda Montoya
E-mail: qrclab@psych.ucla.edu
Room Number: Pritzker Hall 4574
Phone: 310-794-5069
Website: http://akmontoya.com/QRClab
Description of Research Project:
The QRClab focuses on developing and evaluating statistical methods and research practices used to answer psychological research questions. We develop new statistical analyses to be used for testing questions of mediation, moderation, or moderated mediation with complex data structures. We review published research to understand current practices and develop new guidelines for research practice. We conduct qualitative and quantitative research to understand new publishing mechanisms, such as registered reports. We develop tools (e.g., R packages, SPSS and SAS macros) to help researchers implement new statistical methods.
Description of Student Responsibilities:
Students may contribute to these projects in multiple ways. For example, finding research articles with specific data structures or from specific domains. Conducting data analysis to demonstrate novel statistical methods or using specific tools. Quality testing of newly developed statistical tools in SPSS, SAS, or R. Literature searches and coding of academic papers to describe how they use certain statistical methods. Searching for useful or interesting datasets to be used in analysis. Students often come to the lab from a wide range of backgrounds, but the most important qualifications are an eagerness to learn, interest in quantitative psychology, and confidence in your analytical and mathematical skills. Students particularly interested in statistics and research methods are highly encouraged to apply.
To apply to the lab go to akmontoya.com/QRClab, download and complete the lab application, and email it to qrclab@psych.ucla.edu.
Longitudinal Study of Autism
Faculty Sponsor: Catherine Lord
Department: Psychology and Psychiatry
Contact Name: Psychology and Psychiatry
E-mail: mailto:amahadeo@mednet.ucla.edu
Room Number: Semel 68-217
Description of Research Project:
This project is part of a longitudinal study that Dr. Catherine Lord has been running for about 30 years now, following people with autism and other developmental delays since they were toddlers. Currently, we are researching external factors that impact cognitive decline in both our participants and their caregivers. We are particularly interested in getting baseline data for future research and are in the midst of conducting in-home visits with all of our participants to collect this data. We also have another ongoing project focused on validating the Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule, 2nd edition (ADOS-2) in bilingual Spanish-English populations. As such, Spanish speakers are highly encouraged to reach out.
Description of Student Responsibilities:
We are looking for research assistants to assist with data entry into REDCap for these projects as well as other ongoing projects in the lab. Since we have so much ongoing data entry, research assistants must be detail oriented and able to work on multiple projects at once. No prior research experience or experience with REDCap is required, just a willingness to learn. If you are interested, please email Adriana at amahadeo@mednet.ucla.edu with a copy of your CV/Resume and a brief statement of interest.
Moral Decisions & Rational Altruism
Faculty Sponsor: Falk Lieder
Department: Psychology
Contact Name: Zahra Tahmasebi
E-mail: rationalaltruismlab@gmail.com
Room Number: 7525 Pritzker Hall
Phone: (424) 259-5300
Website: https://ralab.psych.ucla.edu/
Description of Research Project:
Note: The early-bird application deadline for Summer and/or Fall 2024 is May 15, 2024. The application remains open until May 30, 2024.
The Rational Altruism Lab is a purpose-driven team with the mission to strengthen the scientific foundations for improving the future of humanity. We conduct fundamental research on crucial questions about morality, altruism, rationality, learning, and decision-making. Our core values include altruism, rationality, scientific rigor, precise theories and models, intellectual humility and open-mindedness, working hard and smart, taking responsibility, open communication, seeking and providing constructive feedback, continuous learning and improvement, publishing our findings, and open science.
The Rational Altruism Lab conducts research in four core areas:
1. Moral learning and moral decision-making
2. Identifying the most impactful questions that psychological science can ask by developing a general method for predicting the social impact of scientific research on different topics.
3. Understanding and promoting effective well-doing
4. Improving institutional decision-making.
We are looking for research assistants who will contribute to one of the following projects:
Decision-making in social dilemmas. This project investigates how people make decisions in situations where their self-interest is in conflict with the welfare of others. Undergraduate research assistants can contribute to this project in one or more of the following ways: analyzing participants' verbal responses, statistical data analysis in R, setting up Qualtrics surveys, writing descriptions of social dilemmas, and scientific writing.
Promoting altruistic decision-making through systematic reflection. This project investigates whether systematically reflecting on people's decisions can help them learn to become more altruistic and more farsighted. Undergraduate students can contribute to this project by evaluating our systematic reflection intervention in cognitive interviews, creating Qualtrics surveys, writing descriptions of social dilemmas that will be used in the experiment, analyzing written responses, data analysis in R, and scientific writing.
Obstacles to learning how to make better decisions in social dilemmas. This project investigates why people don’t always learn the right lessons from the outcomes of their decisions. In particular, we investigate what can prevent a person who made an overly selfish and/or irrational decision from realizing how bad their decision was for others. Undergraduate students can contribute to this project by analyzing participants’ written responses to questions probing how they evaluate the outcomes of their decisions.
Description of Student Responsibilities:
Research Assistants will be routed to one or more of the lab research projects based on their interests and needs of the projects. Primary mentor will depend on the project assignment. Responsibilities (depending on the projects) may include attending project meetings, creating experimental materials, literature research, data collection, study coordination, data analysis, and manuscript preparation. All projects are designed to produce or contribute to scientific articles. All projects will give you the opportunity to earn a co-authorship on one or more publications that your work contributes to.
At least a basic knowledge of psychological research methodology and statistics are necessary for the position. Prior experience working in lab settings is beneficial but not required. The research assistants should be professional and organized, with good communication skills, a desire to learn and dedication to the Rational Altruism Lab core values. A commitment of at least two quarters is expected.
By joining the Rational Altruism Lab, you will benefit from working with a team of skilled and passionate researchers. This will give you the chance to expand your knowledge of psychological research methodologies while providing hands-on experience in various research domains, such as designing and developing research materials, data collection, data analysis, and reporting.
Time Commitment per Week: 12 hours or more
Research Credit Available: Y/N Y
How to Apply: Please complete the Rational Altruism Lab Interest Form: https://forms.gle/td9uvXbykFWaqEkR9
Integrated Network for Breakthrough Discoveries for thriving with Bipolar Disorder (BD2 Study)
Faculty Sponsor: Jennifer Kruse
Department: Semel
Contact Name: Nina Sadeghi
E-mail: NSadeghi@mednet.ucla.edu
Room Number: 300 UCLA Medical Plaza, Suite 3130
Phone: 310-267-4387
Description of Research Project:
The purpose of the Integrated Network (BD2 Study) is to improve the health and well-being of people living with bipolar disorder by engaging a network of collaborating investigators and clinicians to implement and inform data-driven improvements in care, build an unprecedented data ecosystem for bipolar disorder comprised of longitudinal clinical and biological data, and generate novel insights for interventional approaches.
Following phone screening to determine potential eligibility, participants will undergo an in-person evaluation. Following informed consent, the first session will consist of a blood draw, questionnaires, neurocognitive testing, qualitative interview and a 60-minute fMRI scan. At the end of the first session, participants will be asked to complete remote interim assessments consisting of diaries, questionnaires, and use of a wearable data collection device. Participants will also undergo annual in-person visits for the duration of four years.
Description of Student Responsibilities:
Students that work with the research team will participate in a variety of tasks. In particular, students help with all stages of the research process including recruitment and screening of potential research participants, assisting with subject evaluations such as neurocognitive testing, assisting with data scoring and data entry, and assisting research and lab staff with the collection of other domains of data such as fMRI, qualitative interviews and sleep and activity data that will be gathered through smartphones and wearable devices.
Trauma and PTSD Screening and Treatment
Faculty Sponsor: Lauren C. Ng
Department: Psychology
Contact Name: Gray Bowers
E-mail: graybowers@ucla.edu
Room Number: 5505 Pritzker Hall
Website: https://nglab.psych.ucla.edu/research/current/
Description of Research Project:
Treatment and Research for the Underserved with Stress and Trauma (TRUST) Lab uses research to improve access to, and quality of, care for diverse, low-resource, and underserved populations affected by traumatic and stressful events. Our current projects focus on adapting, implementing, and evaluating trauma and PTSD treatments and interventions for youth and adults in underserved communities and populations in Los Angeles, nationally, and globally. We are conducting systematic reviews of current scientific landscapes of trauma screening for youth and roles of race and ethnicity and clinical science research. Other research topics include translating and adapting interventions for Spanish speaking youth, adolescence, and families who have experienced trauma so Spanish fluency is preferred.
Description of Student Responsibilities:
RAs will assist with collecting and examining current published research on PTSD and trauma screening, treatment implementation, and adaptation in underserved communities and populations. Other activities include coordinating, tracking, and scheduling participants and participant outreach, audio and video recording transcription, data management, conducting literature reviews, attending project meetings, and preparing materials. RAs will receive hands on research training in mixed methods design, systematic reviews, and intervention adaptation and implementation as well as professional development training on CV development, graduate school options and applications, and applying to post-graduation positions in research and clinical work. No prior research experience is required, we help facilitate any and all training needed to work on any research project Research Assistants are working on.
Screening and Treatment of Anxiety and Depression (STAND) in Community Colleges
Faculty Sponsor: Kate Wolitzky-Taylor, Michelle Craske, Denise Chavira, and Jocelyn Meza
Department: Psychology and Psychiatry
Contact Name: Kate Wolitzky-Taylor
E-mail: KBTaylor@mednet.ucla.edu
Description of Research Project:
Drs. Craske and Wolitzky-Taylor are directing a NIMH funded ALACRITY Center, the overarching goal of which is to optimize the effectivenss, implementation, and sustainability of a system of care for depression and anxiety, which is currently being evaluated in a series of studies at East Los Angeles College. This is a partnership between UCLA researchers, East Los Angeles College, the Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health, and the National Institute of Mental Health. The Center has multiple research projects that are seeking 196A students. Some examples include a randomized clinical trial comparing symptom severity-driven treatment decision making to decision making based on multivariate predictive algorithms; studies focused on culturally responsive strategies to engage students in care; a study that aims to optimize the ways to deliver peer coaching to students getting digital therapy interventions; and a study that aims to improve upon the suicide risk detection and management in STAND.
Description of Student Responsibilities:
Students who apply will be routed to one or more of the studies described above based on their interests and needs of the projects. Primary mentor will depend on study assignment. Student responsibilities will also depend on study assignment, but are likely to include activities such as data management, assisting with clerical tasks, participant outreach, attending project meetings, and preparing materials.
Learning and Mentorship Study
Faculty Sponsor: Naomi Eisenberger
Department: Psychology
Contact Name: Akila Kadambi
E-mail: akadambi@ucla.edu
Description of Research Project:
The study is conducted remotely and is a collaboration effort across research groups (Eisenberger and Bjork Labs). The project involves pairing together adoptive foster youth (ages 9 -16) and undergraduate students at UCLA as part of a larger mentorship intervention. Each participant pair will meet once a week via zoom to discuss pre-determined learning and humanistic education topics, over a longitudinal period (six weeks per participant pair).
Description of Student Responsibilities:
The research assistant will assist, and potentially lead, aspects of: general study coordination, participant recruitment, and data collection. Prior experience working in lab settings with human subjects and clinical populations is preferred. The research assistant should ideally be able to commit a large portion of time to the project, have excellent organizational skills, and provide at least a two quarter commitment. An interest in learning, mentorship, prosociality and/or foster youth is a must.
If interested, please email your CV/resume and a brief statement of interest to Akila Kadambi, akadambi@ucla.edu.
Mind Wandering and Reading Comprehension in Upper Elementary Students
Faculty Sponsor: Alison Bailey
Department: Education
Contact Name: Despina Goral
E-mail: despinap@ucla.edu
Description of Research Project:
I am investigating factors that impact children’s reading comprehension. This study examines what 4th and 5th grade students think about while they read, particularly as their minds wander to subjects other than the text. The study will consider whether cognitive and literacy skills are associated with between-child differences in mind wandering while reading. The study will also look at the degree to which mind wandering impacts reading comprehension.
Description of Student Responsibilities:
This study will be completed remotely. The research assistant will participate in data collection by administering standardized and experimental measures to 4th and 5th grade students via Zoom. The research assistant should be available to collect data at least 2 afternoons per week. The research assistant will also help with data management and administrative tasks. Potential assistants must be detail-oriented and able to communicate professionally via email and phone. Experience working with children is preferred. There may be opportunities to continue participating in this project in the summer and fall.
Interested students should email their resume/CV and a short statement of interest (less than 250 words) to despinap@ucla.edu. Please be ready to provide a reference, either from prior experience working with children (e.g. from a supervisor, or from a parent of a child you’ve tutored or babysat) or from a UCLA faculty member.
Effect of video games on visual learning
Faculty Sponsor: Zili Liu
Department: Psychology
Contact Name: Maggie Yeh
E-mail: maggieyeh@g.ucla.edu
Room Number: 8505 Pritzker
Phone: 4153738678
Description of Research Project:
This research project aims to quantify and evaluate the utility of action video games (first-person shooters) as training for visual skills. Video game players have been generally shown to demonstrate enhanced visual skills, especially relating to attention. However, the question remains: is this benefit due to the video games, or are the players self-selecting by choosing to play games because they are already better at visual skills? This project will compare video games to other methods of visual learning training, and evaluate potential limitations.
Description of Student Responsibilities:
Research assistants will assist with data collection. Previous experience with video games not required. The specific tasks involved may vary based on individual student interest. Research assistants will be required to attend a weekly RA meeting.
CBT for Youth with Autism and Emotional/Behavioral Needs in Community Care Settings (CYAN)
Faculty Sponsor: Dr. Jeffrey Wood
Department: Education, Division of Human Development and Psychology
Contact Name: Ingrid Tien, UCLA Wood Lab Study Coordinator
E-mail: istien@g.ucla.edu
Description of Research Project:
Our team in the Wood Lab at UCLA in the Department of Education within the Human Development and Psychology Division, have been studying cognitive-behavioral interventions (CBT) that have been adapted for children on the autism spectrum and we have identified a number of effective practices in our published research (Wood et al., 2009; 2015; 2019; 2020).
Our primary goal in this random assignment study of CBT is to understand how to best support school-aged youth, ages 6 - 14, on the autism spectrum who are experiencing emotional or behavioral challenges within community care settings (e.g., regional centers, private practice, school-based settings). We are collaborating with practitioners (e.g., therapists, counselors, speech/language pathologists, occupational therapists, psychologists, and behavior analysts) from the California Regional Centers, and the California public schools to try these practices in their work with school-aged children on the autism spectrum. We hope this will help refine our free autism intervention training program, and can help disseminate expertise in working with children on the autism spectrum within the community.
Description of Student Responsibilities:
Being a community partnered research study where we are working with many practitioners and families in California, we are looking for 1 - 2 undergraduate research assistants fluent in Spanish Language to support with two important tasks. First, our recruitment, assessment, and intervention materials need to be translated into Spanish to better support the families we are recruiting (e.g., recruitment forms, assessments, phone screenings, recruitment flyers). We are also looking for someone to support recruited families to maintain retention and support of both the child and family as they receive the intervention.
Digital Science Communication Intern
Faculty Sponsor: Andrew Fuligni
Department: Psychology & Psychiatry
Contact Name: Kevin Irizarry
E-mail: kevinirizarry@ucla.edu
Website: https://developingadolescent.semel.ucla.edu/
Description of Research Project:
The mission of the UCLA Center for the Developing Adolescent is to improve adolescent health, education, and well-being through developmental science. We build bridges between research, programs, and policy to achieve these critical long-term outcomes:
● Stronger public respect for adolescents and recognition that adolescence is a period of rapid learning and positive opportunities to shape the rest of our lives
● Greater knowledge of how interventions and practices can most effectively promote positive adolescent development, especially for those farthest from opportunity
● Improved policies and funding to advance equity in adolescent growth and development
We champion adolescence as an important developmental window of great vulnerabilities and opportunities, with lifelong impacts on health, education, well-being, and social as well as economic success.
We are looking for a passionate and experienced young leader interested in assisting our digital communications work and social media presence while learning about the developmental science of adolescence.
Qualifications
● Experience leading social media accounts and content, preferably for an initiative or organization
● Ability to research and compile relevant and on-trend news clips
● Excellent verbal and written communication skills
● Knowledge of and interest in adolescent or child development
● Commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion
Benefits
● Academic credit
● Friendly and open environment dedicated to mentorship and youth empowerment
● Opportunity to learn about the developmental science of adolescence and work alongside leading experts in the field
● Work as a valued and equal member of a small team of passionate individuals
● Valuable digital communications and social media experience
To Apply
Please send a resume and statement of interest, no longer than 300 words, outlining your relevant experience, reasons for applying, and one or more ideas or projects you’d like to initiate while in this role to kevinirizarry@g.ucla.edu with “Digital Communications Intern” in the subject line. Please include your personal or organizational social media handles for examples of your work.
Description of Student Responsibilities:
Responsibilities
● Compile daily news clips related to the Center and its subject focus and prepare weekly news briefing for staff
● Working with Communications Director and Digital Media Specialist, post approved social media messages to social media accounts
● Provide input and ideas from the college-student perspective to increase and expand engagement based on the science and work of the Center and its partners
● Contribute blog posts for the website
● Contribute social media copy
● Attend at least two weekly comms staff meetings
● Complete additional communications and social media tasks as assigned
School Mental Health Project/Center for Mental Health in Schools
Faculty Sponsor: Adelman, Howard
Department: Psychology
Contact Name: Howard Adelman
E-mail: adelman@psych.ucla.edu
Room Number: 825-1225
Website: http://smhp.psych.ucla.edu
Description of Research Project:
The project pursues theory, research, practice and training related to addressing mental health and psychosocial concerns through school-based interventions. To these ends, the Center works closely with school districts, state agencies, and organizations and colleagues across the country, providing support, materials and technical assistance.
Description of Student Responsibilities:
Students will assist in Center operations, working on a variety of activities including: library research, materials preparation, and data management. No prior research experience is needed, just a willingness to learn. 6 hour/week minimum commitment.
Behavioral Parent Training and Social Skills Training for Children
Faculty Sponsor: Baweja, Shilpa
Department: Child Psychiatry
Contact Name: Baweja, Shilpa
E-mail: SBaweja@mednet.ucla.edu
Room Number: Semel Institute
Phone: 310-825-0142
Website: http://www.semel.ucla.edu/socialskills
Description of Research Project:
Our clinic has two major programs. The first project focuses on assessing effectiveness of parent assisted social skills training with children (ages 7-12) who have established deficits in making and/or keeping friends (including children with Autism Spectrum Disorders or ADHD). Each week we instruct them on important elements of socialization (i.e., conversational skills; peer entry and exiting strategies; handling teasing, bullying, and rejection; changing bad reputations; choosing peers wisely; handling arguments and disagreements; and having appropriate get-togethers with peers). Separate parent and child sessions are conducted concurrently for each week. Parents are taught how to assist their children in making and keeping friends by providing performance feedback through coaching during weekly in vivo socialization homework assignments. Kids are taught important social skills through didactic instruction, role-plays, and behavioral rehearsal during real play activities.
The second project focuses on assessing effectiveness of the behavioral parent training programs for parents of children (ages 2-12) and teenagers (ages 12-15) with behavioral difficulties for parents of children with behavioral difficulties at home, school, or both (including children with ADHD, ODD, or Autism Spectrum Disorders). Each week, groups provide instruction on essential elements of effective behavior management (i.e., establishing structured routines, management emotional dysregulation, enhanced communication). Parents are given weekly homework assignments to practice implementation of key skills.
Description of Student Responsibilities:
The RA is needed to assist with our program sessions that run every day of the week besides Fridays in the afternoon and/or evenings. Research assistants will assist with preparing materials for intervention, assisting with behavior rehearsals, data entry, and supporting clinicians during Zoom sessions. In addition, during the week the RA will assist with in-office tasks, such as scoring assessments and keeping an up-to-date research database. We require a 6-hour per week, 3 quarter commitment. Must be available a couple of afternoons and/or evenings during the week.
Designing Workplaces, Schools, and Standardized Tests to Reduce Social Disparities
Faculty Sponsor: Brannon, Tiffany
Department: Psychology
Contact Name: Tiffany Brannon
E-mail: tbrannon@ucla.edu
Room Number: 4528D
Website: https://www.psych.ucla.edu/faculty/page/tbrannon
Description of Research Project:
The goal of this research is to understand the processes that allow culturally inclusive efforts to become successful interventions that improve a variety of social outcomes. Specifically, this research examines the prediction that culturally inclusive efforts— those that aim to reduce prejudice and recognize pride associated with negatively stereotyped identities— can enhance academic outcomes (e.g., achievement, persistence, identification) and intergroup outcomes (e.g., implicit attitudes, multicultural interests). This research examines this predication in the context of workplace and school settings (including standardized testing).
Description of Student Responsibilities:
Students will have the opportunity to actively participate in various tasks with the goal of learning and cultivating the development of research skills related to conducting literature reviews, helping to design study stimuli, serving as a study experimenter, entering data and coding data.
Memory and Aging
Faculty Sponsor: Castel, Alan
Department: Psychology
Contact Name: Kara Hoover
E-mail: karahoover@ucla.edu
Website: http://castel.psych.ucla.edu
Description of Research Project:
The purpose of this research is to better understand how well both younger and older adults can direct attention to information that they want to later remember, and how motivation (in various forms) influences what people attend to and later remember. Prior research shows that overall memory declines as people age, but the ability to remember information that is deemed valuable or important is largely preserved with age. Factors such as motivation and attention can influence memory in both younger and older adults, and this has implications ranging from educational settings (e.g., college students trying to remember information for classes) to everyday memory issues (e.g., remembering the name of someone you recently met). This research also involves examining predictions and judgments about memory, strategies people may use to try to improve memory, and other metacognitive factors that may influence or correlate with memory performance.
Description of Student Responsibilities:
Students may assist with a variety of tasks in the lab, including participant contact and scheduling, data collection (e.g., running tasks with participants), designing experiments, and managing databases. Students should be professional, organized, and personable. No prior experience is required, but students should have some interest in the topic and willingness to learn. Knowledge or experience with coding languages is a plus, but not required. Please submit a brief paragraph stating your interest and a resume/CV to Kara Hoover (graduate student) at karahoover@ucla.edu.