We currently do not have positions available for Post-Doc students, but check back soon as we may have positions available in the near future!

We currently do not have positions available for full-time staff students, but check back soon as we may have positions available in the near future!

Undergraduate Research Assistantships

Undergraduate research assistantships are available to students. Assistantships are available as part of an HP 290 or 490 Directed Research Course, paid through Federal Work Study (if eligible), or can be done on a volunteer basis. Qualified students from other programs within USC (e.g., psychology, neuroscience) and at other institutions, including recent graduates, are also welcome to apply. Research assistants work on clinical and field studies examining the role of emotional factors that influence tobacco, alcohol and other drug use, as well as other behaviors that impact health (e.g. exercise and diet).

Undergraduate assistantships are a great way to gain initial exposure to innovative, collaborative research in preparation for medical school and graduate school in psychology, neuroscience and public health. HEAL alumni have gone on to graduate school at some of the leading institutions and programs in the nation, including: UCLA, NYU, USC, UCSF, Dartmouth, University of Arizona, University of California Davis, New York Medical College, University of Washington, Virginia Commonwealth University, Tulane University, and University of Hawaii.

We prioritize assistantships to students who are interested in committing to: two consecutive semesters of volunteering and 10 hours of volunteering per week.

At HEAL, research assistants have the opportunity to specialize in Population Studies and Statistics & Data Management. To get a better understanding of our research, please check out our research topics and read some of our publications.

Please see below for a background and description of responsibilities for each area.

HEAL Population Studies

Student Research Assistants will have the opportunity to work in a team environment to support HEAL’s longitudinal prospective cohort studies. Our cohort studies provide current and leading information on health behavior, mental health, and addiction among teens and young adults.

Responsibilities include:

•Conduct follow-up and reminder calls to participants and parents

•Assist with participant recruitment and retention

•Track survey completion rates and engage in quality control measures

•Create and manage study materials

•Identify survey measures

•Build and test surveys in REDCap (web-based data collection tool)

•Support school-based data collection with adolescents

•Analyze data and develop reports of key findings to provide to schools

•Review literature on emerging topics in nicotine and tobacco research

HEAL Statistics & Data Management

Student Research Assistants will gain experience with statistical programming languages, data management, and data analysis.

Responsibilities include:

• Data wrangling: transforming raw data to appropriate data formats for analysis

• Statistical computing: analyzing data and communicating results to researchers

• Collaborate with other members and teams of HEAL

Please click here to begin our application for the Health, Emotion, and Addiction Lab Assistantship. to begin our application for the Health, Emotion, and Addiction Lab Assistantship. If you have any questions or comments, please contact uschealapply@gmail.com.

Undergraduate Fellowships in Addiction Science

Advanced undergraduate research assistants who have been successfully working in the lab for an extended period are eligible to be selected for a USC-HEAL Undergraduate Fellowship in Addiction Science (UFAS). UFAS fellows are awarded a $3000 stipend and funding to cover travel to attend a national conference in addiction science. Fellows also have the opportunity to work as a senior member of HEAL’s team and develop an independent research project under the guidance of Dr. Leventhal.

Undergraduate Fellowship in Addiction Science (UFAS) Scholars from 2022-2023:

Gisselle Soto Rivas

•UFAS Project: Gisselle is investigating the factors that influence the utilization of therapy and counseling services by adolescents inside and outside of schools using ADVANCE data. Specifically, she is interested in understanding which students are using counseling and therapy services, and which students are not, to help inform mental health initiatives at schools.

Maricar Ordonez

•UFAS Project: Maricar’s project is titled, “Discrimination Experience and it’s Effects on Mental Health after COVID-19.” Maricar is investigating how everyday discrimination experiences effect mental health outcomes (anxiety and depression) since March 2020 in a nationally representative sample.

PhD in Health Behavior Research

The PhD program in Health Behavior Research is suited for students interested in working in the fields of disease prevention research and health promotion. Students enrolled in this program receive educational and research training in topics of health promotion and disease prevention, as well as training in related fields including psychology, communications, biostatistics, preventive medicine, public health and epidemiology. Through this program, students become prepared to participate in research in preventive medicine, health psychology, health policy, public health, and population health science. Training for this PhD program is provided through various methods, including course lectures, seminars, discussions student and faculty-lead presentations, and field research. Students additionally attain research opportunities through participation in faculty projects, commonly through the USC Institute for Health Promotion and Disease Prevention Research (IPR).

For more information regarding this program, please click the link here.

REBEL Research is not accepting new students for Fall 2024 admission.

Master of Addiction Science

The Master of Addiction Science (MAS) is suited for students interested in transdisciplinary and inter-professional methods to addiction study. Multi-disciplinary courses provided to students allow them to attain a deeper perspective regarding addiction from various aspects of science and policy. Through the rich interactions students have with instructors and peers from various professions and disciplines, students will attain greater understandings and skillsets that examines addiction in the “cell to society perspective.” These types of experiences prepares MAS graduates to apply their understandings and skills to their professions and strengthen interdiscilinary and interprofessional partnership.

For more information regarding this program, please click the link here.