Research Fellow, Community Health Services, School of Public Health
About this role
HEY! Lab Team Research Fellow, BUSPH
The Department of Community Health Sciences at the Boston University School of Public Health has a long history and national reputation of applying social and behavioral sciences to enhance the health and wellbeing of communities and promote health equity. A Research Fellow position is available within the Healthy and Empowered Youth Lab (the HEY! Lab) on the teams of Drs. Kimberly Nelson and Allegra Gordon, funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
The Research Fellow will assist the Principal Investigators (PIs) with the coordination of at least two studies related to sexual and mental health among adolescents and young adults (AYA). The Youth Expectations and Standards in Sex (YESS) study seeks to assesses the prevalence and diversity of rough sexual behaviors among AYA (ages 15-29 years) in the United States, explores which factors influence whether and how AYA engage in rough sex (e.g., partners, peers, media), and examines how engaging in rough sex relates to the mental and sexual health of AYA. The study is part of a collaboration between researchers at Boston University, Indiana University, Brown University, and the University of Virginia. The qualitative arm of this project will be the main focus of this position. This arm aims to assess how rough sex behaviors are understood, experienced, and related to health by AYA.
Studying Policies’ Effects on Communities: Trends in Resilience and Undergraduate Mental Health (SPECTRUM) study seeks to improve our understanding of how mental health during late adolescence and early adulthood (ages 18-24 years) is influenced by four types of LGBTQ-targeted policies (e.g., religious exemptions, gender affirming healthcare bans, LGBTQ-supportive school curricula). The study is part of a larger collaboration between researchers at Boston University School of Public Health and Harvard Medical School. The qualitative arm of this project will be the main focus of this position. This arm aims to identify and explore the pathways by which LGBTQ-targeted policies can affect the mental health of LGBTQ and non-LGBTQ young people.
The Research Fellow will be in charge of coordinating both studies, including: development and maintenance of study protocols, forms, and assessments; assisting with correspondence and other materials needed for audits, IRB, and reporting to sponsor; organizing the qualitative interviewing teams and conducting qualitative interviews; and collecting, cleaning, entering, managing, and analyzing data (both quantitative and qualitative). The Research Fellow will work with students, faculty, other Research Fellows, and a postdoctoral associate. The Research Fellow will assist the PIs with literature reviews and have opportunities for authorship on academic publications and presentations.
Candidates should have an interest in public health and/or health research. Specific interest in sexual health, mental health, AYA health, and/or sexual and gender minority health is a plus.
Company at a glance
For seventy years, Boston University College of General Studies has been a leader in general education—a small liberal arts college providing a world-class general education in the heart of a large research university. The educational practices CGS pioneered and refined—interdisciplinary learning, the Capstone project, the use of e-Portfolios for rigorous assessment, and an emphasis on general education—have since been adopted as best practices in the field of higher education.
Today, CGS continues its legacy of interdisciplinary teaching and learning. Its two-year program fulfills most of the University’s BU Hub general education requirements, inspiring students to make connections among disciplines and to connect their knowledge to real-world problems. It continues to offer a rigorous and comprehensive liberal arts foundation while guiding students on a unique pathway through BU, teaching them how to apply broad learning, how to think critically and creatively, and how to communicate effectively. With its unique first-year experience—a spring semester start date followed by a summer semester in London or New England—CGS offers the only program at Boston University where study abroad is integrated into the first year of college.
Our faculty and leadership pioneer best practices in interdisciplinary and general education around the globe. And our alumni continue to change the world in every industry and profession they choose—from entertainment to education to business to the medical fields.
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