Update (Jul 2023): Thank you for your interest! We will not be recruiting any new research assistants as of now.
Undergraduate students can gain valuable hands-on experience in health psychology. Past research assistants have gone on to graduate school, medical school, and have pursued other careers that made good use of the skills they had developed as research assistants (including critical thinking, statistical skills, and teamwork).
We are looking for volunteers who are passionate about health & aging and who have strong communication and interpersonal skills. Wet lab experience and interest in community-based outreach & partnerships are assets, but not certainly not required. The UPLIFT Health Lab is also committed to celebrating diversity and promoting inclusion in our hiring practices, lab culture, and day-to-day research activities. We encourage applications from people of all backgrounds who share these values.
Research assistants engage in a variety of activities, such as:
- conducting literature searches
- helping prepare and pilot-test study materials (e.g., smartphone surveys)
- recruiting, screening, and scheduling participants
- conducting participant interviews and mailing out study packages
- providing feedback to participants (e.g., prepare personalized summary reports of participants’ sleep and physical activity data)
- cleaning, scoring, and managing data
- gaining exposure to statistical software (eg., SPSS, R), physical activity and sleep equipment, and daily diary software
- attending weekly meetings with other lab members, graduate students, and Dr. Sin
- presenting research at conferences
If you have any questions or concerns please reach out to our lab managers at uplift@psych.ubc.ca
Directed Studies and Honours Thesis
Advanced students with previous research experience (especially those who have been volunteering in the UPLIFT Health Lab for at least one term) may wish to pursue a Directed Studies or Honours Thesis project in the lab. This would involve conducting an independent research project that fits within the larger research studies and the research goals of the lab. I typically accept Directed Studies at the beginning of the academic year (September), for a year-long commitment.
Please contact me at nsin@psych.ubc.ca to discuss opportunities. Please include in your email: a brief description of your research interests, CV/resume with references, an unofficial transcript (screenshot of grades from the SSC), and a sample of your academic writing (such as a class research paper).