Involvement

We have Undergrad Research Assistants (RAs) and Interns that work closely with the research coordinator and principal investigator to support all aspects of the research process. Our RAs and Interns attend project meetings and work with the team on tasks including preparing surveys for data collection, transcribing interview data, processing collected data, conducting literature reviews, translating empirical papers to PowerPoint, and more. We are looking for students who are organized, responsible and interested in our area of research. We aim to help our RA’s and interns develop the core competencies to prepare them for graduate school and research-oriented careers including: scientific knowledge, research skills, communication, leadership and management, professionalism, responsible conduct of research, and career development. Experience in scientific writing and publications is preferred but not required.

Time commitment and Responsibilities 

• RA’s are required to work 6hrs/wk. in the lab and will assist with a variety of research tasks.
• Interns are required to work 25hrs/wk. in the lab and must be intending to pursue a PhD program. Interns will work along RAs with similar tasks but will work more closely with grad students, principal investigators and the research coordinator to assist in writing at least 1 manuscript for publication in a high impact journal.

Brief Description of our Research Projects

Available opportunities are constantly changing as new projects are funded and we collaborate with other peers. Here is a list of the current ongoing projects:

Institute of Education Science (IES) Goal 2: A 4-year development grant to create and disseminate an online professional development course for general education and special education teachers in Miami-Dade County Public Schools on bullying prevention among students with disabilities. Data are currently being analysed, manuscripts are being prepared for submission, and broader dissemination activities are underway.

Potential tasks: Collect and log experimental data; Prepare graphs and spreadsheets to portray results; Create presentation slides and posters to help researchers present findings; Conduct literature reviews; Check citations, proofread, and edit research documents to ensure accuracy.

Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Sources of Strength: A 4-year grant to evaluate the efficacy  of the suicide prevention program Sources of Strength on sexual violence and gender-based outcomes via a Randomized Clinical Trial (RCT) with 20 Colorado high schools (approximately 6,000 youth across two years). The grant has ended and the team is primarily focusing on preparing numerous peer-reviewed articles and conference presentations.

Potential tasks: Prepare graphs and spreadsheets to portray results; Create presentation slides and posters to help researchers present findings; Conduct literature reviews; Check citations, proofread, and edit research documents to ensure accuracy.

National Institute of Child & Human Development (NICHD) R21: A 2-year grant to evaluate the effectiveness of BullyDown, a text messaging-based bullying prevention program designed for middle school students. Pilot testing in a randomized controlled trial (RCT) of middle school students is conducted in Chatham County, NC.

Potential tasks: In-person data collection, survey administration, cleaning and interpreting data, other tasks may vary.

National Institute of Health (NIH) NC Life Study:  A NIH-funded project to augment existing data in The Context Study, a large, 7-wave accelerated cohort-design study of public-school children, and to emphasize how structural racism and discrimination (SRD) is experienced by adolescents and adults across multiple contexts and its negative effects on developmental trajectories from adolescence to adulthood.

Potential tasks: Code and verify data in accordance with specified research protocol and coding procedures; Enter data into a computer database and/or spreadsheet application for subsequent analysis; Refine existing database.

American Institute of Research (AIR) SEL Meta-Analysis Project: An AIR-funded project in collaboration with the American Institutes for Research® (AIR®), the Methods of Synthesis and Integration Center (MOSAIC) at AIR and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC-Chapel Hill) to inform debates pertaining to social and emotional learning (SEL) policymaking and create practical technical assistance (TA) products concerning nondominant cultures and backgrounds. The project conducts a race-and-place-centered participatory evidence synthesis by engaging 18 SEL stakeholders representing the viewpoints of district leaders, teachers, university researchers, program developers, and youth who participated in SEL programs.

Potential tasks: Conduct meta analysis research tasks, create transformative SEL curriculum, work study positions for current undergraduate students to collaborate on SEL curriculum building.

Department of Education TQP DREAM Grant: A 5-year grant awarded by the Teacher Quality Partnership (TQP) Program for the “Diverse and Resilient Educators Advised through Mentorship” (DREAM) project which seeks to recruit, educate and place 40 diverse teachers into high-needs schools in Durham and provide them with a unique set of mentoring and other supports to help them thrive during their first years and then persist in the profession. This grant was awarded to several members of the UNC School of Education, who we are partnering with to develop the social-emotional learning curriculum MAT students will receive in the DREAM project.

NIMH F31 Grant:  A 2-year grant awarded to our doctoral student Alberto Valido to examine data from 18 randomized prevention trials aimed at addressing adverse mental health outcomes such as depression and suicide-related behaviors among LGBT people of color (LGBT-POC) by using Integrative Data Analysis (IDA).

Potential tasks: Code and verify data in accordance with specified research protocol and coding procedures; Enter data into a computer database and/or spreadsheet application for subsequent analysis.

NIMH Minority Supplement: A 2-year grant awarded to our doctoral student Alberto Valido to examine data from 21 randomized clinical trials of interventions aimed at addressing depression and suicidal thoughts and behaviors among adolescents of sexual and gender minorities. The grant is over, and the team is primarily focusing on dissemination tasks now.

Potential tasks: These tasks have now moved over to the F31 grant.

Ford Foundation Predoctoral Fellowship A National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) grant awarded to our doctoral student Luz Robinson for her dissertation to develop and test a culturally aware, real world, online free math game, called IAM (I Apply Math) in My World, intended to help elementary school students — especially Latinx students — overcome mathematics anxiety and develop greater confidence in using mathematics and to examine the effectiveness of the intervention.

Potential tasks: Game design, graphic design, evaluation and research into current online math games and math problem solving, pilot testing and data collection. 

Duolingo Research Grant A language learning with technology grant awarded to our doctoral student Luz Robinson for her dissertation to develop and test a culturally aware, real world, online free math game, called IAM (I Apply Math) in My World, intended to help elementary school students — especially Latinx students — overcome mathematics anxiety and develop greater confidence in using mathematics and to examine the effectiveness of the intervention.

Potential Tasks: Game design, graphic design, evaluation and research into current online math games and math problem solving, pilot testing and data collection. 

National Institute of Justice (NIJ) Sexting Study: An NIJ Dissertation grant awarded to our doctoral student Katie Ingram to understand the behavioural mechanisms that underlie sexting and provide a valid measurement of sexting risk using a behavioural economic framework with a sample of high school students in the Chicago area.

If you’re interested in joining the lab, submit an application and send the research coordinator an email to confirm that your application was received. Applications for Summer/Fall 2022 are currently closed, thanks for your interest & email with any questions! 

Research Coordinator: Graceson Clements email: graceson@live.unc.edu