Research Assistants in the Child Health and Behavior Lab

photograph of a woman helping a little girl with her teddy bear.

The Child Health and Behavior Lab (HABLAB) at the University of Buffalo is looking for undergraduate students to assist with research studies during Summer and Fall 2024.

Project description

The Child Health and Behavior Lab (HABLAB) at the University of Buffalo is looking for undergraduate students to assist with research studies during Summer and Fall 2024. During these semesters, we anticipate that student research assistants will assist with data collection for the UB Restaurant Study in local restaurants and with other research tasks. 

These research experiences will be under the leadership of Dr. Stephanie Anzman-Frasca, who conducts laboratory- and community-based studies in the area of children's eating behavior and obesity prevention. More information about this work is available on the mentor's department website and laboratory website

Ongoing studies include our Restaurant Study, which involves research with children and families dining in local restaurants, and the Baby Care Study, which involves providing information about baby sleep and care to new parents and assessing impacts on infant sleep, feeding, and behavior. We also conduct research on other aspects of child development and eating behavior including parent-child interactions and the development of children’s food preferences.

Student research assistants typically work directly with study participants, including parents and children, in the laboratory and/or community. Besides data collection, other lab activities include assisting with participant recruitment, materials preparation, and data entry or coding. All incoming research assistants must be able to commit to at least 10 hours of research per week, with preference typically given to students who can commit to at least two semesters. Interest in working in the lab in the summer is a plus.

Interested students can apply by submitting an application and a resume to ubhablab@gmail.com, using "Student research assistant application 2023" as the subject of the email. Please visit the HABLAB website to download the application.

Project outcome

The specific outcomes of this project will be identified by the faculty mentor at the beginning of your collaboration. 

Project details

Timing, eligibility and other details
Length of commitment Commitments are semester-long, but we give preference to students who are interested in doing research for two or more semesters.
Start time We are currently looking for students for Summer and Fall 2024
In-person, remote, or hybrid?
Hybrid
Level of collaboration We have smaller individual projects and group work. Most students are exposed to both.
Benefits Academic Credit, Volunteer
Who is eligible Attention to detail; professional; reliable; communication skills; able to work independently and collaboratively; enthusiasm for working with children, learning about research, and promoting health 
Goldwater and the National Science Foundation

Students participating in this project might be interested in and eligible for the Goldwater Scholarship and the National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship. Connect with the Office of Fellowships and Scholarships to learn more.

Project mentor

Stephanie Anzman-Frasca

Assistant Professor

Pediatrics

G56 Farber Hall, South Campus

Phone: (716) 829-6692

Email: ubhablab@gmail.com

Start the project

  1. Email the project mentor using the contact information above to express your interest and get approval to work on the project. (Here are helpful tips on how to contact a project mentor.)
  2. After you receive approval from the mentor to start this project, click the button to start the digital badge. (Learn more about ELN's digital badge options.) 

Preparation activities

Once you begin the digital badge series, you will have access to all the necessary activities and instructions. Your mentor has indicated they would like you to also complete the specific preparation activities below. Please reference this when you get to Step 2 of the Preparation Phase. 

  • Before starting with us, students must complete onboarding activities from our semester onboarding list. These vary a bit semester to semester but generally include: 
    • CITI training to work with human subjects
    • A background check 
    • Child protection training 
    • Reading our lab's policies & procedures 
    • Signing up for (and eventually completing) CPR/first aid training 
    • Completing a research contract 
  • HABLAB staff provide a semester-specific onboarding list via email before the start of each semester.

Keywords

Pediatrics