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.