Find a Research Assistant
Timestamp | Email Address | First Name | Last Name | Level of Education | Affiliated School | What is Your Start Date? | What is Your End Date? | Select the Days and Times You Are Available to Work [Monday] | Select the Days and Times You Are Available to Work [Tuesday] | Select the Days and Times You Are Available to Work [Wednesday] | Select the Days and Times You Are Available to Work [Thursday] | Select the Days and Times You Are Available to Work [Friday] | Select the Days and Times You Are Available to Work [Saturday] | Select the Days and Times You Are Available to Work [Sunday] | What Kind of Opportunity Are You Looking For? | What Are Your Research Interests? | Please Provide a Short Bio | Please Upload Link(s) to Your CV & Resume | #1 Choice | #2 Choice | #3 Choice | #4 Choice | #5 Choice | Information Release Consent |
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10/24/2023 02:12 PM | chenmeij@usc.edu | Chenmeijing | Yang | Masters Student - 1st Year | Keck School of Medicine | 10/26/2023 | 12/24/2024 | 12pm, 1pm, 2pm, 3pm, 4pm | 12pm, 1pm, 2pm, 3pm, 4pm | Volunteer Research Assistant (Unpaid) | Tobacco, Cannabis, Mental Health,Opioids | My name is Chenmeijing Yang and I am a graduate student currently pursuing a master degree in Translational Biotechnology at USC. I discovered my interest in addiction science during my undergraduate years. I had a class called Drug Addiction which gave me an opportunity to learn different types of drugs, their effects on the brain and body and the dangers associated with drug use. Understanding the risks and potential consequences of drug use can help individuals make informed decisions about drug use and avoid harmful behaviors. Furthermore, I also learned from this class that many drugs sold in the market are contaminated to reduce costs. Most of the time, people cannot distinguish them, which is why the number of overdoses and even deaths is increasing. The Drug Addiction class provided me with an in-depth understanding of the physiological and psychological mechanisms underlying addiction. Learning about the brain's reward pathways, the role of neurotransmitters, and the impact of substance abuse on mental health piqued my curiosity. I became realized in the study of addiction as a disease, examining its genetic predispositions and environmental triggers, which together contribute to the complexity of this pervasive issue. What particularly triggered me was the way in which addiction affects not only the individual but also their surrounding social and familial networks. The class introduced me to the sociological aspects of addiction, exploring topics such as public health policies, and the profound impact of addiction on society. I was struck by the interconnectedness of biology, psychology, and sociology in understanding and addressing addiction. | https://drive.google.com/file/d/1adweTehMd9-Qvq1H7MXBrQy8EIsEWuLY/view?usp=sharing | Antoine Bechara | Barbara Turner | Cameron Kaplan | Eunjoo Huisung Pacifici | Matthew Kirkpatrick | I consent to having some information posted on the website. | |||||
01/16/2024 10:38 PM | weiyix@usc.edu | Weiyi | Xiang | Masters Student - 1st Year | Keck School of Medicine | 01/12/2024 | 05/01/2025 | 1pm, 2pm, 3pm, 4pm | 10am, 11am, 12pm, 1pm, 2pm, 3pm | 1pm, 2pm, 3pm, 4pm | 9am, 10am, 4pm | 10am, 11am, 12pm, 1pm, 2pm, 3pm, 4pm | Volunteer Research Assistant (Unpaid) | Tobacco,Mental Health, Alcohol | I am a graduate student from Masters in Addiction Science. After a semester of studying and researching Addiction Science, I am not only more aware of the development and needs of the industry, but I am also more enthusiastic about pursuing a career in the field. In this case, I would like to join an Addiction Science research lab so that I can further my study with my own hands on experience. Not only did I complete my Bachelor's Degree in Psychology at the University of Pittsburgh, but I have also completed courses in Epidemiology, Neuroscience, and Research Methods, as well as a year of experience as a research assistant. During my time as a research assistant, I collected and analyzed clinical data such as the SCID-5, the UCLA Life Stress Inventory Scale, and participated in bi-monthly academic review sessions held by the research lab. I am confident and enthusiastic to be able to participate in the laboratory research as a research assistant, and I hope to increase my research experience through this opportunity so that I can better prepare myself for my future PhD application. | https://docs.google.com/document/d/1-wlM2hru6dWpjDnq0lX0ta7PG31lDSPD/edit?usp=sharing&ouid=113473465595653652578&rtpof=true&sd=true | Adam Matthew Leventhal | Jessica L. Barrington-Trimis | Antoine Bechara | Cameron Kaplan | Carolyn F. Wong | I consent to having some information posted on the website. | ||
01/31/2024 07:46 PM | ghuang38@usc.edu | Grace | Huang | Undergraduate - Freshman | Mann School of Pharmacy | 01/31/2024 | 05/08/2027 | 2pm, 3pm, 4pm, 5pm, 6pm, 7pm, 8pm, 9pm, 10pm | 11am, 12pm, 1pm, 4pm, 5pm, 6pm | 7pm, 8pm, 9pm, 10pm | 11am, 12pm, 5pm, 6pm, 7pm, 8pm, 9pm | 7pm, 8pm, 9pm | 11am, 12pm, 1pm, 2pm, 3pm, 4pm, 5pm, 6pm, 7pm, 8pm, 9pm, 10pm | 11am, 12pm, 1pm, 2pm, 3pm, 4pm, 5pm, 6pm, 7pm, 8pm, 9pm, 10pm | Volunteer Research Assistant (Unpaid) | Alcohol addiction, disease outcomes, addiction prevention, addiction treatment drug research, role of genetics in addiction susceptibility, mental health disorders, neurobiology/neurochemistry of addiction. | My name is Grace Huang but I was born in Potomac, Maryland to my parents who are first generation Chinese immigrants. We later relocated to Hong Kong, where I grew up and attended high school. My academic interests include chemistry, biology (hence why I’m a pharmacology major), and economics. I enjoy studying these subjects due to how they explain the minutiae of everyday phenomenon. Specifically, my interest in pharmacology lies in neuropharmacology. The reason for this has to do with my grandfather, who’s a renowned writer in China. Growing up, I saw him as a true renaissance man, always being able to speak eloquently about any topic. However, in 2020, after previously being misdiagnosed with having a stroke, we found out that he actually had mid-stage Parkinson’s. I came to the daunting realization over the span of a few months that there was no solution to this. No medicine or treatment could cure my grandfather of his condition. I watched my active and talkative grandfather become quiet and bound to a wheelchair. While my family largely has a humanities background, my mother being a professor and author, my grandfather’s condition inspired me to pursue my studies in pharmacology and drug development. In terms of my academic and career goals, I hope to pursue a PharmD followed by an industry fellowship after graduating. Currently, my goal is to work in the pharmacy industry as a researcher ideally in the development stage of drugs. I also have burgeoning interests in regulatory science and addiction science, which I hope to further explore. However, because I’m only a freshman and I am still in the early stages of discovering my true career passions in STEM, I am open to studying a variety of topics and fostering new interests. Over the past three summers, I interned at a muscle STEM cell research lab at HKUST, to which I developed much needed skills to go down this career path. The faculty there know me for being diligent and having a bubbly personality. When it comes to my personal hobbies and interests, one can say they’re quite disconnected from one another. For one, I’m quite crafty and am quite good with doing things with my hands (which is why I would be good in a lab!). I enjoy sketching, painting, and scrapbooking. I am also very passionate about beauty related things such as nail art, makeup and fashion. I also enjoy playing the piano, surfing the web, and watching scary movies. | https://docs.google.com/document/d/1qUrMZ-CPzzEAL0UGbaBelTFHS154hOT7-51MZatNwos/edit?usp=sharing | Daryl Davies | Antoine Bechara | Rachel Ceasar | Jungeun Olivia Lee | Michael Menchine | I consent to having some information posted on the website. |
03/08/2024 11:57 PM | chelinak@usc.edu | Chelina | Kim | Undergraduate - Sophomore | Dornsife College of Letters, Arts, and Sciences | 05/30/2024 | 08/10/2024 | 10am, 11am, 12pm, 1pm, 2pm, 3pm, 4pm, 5pm | 10am, 11am, 12pm, 1pm, 2pm, 3pm, 4pm, 5pm | 10am, 11am, 12pm, 1pm, 2pm, 3pm, 4pm, 5pm | 10am, 11am, 12pm, 1pm, 2pm, 3pm, 4pm, 5pm | 10am, 11am, 12pm, 1pm, 2pm, 3pm, 4pm, 5pm | 10am, 11am, 12pm, 1pm, 2pm, 3pm, 4pm, 5pm | 10am, 11am, 12pm, 1pm, 2pm, 3pm, 4pm, 5pm | Volunteer Research Assistant (Unpaid), Lab for Course Credit (ex: HP 490, ADSC 490, etc.) | Medicine, Healthcare, Pharmacology | As comedic as it sounds, watching “Hospital Playlist”, a Korean drama that illustrates the story of four doctor friends that each specialize in different fields of medicine, was the point in my high school career in which I knew that I wanted to pursue a career in healthcare. I was convinced that I would be just like those doctors – smart, reliable, and most importantly, surrounded by the privilege of creating strong bonds with the various types of people that they get to encounter. While I’ve always been interested in healthcare prior to this eye-opening experience, it was not until I experienced personal struggles with topical steroid withdrawal that I started to solidify my passion within the healthcare field – more specifically, in pharmacology. I associate the field of pharmacology with a lock and a key: each lock represents an aspect of human health that requires a key – a drug or medicine – that has to be meticulously crafted to unlock new paths toward healing and greater medical knowledge. Even the slightest variation in the key’s design can determine whether the lock opens or not, just as the smallest chemical interactions can have the largest effect on an individual’s health. The most minimal deformation or rust on the key can prevent opening the lock; the challenge lies in the fact that various biological locks are ever-changing, influenced by genetics, environment, and countless other factors, and therefore requires the constant crafting and re-crafting of such “keys”. Through various research opportunities offered at USC, I hope to take my first step into the field of making these keys that so heavily influence our health today. As a second-year undergraduate student with a passion for pharmacology, I am working to achieve academic excellence and expand more hands-on experience in the field to attend medical school in the future. Having personally experienced the struggles of topical steroid withdrawal, I am particularly interested in the exploration of topical steroids and the ways in which they work to affect our bodies and hope to participate in in-depth research regarding this field. Currently, I am actively involving myself in various volunteer and shadowing opportunities within a large hospital to not only observe the numerous fields in healthcare but also get a chance to directly interact with various types of patients as well as healthcare workers. I hope to take my experiences to a more academic level, which I believe can be perfectly provided by the research opportunities provided at USC. The blend of rigorous research training, mentorship, and exposure to cutting-edge research that various programs offer can not only allow me to build upon my foundational knowledge but also provide an opportunity to apply those principles in a research context focused on pharmacology. I am eager to bring my dedication, curiosity, and collaborative spirit to any project I take part in, and am confident that it will significantly advance my preparation towards my desired career path. | https://docs.google.com/document/d/1awMGUfJrTGUlaf7_FjgBY-nCrxMceprF-eJt5ftRr1w/edit?usp=sharing | Amanda Burkhardt | Daryl Davies | David Dadiomov | Eunjoo Huisung Pacifici | John Clapp | I consent to having some information posted on the website. |
04/15/2024 11:31 AM | seskinne@usc.edu | Sarah Skinner | Skinner | Undergraduate - Sophomore | Mann School of Pharmacy | 06/10/2024 | 07/10/2024 | 8am, 9am, 10am, 11am, 12pm, 1pm, 2pm, 3pm, 4pm | 8am, 9am, 10am, 11am, 12pm, 1pm, 2pm, 3pm, 4pm | 8am, 9am, 10am, 11am, 12pm, 1pm, 2pm, 3pm, 4pm | 8am, 9am, 10am, 11am, 12pm, 1pm, 2pm, 3pm, 4pm | 8am, 9am, 10am, 11am, 12pm, 1pm, 2pm, 3pm, 4pm | 8am, 9am, 10am, 11am, 12pm, 1pm, 2pm, 3pm, 4pm | Volunteer Research Assistant (Unpaid) | My research interests include women's health, behavioral pharmacology, regulatory sciences, psychology, and addiction sciences. | Hello, My name is Sarah Skinner. I am a second-year undergraduate student at USC studying biopharmaceutical sciences. I am reaching out to express my interest in your research. I am looking to join a lab long-term that focuses on addressing a prominent health issue, particularly in the context of pharmacy. I am especially interested in women's health, as women are so under-studied! One of the reasons I am so excited about research is that I have a passion for health and wellness, and I hope I can contribute to a research effort be it in women's health, addiction sciences, or another field I am interested in. I did some work last summer in Dr. Daryl Davies lab on alcohol use disorder, where I was focused on learning wet lab techniques, but found that I was more interested in collecting data in humans than mice. Longitudinal and cross-sectional studies are very interesting to me! I wanted to introduce myself and see if there was any way for me to get involved. Please let me know if you need any additional information from me, and I look forward to hearing from you! Best wishes, Sarah Skinner | https://docs.google.com/document/d/1a6BFlTzs-awv7-kBSckZX7wEus3G2Z0WdlPqxv4VS0U/edit?usp=sharing | Tyler Mason | Rael Cahn | Rachel Ceasar | Lina D'Orazio | Susan Elizabeth Luczak | I consent to having some information posted on the website. | |
07/11/2024 01:50 PM | imbernst@usc.edu | Isaac | Bernstein | Undergraduate - Sophomore | Dornsife College of Letters, Arts, and Sciences | 08/24/2024 | 05/30/2025 | 8am, 9am, 10am | 9am, 10am, 11am, 12pm, 1pm, 2pm | 8am, 9am, 10am | 8am, 9am, 10am, 11am, 12pm, 1pm, 2pm | 8am, 9am, 10am, 2pm, 3pm | 11am, 12pm, 1pm, 2pm, 3pm | 8am, 9am, 10am, 11am, 12pm, 1pm, 2pm, 3pm | Volunteer Research Assistant (Unpaid), Lab for Course Credit (ex: HP 490, ADSC 490, etc.) | Tobacco, Mental health, Social media addiction, and substance use disorders, Cannabis and Psychedelics | My name is Isaac Bernstein, and I am a 19-year-old sophomore at the University of Southern California (USC) majoring in Psychology with a minor in Addiction Science. Growing up in New York City and attending public school, I witnessed firsthand the pervasive substance use among my peers, including tobacco, psychedelics, and cannabis. These experiences have fueled my passion for understanding the psychological effects of substance use and have shaped my aspiration to become a psychiatrist. This past summer, I had the invaluable opportunity to participate in The Child Center Residential Treatment Facility (RTF), a coeducational program providing a supportive environment for young people aged 12-18. The RTF serves those who have had multiple psychiatric hospital placements or serious emotional disabilities and involvement with the juvenile justice system. As the only dual NYS Office of Mental Health/Office of Children and Family Services facility in downstate New York, the center offers a range of services, including trauma-informed clinical services, specialized clinical interventions, psychiatric services, and medication management. Additionally, the program includes creative arts, vocational skill-building, and intensive supervision, all aimed at ensuring long-term success for the residents. My experience at the RTF allowed me to engage directly with the comprehensive care and support systems designed to aid young people in overcoming their challenges. This hands-on involvement has deepened my understanding of the complexities of mental health treatment and reinforced my commitment to pursuing a career in psychiatry. I am eager to bring my strong commitment to academic excellence and my proactive approach to learning and collaboration to your team as a research assistant. I am confident that my background, combined with my dedication to the field of psychology, will enable me to make valuable contributions to your study. Moreover, I am enthusiastic about the prospect of contributing to broader research initiatives and engaging with the diverse training opportunities offered through USC and the Institute of Addiction Sciences. | https://drive.google.com/file/d/1BjuNFATkxP6UxuHmhEanndrsC57N6CE7/view?usp=sharing www.linkedin.com/in/isaac-bernstein-777ba32a7 | John Clapp | Jon-Patrick Allem | David Dadiomov | Kathryn Smith | Bradley Peterson | I consent to having some information posted on the website. |
07/22/2024 07:29 PM | arkashya@usc.edu | Atul | Kashyap | Undergraduate - Freshman | Dornsife College of Letters, Arts, and Sciences | 01/09/2025 | 05/10/2028 | 12pm, 1pm, 3pm | 1pm, 3pm | 12pm, 1pm, 3pm | 1pm, 3pm | 8am, 9am, 10am, 11am, 12pm, 1pm, 2pm, 3pm | 8am, 9am, 10am, 11am, 12pm, 1pm, 2pm, 3pm | 8am, 9am, 10am, 11am, 12pm, 1pm, 2pm, 3pm | Volunteer Research Assistant (Unpaid) | THC/Fentanyl/Alcohol Addiction Research | My name is Atul Kashyap, and I am an incoming student for the spring semester pursuing a major in Neuroscience. Over the past year, I have been working at the University of Maryland School of Medicine in an addiction lab, where I have honed my laboratory techniques, and understanding of experimental paradigms under Dr. Mary Kay Lobo. I can confidently say that I can bring enthusiasm and dedication to everything I do, never hesitate to ask questions, and continuously learn. I would like to quickly address that since I am admitted for the spring, I will not be on campus during the fall; however, one my main skills includes using R and Python for data analysis and statistical modeling, so I am fully open to any remote opportunities until January. I would like to end by reiterating my enthusiasm for the field of addiction science and more broadly, neuroscience. Any opportunity to contribute to the advancement of the field, as well as my own intrinsic curiosity, would be greatly appreciated. | https://docs.google.com/document/d/1KX8a3ziwQ_dMDj-fTqIECAPRMTPlSmtvy9MTbvu6CXs/edit?usp=sharing | Antoine Bechara | Sarah Anne Axeen | Rosalie Liccardo Pacula | Daryl Davies | John Clapp | I consent to having some information posted on the website. |
09/17/2024 12:06 AM | dbansal@usc.edu | Devansh | Bansal | Undergraduate - Junior | Dornsife College of Letters, Arts, and Sciences | 09/23/2024 | 05/01/2026 | 1pm, 2pm, 3pm, 4pm, 5pm | 2pm, 3pm, 4pm, 5pm | 2pm, 3pm, 4pm, 5pm | Volunteer Research Assistant (Unpaid) | Mental Health, Neuroscience, Emotion, Biology, Music | I’m Devansh, an undergraduate studying Computational Neuroscience, Bioinformatics, and Songwriting. Academically I am driven to study biology and the brain. Science and math were my favorite subjects growing up, and coming into university, I wanted to study why people act and think the way they do from a scientific perspective, hence my interest in neuroscience and psychology. I also love music. From growing up playing the piano, to singing in a cappella groups for the last 5 years, to writing lengthy analyses of my favorite songs and albums, music has been both a favorite pastime and fervent passion of mine. You usually can’t find me walking around campus without earbuds in. Lastly, I love to teach. Growing up, I would often play games with my sisters where we would teach a class together to a group of imaginary students, and I always felt like my knowledge wasn’t enough if I couldn’t convey it to someone else. Throughout high school I pursued various tutoring jobs and extracurricular leadership opportunities, having grown to love teaching. At USC, I have been primarily motivated by the research opportunities here. Since my freshman year, I have been studying the emotional and memory-based effects of nostalgic music in the Brain and Music Lab and the ways we cognitively understand events in the Meaning Lab. Last year, I was able to co-lead the design of a new experiment building off the Meaning Lab’s previous work. Over the summer, I traveled to the Cognitive Science Society’s annual conference in Rotterdam to represent a linguistics paper we had put together. This exposure to the world of academia has taught me a lot about how research works, the steps required to create, design, and execute an entire study, and the joy of sharing your work with other like-minded scholars. This brings me to the Institute of Addiction Science. When it comes to my interest in neuroscience, I am especially curious about human emotion and how we feel, from a psychological, neurological, and even philosophical perspective. In fact, that’s one of the main reasons I love music and songwriting so much and have pursued that as a minor at USC. I have always thought of addiction as a malfunction or deficit of human emotion in some way, and the need to fill that “hole” with some extraneous item, like substances or the Internet. I also feel like addiction can permeate beyond that though and impact all of us through our overconsumption of seemingly harmless things, like media or products. An example I sometimes ponder is music, which many people including myself have found very powerful in the emotion and catharsis it can provide in difficult times. In that case, if music can produce a psychological effect similar to other addictive substances, can music itself also be addictive? I’m curious to learn more about addiction’s concrete physiological and psychological bases with IAS to answer these and other questions, learn important research methods in this field, and explore more unconventional addictions. | CV: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1t80fvZ-jJ1xGzo3DVTAovaJSmc5LlMGg/edit?usp=sharing&ouid=114449774736767827027&rtpof=true&sd=true Resume: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1cuSsTs9FX8S8q6HSLTjHDL7Xo5_VJHxp/edit?usp=sharing&ouid=114449774736767827027&rtpof=true&sd=true | Antoine Bechara | Joey Trampush | Stephen Read | Mohammad Soleymani | Bradley Peterson | I consent to having some information posted on the website. | ||||
Timestamp | Email Address | First Name | Last Name | Level of Education | Affiliated School | What is Your Start Date? | What is Your End Date? | Select the Days and Times You Are Available to Work [Monday] | Select the Days and Times You Are Available to Work [Tuesday] | Select the Days and Times You Are Available to Work [Wednesday] | Select the Days and Times You Are Available to Work [Thursday] | Select the Days and Times You Are Available to Work [Friday] | Select the Days and Times You Are Available to Work [Saturday] | Select the Days and Times You Are Available to Work [Sunday] | What Kind of Opportunity Are You Looking For? | What Are Your Research Interests? | Please Provide a Short Bio | Please Upload Link(s) to Your CV & Resume | #1 Choice | #2 Choice | #3 Choice | #4 Choice | #5 Choice | Information Release Consent |