Note: Work-study research assistant program opportunities for the 2025-26 academic year will be posted starting in early June. Please reference the chart below for opportunities offered through the Work-Study Research Assistant Program for the 2025-26 academic year. Opportunities for the upcoming year will be posted from early June through August 2025. Note that all applications must be submitted through the new Student Employment platform - 12Twenty (which launched on May 1st). 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. Student must apply through the 12Twenty platform by navigating to https://studentjobs.uconn.edu/ and selecting the blue "12Twenty for UConn Students" button.

Campus	Faculty Name	Department	Research Focus/Brief Position Description	Status
Storrs	Jonathan Klassen	Molecular and Cell Biology	The Klassen lab studies insect-microbe interactions, particularly those between fungus-growing ants, fungi, and bacteria. They are particularly interested in mechanisms of chemical signaling, defense against microbial pathogens, and responses to environmental stressors like forest fires. The student will assist with lab experiments involving Trachymyrmex septentrionalis ants and their microbial symbionts. Depending on student skills and interests, this might include: ant behavior analysis, microbial culture, microbiome analysis, or genome sequencing. The student will participate in the upkeep of lab ant colonies and other general tasks, e.g., record keeping, preparation of chemicals and microbiological media, and lab upkeep. They will also be responsible for the analysis of their data and presenting it to other lab members in various formats. The student will likely start by working on an existing ant disease project mentored by a more senior undergraduate student.	Open
Storrs	Sherry Pagoto	Allied Health Sciences	My research is focused on optimizing digitally-delivered behavioral weight loss programs. I conduct NIH-funded clinical trials that compare different versions of these programs to one another to learn ways to optimize outcomes. I also conduct research on social media platforms to understand how people use social media to improve their health. This position entails working with the data management team to extract and organize participant data from digital platforms. Students learn how to use RedCap, data entry, data management, and data quality control procedures. Through their tasks they will learn how a digitally-delivered behavioral weight loss program works and how participants engage in the program. Students attend weekly team meetings and work closely with graduate students and the project director.	Open
Avery Point	Shuwen Tan	Marine Sciences	My research focuses on understanding how ocean stratification influences the dynamics of internal waves on the inner continental shelf. Using observational data from moorings and sensors, we investigate how density-driven layering affects the generation, propagation, and dissipation of internal waves, which play a critical role in coastal transport processes. Our methods combine time-series analysis, statistical techniques, data visualization, and numerical modeling. A student in this position will analyze real-world oceanographic data to study how stratification affects internal wave dynamics at Point Sal, a site known for its energetic internal waves. The work involves processing and visualizing time-series data from oceanographic moorings, applying statistical and signal processing techniques, and potentially contributing to numerical modeling efforts. Students will collaborate with researchers from the University of Washington and the University of Connecticut while developing skills in programming, data analysis, and physical oceanography. The position is primarily computer-based and does not involve field or lab work.	Open
Stamford	Fred Roden	English	I am writing a book that draws from an archive of historical information. The focus is on immigration history and women’s lives in America. I draw on my family history. The student will work with me to digitize papers and photos from my archive. We would read and study, look at items and decide what is most important to preserve for my use and for history.	Open
Storrs	Daniel Bolnick	Ecology and Evolutionary Biology	We are studying the process of parasite infection in fish. We have a large number of wild caught juvenile fish that need to be measured and checked for parasite infections. We wish to understand how parasite abundance changes as a cohort of individuals age from birth in the summer through maturity the following year. The student research assistant will dissect and measure small fish (threespine stickleback) to measure body size, mass, and parasite load, record data, and analyze data.	Open
Hartford	Lisa Werkmeister Rozas	Social Work	The research currently being conducted cover two main areas: 1) exploring the involvement of the Latine community in various levels of civic engagement/politics. Surveys, interviews, coding and analyzing data will be included in the work. 2) exploring chid welfare changes in Peru, particularly as they relate to residential care and deinstitutionalization. Interviews, coding, data analysis and writing up results for publication will be a part of this work. Other work would include literature reviews of ongoing work around anti-racism pedagogy.	Open
Waterbury	Pablo Kokay Valente	Allied Health Sciences	Our research program focuses on understanding determinants of HIV risk and access to preventive and treatment services related to infectious diseases in the US and Brazil. We focus on behavioral and social factors such as mental health, substance use, and stigma, among others. Our team uses quantitative (e.g., biostatistics) and qualitative methods (e.g., analysis of interviews and focus groups) and engages marginalized populations including sexual and gender minorities, people who use substances, and sex workers. RAs will be involved in different research projects and work with other undergraduate and graduate students. Activities students will be involved in include development of proposals and IRB submissions, recruitment of participants, data collection (assisting in qualitative interviews and programming Qualtrics surveys), and data analysis using quantitative and qualitative software. Previous knowledge of data collection and analysis software such as Qualtrics, Stata, SPSS, as well as familiarity with Brazilian Portuguese would be helpful but not required.	Open
Storrs	Steven Suib	Chemistry & Institute of Materials Science	Our research group synthesizes new materials, characterizes them, and uses these in various applications. Some of the applications involve adsorption, batteries, catalysis, ceramics, semiconductors, sensors, and others. Students will search the literature, carry out lab experiments, collect and present data, write lab notebooks, and work hand in hand with graduate students. Students will be expected to work in different labs for the characterization studies. The types of work involves making new materials, using different spectroscopic, microscopic, and analytical instruments, and doing applications studies.	Open
Storrs	Kaveh Yazdani	History	I specialize in social and economic history between in the 16th and 19th centuries. I am currently researching the history of capitalism in Asia (particularly India and Iran) with a special focus on the Parsi and Zoroastrian communities between the 16th and 20th centuries, including their connections to East Africa, China and Southeast Asia. The position can be in-person, partially in-person, or fully remote. Students are expected to create bibliographies and search for primary sources in newspaper archives and other available datasets. In the course of time, they will also have the opportunity to read the relevant literature and/or primary sources, extract excerpts and write an independent proposal and/or paper.	Open
Storrs	Inge-Marie Eigsti	Psychological Sciences	We study language and brain development in autistic people, using behavioral and brain imaging approaches On the current project, called “Missed Cases,” we are studying the efficacy of a toddler screening questionnaire designed to identify children with high likelihood of autism, by recontacting families who were screened 5-10 years ago and determining the child’s current autism status. The responsibilities of this position include: i. Contacting potential participants through phone call, texting, email, and postal mail; ii. Updating the database system with contact instances and information about participants; iii. Help prepare materials for in person evaluations; iv. Conduct phone interviews with parents (training to perform the interviews will be provided).	Open
Storrs	SeungYeon Kang	School of Mechanical, Aerospace and Manufacturing Engineering	Job 1: Our lab works on light-based additive manufacturing (3D printing) technologies; digital light processing (DLP) and multiphoton SLA (stereolithography). In contrast to polymer printing techniques, we focus on developing metal printing methods. We are looking for self-motivated students who can help us i) prepare samples for determining optimized recipe, ii) take mechanical/electrical measurements, iii) write MATLAB or G-codes for the 3D stage and/or iv) run simulations to understand the relationship between printing parameters and structure property. Previous knowledge on additive manufacturing, LABVIEW, MATLAB, G-code or COMSOL/ANSYS is a plus.	Open
Storrs	SeungYeon Kang	School of Mechanical, Aerospace and Manufacturing Engineering	Job 2: Our lab is interested in i) understanding how lithium-ion batteries perform under pressure and ii) how to utilize laser materials processing methods to increase their performance. We are looking for self-motivated students who can help us i) prepare samples for determining optimized recipe, ii) replicate battery samples, and/or iii) take electrochemical/mechanical measurements.	Open
Storrs	Tiffany Kelley	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
Storrs	Medhi Anwar	Electrical and Computer Engineering	My research focuses on AI/ML assisted modeling of semiconductor material for specific applications. The undergraduate researcher will assist in developing codes to identify semiconductor material with specific properties required for given applications. This will require identifying codes, already available online, and tailor it to provide specific output with a given input (something I will provide). This will require going over the different AI algorithms and identify one suitable for semiconductor modeling.	Open
Storrs	Jeffrey Cohen	Finance	My current research is related to topics in real estate finance/economics, specifically: affordable housing finance and economics; transportation economics; transit oriented development; renewable energy economics; substance use disorder treatment economics; house price effects of noise pollution; housing wealth accumulation near interstate highways; natural disasters and housing prices; 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
Storrs	Caitlin Lombardi	Human Development and Family Sciences	Connecticut Early Years is an innovative intervention to test how early childhood programs can enhance children and families’ wellness and children’s school readiness. Early childhood programs in New Haven and Hartford are participating in the research. Half of these programs have a "Family Consultant" supporting families with young children enrolled in the program, while half do not. We are testing how having a FC benefits children and families. Undergraduate student research assistant responsibilities may include: data management tasks, mailing participant incentives, testing surveys, editing surveys, check transcriptions of interviews, collect data via zoom, collect data in person.	Pending
Storrs	Ryan Talbert	Sociology	The focus of my research is on health disparities, race and racism, and punishment and inequality. A primary goal of his work is to examine critically how extensions of white supremacy and systemic racism shape and maintain racial health disparities. The project I seek help with will examine how health on a molecular level corresponds to people's external living environments. This position will include collecting, reading, and reporting on existing empirical studies; managing and cleaning tabulated data; maintaining consistent communication with the PI; and drafting a literature review on existing research in this area.	Open
Storrs	Xian Wu	Physics	We are conducting a systematic review of STEM education literature to examine how computer-assisted educational technologies have transformed the current education landscape. This project also aims to explore the potential implications of these technologies for future AI-based educational applications. The undergraduate research assistant will support the research team in managing and organizing academic literature. Responsibilities include learning and using literature management software such as Zotero, assisting in the initial screening and pre-filtering of articles, and helping to maintain a structured database of relevant studies. No prior experience is required. Training will be provided.	Open
Storrs	Michael Kienzler	Chemistry	We study light sensitive small organic molecules that change shape when they absorb light. We make and use these compounds for many applications, most of which are related to molecular biology and neuroscience. Right now I am looking for students to work on projects that involve making molecules to control the function of ion channels. A student will set up, monitor, and purify chemical reactions. This involves weighing and measuring out chemicals, calculating appropriate amounts, washing glass reaction flasks, and learning how to operate a variety of machines through the whole process.	Open
Storrs	Sarah Williams	Anthropology	This project is a multi-method anthropological and historical investigation of the role of eugenicist practices and nationalist discourses in shaping the professionalization and practices of obstetrics and midwifery in Mexico, with a particular focus on the Yucatán peninsula. The project combines ethnographic research (participant observations and interviews) with birthing people and birth practitioners in Yucatán with archival research. This work-study position is focused on research with digital archives from Mexican and Yucatecan institutions, identifying and coding relevant news articles, pamphlets, and scientific/medical writings relevant to the study, with the potential for training and practice in interview transcription and qualitative coding. Ideal candidates will read, write, and speak Spanish fluently and have already taken upper-level courses in Anthropology, History, or a similar discipline in the humanities.	Open
Storrs	Robert Bagchi	Ecology and Evolutionary Biology	A common plant species in Connecticut, Skunk Cabbage, generates large amounts of heat to attract insect pollinators in the early spring. To understand the benefits and costs of this strategy, we are investigating the population genetics and physiological adaptations of this plant species. The research assistant will curate datasets of plant photosynthesis and climate, work with population genetics datasets, build and maintain weather stations, and collate data on skunk cabbage distributions and flowering times using citizen science data repositories.	Open
Storrs	Molly Waring	Allied Health Sciences	Our research focuses on health promotion during pregnancy, the post-partum period, and motherhood, with a particular focus on healthy eating, weight management, and mental health. Ongoing research projects relate to child nutrition content on social media, use of social media and podcasts to support maternal mental health, and lifestyle interventions for pregnant persons with gestational diabetes. Research Assistants will work with our research team on multiple ongoing research projects. Research Assistants will get involved in all aspects of our projects, from study design to participant recruitment to data collection to results reporting. We expect that Research Assistants will assist with participant interviews, qualitative data analysis, literature searches, and results reporting.	Open
Storrs	Yuri Gloumakov	Electrical and Computer Engineering	The Ruka Lab in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering studies prosthetic and robotic grasping, manipulation, and controls. Developments in the lab aim at assisting humans through development of assistive technology, and thus all efforts account from design to control must inherently account for human in-the-loop. Research projects include bio-inspired and foundational mechanical designs, machine learning applications to complex human data, and translation of developed technologies with end users. This position is an undergraduate research experience focusing on prosthetic end-effector design. The goal is to compile a comprehensive list of prosthetic device characteristics, understand design considerations, and identify key shortcomings. The student will help build foundational models to aid in the comparison of devices leveraging statistics and machine learning methods. The student will be expected to work approximately 10hr/week and will primarily include independent reading and note taking, and attending regular weekly meetings to discuss progress. Submitting work for publication will be contingent on good progress.	Open
Waterbury	Melisa Argañaraz Gomez	Geography, Sustainability, Community and Urban Studies	I am seeking a research assistant to support either of these two projects: 1. A book project focused on Latin American children and youth care work and labor in Waterbury and Baltimore during the pandemic. Migrant children’s care and labor have received little attention, specially during the pandemic. Popular discourses claim that children are less likely to be affected by the virus and focus on isolation/mental health consequences. In doing so, these discourses present children as passive victims. This research examines how youths’ political acts of care are critical to the survival of their families, peers, and society; however, ‘care for their families’ may force youth to sacrifice their well-being and future prospects. This research focuses on the active participation of immigrant Latin American children in US society and the necessity for safety nets to protect/recognize their care work. This work includes topics such as criminality, care work/labor, health, and education of Latin American Children and Youth. 2. A project focused on housing experiences within immigrant Latin American communities in Waterbury and Baltimore. The project will have a particular focus on the experiences of immigrant Latin American women and children. Waterbury has ranked among the 50 cities with the highest eviction rates in the country since 2016. Previous research found Black renters are over three times more likely than white renters to face eviction, and Latino renters are over two times more likely than white renters. Housing insecurity and eviction cases are disproportionately filed against women and even more disproportionately against Black and Latina women. This project also seeks to understand the experiences of housing insecurity among communities overlooked during the pandemic. The research apprentice will provide direct support for the execution and analysis of this study. Common tasks will include literature searches, support for online recruitment of participants, transcription of interviews, coding, and proofreading final writing outcomes. Additional tasks related to research will be completed as needed. You will gain valuable research experience, particularly in participatory qualitative research methods and analysis. This project will require virtual/in-person meetings with community organizations to create potential research partnerships. You will have plenty of opportunities to network with different organizations around the Waterbury/Baltimore area. All activities for this position will be completed remotely.	Open
Storrs	Asif Majid	Dramatic Arts & Human Rights	I work at the intersection of Islam, race, and social/staged performance. Specifically, I use community-based theatre, (auto)ethnography, and archival research to understand the sociopolitical worlds and experiences of Muslims today. Past and ongoing projects include making theatre with British Muslim youth to provide insights into gendered and racialized relations; examining social performances of Islam through the economic, political, and interreligious aspects of public rituals of mourning in India; and conducting organizational ethnographies of culture organizations (like the Arab American National Museum and the San Francisco Arts Commission) that use the arts when working with racialized groups. The student in this position will support me on the aforementioned project on social performances of public mourning in India. Specifically, over AY 2024-25, I conducted field research in India on Muharram commemorations - which mourn the 7th-century CE martyrdom of Imam Husayn, the grandson of Prophet Muhammad and third Shi'a Imam. In India, these mourning practices take the form of processions, performance poetry, self-flagellation, crying, chanting, military re-enactments, drumming, and so on. I have gathered hundreds of photos, dozens of hours of video footage, and multiple audio recordings, as well as fieldnotes, on the rituals I was able to attend in two cities: Lucknow and Hyderabad. The student will be tasked with pairing audiovisual materials with my fieldnotes, as well as translating videos and audio recordings from Urdu into English. Urdu and/or Hindi language skills are essential for success in this position.	Pending
Storrs	Alexandra Beer	Management & Entrepreneurship	My research centers on careers, work transitions, identity, and work relationships. Recent projects have explored the creative process within expert-novice collaborations, how trailing spouses navigate reentry into the workforce, and how small businesses and their founders build strong ties with local communities. I primarily use qualitative methods, with in-depth interviews serving as my main tool for data collection and analysis. A student in this position will support a variety of qualitative research tasks, including conducting standardized literature reviews, collecting and organizing journal articles, and helping synthesize key findings. They will also assist in gathering qualitative archival data from sources such as social media posts, videos, and other online materials. Depending on project needs, the student may help set up and schedule interviews, as well as support qualitative coding and analysis of interview transcripts. This position is ideal for students interested in organizational behavior, communication, or qualitative research methods.	Open