Please reference the chart below for opportunities offered through the Work-Study Research Assistant Program for the Spring 2025 semester. Opportunities for the spring semester will be posted from mid-December through January 2025. Follow the link in the Job Posting column to access the position listing. Note that all applications must be submitted through JobX. Only applications from undergraduate students with work-study awards will be considered. Please note that the opportunities denoted with the First Generation image are offered by faculty members who themselves identify as first generation (neither parent completed a four-year degree); first generation students are particularly encouraged to consider these positions and apply to those that align with their skills and interests.

Pending

Job Posting	Faculty Name	Department	Research Focus/Brief Position Description	Status
14906	Laura Mauldin	Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies	This position will support the publication of a book on the topic of the politics of disability and the US care crisis. The writing relates to the ways ableism (or the devaluation of disability) is embedded into every aspect of our culture and society, which then translates into such things as a lack of care infrastructure and the resulting dependence on the unpaid care work of family members. The book will cover many facets of both the disability experience and family caregiving. I am looking for a student who understands factchecking (from a journalistic perspective).	Open
14104-Stamford	Frederick Roden	English	This position involves work with an archive, historical documents and images (digital and hard copy) and stories. It is well suited for students in the humanities, particularly English and History. They will develop career skills in editing, organizing information, and verbal/visual storytelling. The student will work with the professor in person on campus in organizing and documenting historical documents and images. The student may also be able to work partially remotely in reading and researching information related to the project. Evaluating scholarly sources and editing notes and written documents will combine with aspects of storytelling. The student should be based in Stamford for in-person work. Students with digital proficiency will contribute to a multimedia aspect of this project’s development.	Open
14960	Tiffany Kelley	School of Nursing	Dr. Kelley is the first professor of her kind to lead innovation integration into nursing core curriculum. She has spent 20 of her current 24 nursing years aiming for higher quality care through healthcare technologies. Dr. Kelley’s relentless vision for breaking the status quo in nursing led to her pursuit of a professional, academic, and entrepreneurial trajectory in nursing informatics and innovation, both specialty nursing fields, that integrate multiple sciences to guide the practice. This position will be to support Dr. Kelley with conducting literature searches and formulating research papers for submission. The student in this position will be motivated and eager to learn the skills and steps involved in developing new knowledge for publication in journals and books. The student in this position will work with Dr. Kelley to identify key articles, organize data, formulate tables, reference lists, journal manuscript templates and more.	Open
14984	Joshua Mayer	Anthropology	I am a community-collaborative ethnographer working with Indigenous and Black communities in Nicaragua to study research questions that address the communities’ most pressing needs. For several decades, the communities with which I work have been engaged in a legal and political struggle to stop individuals, businesses, and government entities from seizing their ancestral lands. This project is an oral history of the ongoing, anticolonial struggle of one Indigenous community and one Black community in southeastern Nicaragua; more than 80 interviews were conducted in 2022. The student selected for this position will participate in the transcription and analysis of oral history interviews, which will contribute to a report for the participant communities and to a scholarly book manuscript. If the student is interested, there may be opportunities for remote meetings with community leaders and co-researchers to discuss the analysis of the interviews and research products. Note that this position will require the ability to understand and transcribe interviews in either Spanish or an English-based Central American or Caribbean creole language.	Open
14981	Jason Hancock	Physics and Institute of Materials Science	Research in fundamental quantum materials physics, with some applied physics projects using photon based spectroscopy. Student would join the research group, be available to assist. graduate students, may receive and independent project from the PI after initiation period. Experiments may use lasers and broadband sources, may include synchrotron based experiments at national laboratories.	Open
15006-Hartford	Lisa Werkmeister Rozas	Social Work	The general focus of the research is around advancing the health and well-being of the Latine community in the Hartford and greater Hartford area. Currently, we are conducting listening sessions with Latine community members around policy issues, collecting oral histories of particular ethnic groups, and interviewing bilingual social workers to understand workforce development. We are also writing a grant to better understand Latine immigrant health. The research assist would be conducting interviews, focus groups, helping to develop and collect survey data, writing literature reviews for grants and publications, analyzing data, participating in team meetings and 1 or 2 trainings around research methods/data analysis. The student would also be helping to recruit study participants and write conference abstracts (and present them if desired) and manuscripts for publication.	Open
13252	Jeffrey Cohen	Finance	My current research is related to topics in real estate finance/economics; affordable housing; transportation economics; renewable energy economics; substance use disorder treatment economics; inequality among various demographic groups, in their burden of environmental noise pollution; inequality in housing wealth accumulation among different racial and ethnic groups; and other economics/finance related topics. Much of my work utilizes statistical techniques to analyze data and test hypotheses on the above topics. More details about my research can be found on my UCONN webpage: https://www.business.uconn.edu/person/jeffrey-cohen/ I am looking for student(s) who can support my efforts with at least one, or more, of the following: (i) researching background literature and writing literature reviews for topics related to my research interests; (ii) supporting data analysis with Excel and/or statistical analysis software such as Stata, R, and/or Python; (iii) background research and writing for developing grant proposals; (iv) making of thematic maps with GIS or other software; (v) supporting developing presentation slides using Powerpoint and/or other software.	Open
15054	Felicia Pratto	Psychological Sciences	Research in social and political psychology, often taking an international perspective. Research focuses on social power, relationships between groups, international humanitarian law, empathy, dominance, and emotions in intergroup relations. Identifying relevant scientific and historical publications, reviewing research, developing experimental stimuli, analyzing experimental and survey data, content coding of participants' free responses, organizing information and tracking project progress. Students will be taught how to do most tasks. I was a work-study student in college. Student workers will learn how to design and organize research, how to consider what data mean compared to theory, data analysis, presentation preparation, assist with writing papers (Especially for two ESL post-doctoral fellows), using software like R or SPSS, Qualtrics, or other programs.	Open
15112-Waterbury	Laura Donorfio	Human Development and Family Sciences	This is an exploratory, qualitative research study examining the intersection of aging and drag performance. Older drag queens have yet to be studied in the social science literature (Henneberry et al., 2022) and this research aims to understand and represent this relatively understudied population of drag queens while drawing attention to the specific sub-population of older adults in the profession. The first phase consisted of a semi-structured interview protocol and thematic analysis to understand the unique perspectives of self-identified drag performers over the age of 50 (n=15; ages 54-90). The second phase is under development. This student in this position is expected to look up and check references and extract information from sources, help build and maintain a study website, organize, transcribe, and analyze data, contribute to the writing of manuscript and conference presentation, and attend research team meetings.	Open
15107-Waterbury	Stephen Trumbo	Ecology and Evolutionary Biology	Our lab investigates the behavior and ecology of biparental burying beetles. We are focused at the present on the regulation of brood size and environmental factors, such as population density, that affect the decision of how many offspring to raise. We need help to maintain the beetle colony. This will involve feeding beetles, changing the rearing containers and general lab hygiene. In addition, we need help in altering population density as a factor in brood size regulation, as well as recording results (number and size of offspring). Students will learn about insects (specifically beetles), their care and experimental design.	Open
15105	Alexandra Paxton	Psychological Sciences	The dyscord lab focuses on how people communicate and work together. We use a variety of research methods—including eyetracking, motion-tracking, computer vision, touch-screen games, online games, and driving simulators—to quantitatively analyze the dynamics of human interaction. This WSRAP posting is for a research assistant to assist primarily with the data collection process, including recruiting participants, running experiments, and organizing data after the experiments. As part of this research assistantship, students will gain valuable experience with cutting-edge data collection methods in psychology and learning to work as part of a scientific team. (Note: If you have an interest in this research but have significant data science and/or programming experience, see the other posting by faculty member Alexandra Paxton).	Pending
15106	Alexandra Paxton	Psychological Sciences	The dyscord lab focuses on how people communicate and work together. We use a variety of research methods—including eyetracking, motion-tracking, computer vision, touch-screen games, online games, and driving simulators—to quantitatively analyze the dynamics of human interaction. This WSRAP posting is for a research assistant to assist primarily with data science and/or programming activities in the lab (including coding experiments, posting online experiments, analyzing/visualizing data, and documenting/maintaining lab code). As part of this research assistantship, students will gain valuable experience at the intersection of data science and psychology; students will also improve their real-world teamwork and communication skills by working closely with programmers and non-programmers to meet the lab’s research goals. (Note: If you have an interest in this research but do not have significant data science and/or programming experience, see other posting by faculty Alexandra Paxton.)	Pending
15131	Kevin Ferreira van Leer	Human Development and Family Sciences	The Using Our Voices to Transform Hispanic Serving Institutions is a mixed methods participatory action research project that examines Latine student perceptions of “servingness” at California State University, Sacramento, a Hispanic Serving Institution. The project has utilized photovoice and a survey of undergraduate Latine students. More information about the project can be found here: https://www.usingourvoiceshsi.com/ The research assistant has the opportunity to support analysis and writing in the study listed above. Common tasks will include literature searches, transcription of interviews, qualitative coding, writing summaries of research, developing presentations, and proofreading writing products. Additional tasks may include scheduling meetings among community partners, preparing summaries of meetings, and planning agendas for community-partner meetings. Additional tasks related to the project may be completed as needed.	Open
15085-Avery Point	Pieter Visscher	Marine Sciences	The Geomicrobiology Lab of Visscher is combining microbiology, chemistry and geology to understand the origin of life, resilience of microbial ecosystems and the potential for life in outer space. We combine microbial cultivation, molecular, chemical and geological analyses in both lab and field work. The student will perform routine lab work (prepare media, measure chemical composition of liquids and gases, assist in field work); we investigate so-called microbial mats, which present the oldest fossil life on our planet but still can be found in extreme environments.	Open
15118	Haiying Tao	Plant Science and Landscape Architecture	We are studying the role of cover cropping in Connecticut cropping systems, such as silage corn in dairy farms. Example research focuses are how cover crop seeding rate and planting date can be optimized for the best production, how cover crops affect soil nutrient cycling, soil microorganism, weed suppression, and subsequent crop yields. The student will work with Dr. Tao and a graduate student for the following research activities: soil sample collection using soil probes and augers, soil preparation using grinders and ovens, sieving soils, weighing soils, measuring soil samples using analytical scales, and analyze samples for nutrient analysis using various equipment such as Carbon/Nitrogen Analyzer, Discrete Analyzer. The student will also assist with plant tissue sampling, harvesting, and preparation for chemical analysis. The student will shadow a PhD graduate student in learning how to use and maintain laboratory equipment commonly found in soil and plant laboratories. The student will be introduced to common laboratory practices and safety, such as washing dishes, waste glass handling, chemical handling etc. The student will be introduced to analyzing and organizing data using Excel and other programs relevant to soil science, such as SAS and R.	Pending
15120	Haiying Tao	Plant Science and Landscape Architecture	We are studying phosphorus cycling between soils and waters in agricultural field systems, especially how such cycling relates to nutrient leaching loss in agricultural fields in Connecticut. We are also benchmarking the routine soil tests method typically used by soil testing lab to establish the critical soil test levels at which significant nutrient leaching occurs. The student will work with Dr. Tao and a graduate student for soil and water sample preparation, including weighing soils, loading soils onto a mechanical shaker, and pipetting. The student will shadow a graduate student in learning how to use and maintain laboratory equipment commonly found in soil, nutrient, and water testing laboratories. The student will be introduced to common laboratory practices and safety, such as washing dishes, waste glass handling, chemical handling etc. The student will be introduced to analyzing and organizing data using Excel and other programs relevant to soil science, such as SAS and R.	Pending
15164	Dorit Bar-On	Philosophy	The Expression, Communication, and the Origins of Meaning (ECOM) research group investigates the various ways we express ourselves and communicate with others and the emergence of linguistic meaning in ontogeny and phylogeny. As these are quintessentially interdisciplinary topics, we regularly bring together scholars from diverse disciplines, such as philosophy, linguistics, psychology, anthropology, biology, and neuroscience, to engage in focused discussion of these interconnected themes. Through regular meetings, speaker series, workshops, and conferences, ECOM fosters collaboration among researchers with various backgrounds, all sharing the goal of achieving a deeper understanding of these core human capacities. As an undergraduate research assistant at ECOM, you will play a key role in organizing conferences and talks, contributing to the smooth execution of these academic events. You will also assist with research activities, particularly in conducting literature reviews to support ongoing projects. Additionally, if you have skills in website design, you will help maintain and update the ECOM website, ensuring it effectively communicates our work and events to the academic community. We are especially interested in students from philosophy, psychology, neuroscience, linguistics, or related fields, as this role offers valuable experience in both research and event coordination, along with the opportunity to enhance your digital skills.	Open
15173	Stefanie Acevedo	Music	Our project is a collaborative project investigating how musical and athletic training affect coordination during musical performance, namely in the genre of Javanese Gamelan. This study involves a variety of methodologies including motion-capture, EMG, and behavioral components. The PIs are Dr. Stefanie Acevedo from the music department and Dr. Steven Harrison from the psychology and kinesiology departments. Our research assistant will mainly aid our research team in piloting the study, data collection, and data analysis. This will include scheduling and running experimental tasks as well as coding and analyzing data. Other responsibilities might include aiding in IRB paperwork editing/filing, researching any relevant literature, writing research reports, and aiding in grant writing.	Open
15174	Stefanie Acevedo	Music	The Systematic Musicology Lab is headed by Co-PIs Dr. Stefanie Acevedo and Dr. Daniel Goldberg. Multi-faceted in scope, we study a variety of musical topics, including motor coordination and musical performance, probability in music, dance and meter, and musical diversity in higher education. Our research assistant will mainly aid our research team in literature review, research, and data analysis. This will include reviewing relevant literature, analyzing and transcribing music (including musical corpus creation), summarizing research, IRB proposal writing and editing, data analysis, grant writing/proofing, and manuscript preparation. Other responsibilities might include creation of online surveys or experiments, survey data collection and clean-up, or lab scheduling.	Open
15390	Gregory Semenza	English	I study the meaning, history, and cultural impact of both film and literature. I am especially interested in processes of adaptation whereby older ideas, forms, techniques, and narrative elements are transformed and revitalized across time, diverse cultures, and different media. The research assistant for this position will be expected to navigate a number of electronic databases for the purposes of constructing a comprehensive bibliography of works pertaining to several related book projects; analyze and describe (through well-written, properly formatted annotations, etc.) the most relevant works; help organize filing systems for easy access to these works; and also to help in organizing and managing a massive number of files collected in various film archives.	Open
14991	Sandra Chafouleas	Educational Psychology	This position entails working with Dr. Chafouleas and her research team, with specific emphasis on tasks for the UConn Collaboratory on School and Child Health (CSCH; see http://csch.uconn.edu). The mission of the Collaboratory on School and Child Health (CSCH) is to facilitate innovative and impactful connections across research, policy, and practice arenas to advance equity in school and child health. CSCH is committed to anti-racist work that prioritizes inclusion, reduces disparities, and creates systemic change. Many opportunities are available with this position. The research assistant will engage with faculty from across schools and colleges, providing exposure to a diverse research portfolio. The research assistant may be assigned to work specifically with one or more projects, assisting research staff on various tasks such as data summaries, literature syntheses, and organizing materials. For example, two key CSCH projects are Feel Your Best Self (feelyourbestself.org), a freely accessible toolkit for supporting caregivers in teaching kids emotion-focused coping skills, and the CT WSCC Partnership, a CDC-funded project to support implementation of whole child policies and practices in schools. The research assistant may work with team members on preparing new materials to add to the Feel Your Best Self portfolio or supporting activities of the CT WSCC Partnership.	Open
15403	Rebecca Stearns	Kinesiology	This position is devoted to providing students exposure to high-level research, advocacy and education initiatives related to the mission of the Korey Stringer Institute (KSI). The mission of the Korey Stringer Institute is to provide research, education, advocacy and consultation to maximize performance, optimize safety and prevent sudden death for the athlete, warfighter and laborer. Individuals will be provided full immersion into the daily operations of an active research lab; assisting with field studies, epidemiological investigations and laboratory protocols focused on preventing sudden death in sport and enhancing sport safety.	Open