Faculty and Undergraduate Student Research Database

Dr. Biefeld’s BODY LAB is looking for undergraduate research assistants (RAs). We study how experiences of harassment and discrimination (at an individual and systematic level) impact the mental and physical health of children and adolescents. We also investigate the ways that body justice, intersecting identities, and community membership foster well-being and healthy development. Importantly, work in the lab utilizes both quantitative and qualitative approaches. You can see more about our work here: https://bodylab.ua.edu/ We study topics such as: (1) perceptions of discrimination across intersecting identities (e.g., gender identity, body-size, sexual orientation, and race/ethnicity) (2) peer-to-peer gender-based and sexual haras...

Students interested in brain-to-brain coordination during coversation (as well as development of it in children and clinical populations) are invited to train in my lab (https://malaia.people.ua.edu/opportunities.html) as volunteers. Class credit available in CD 350 or CD 360 Honors; training in Good Laboratory Practices and experiment administration provided. Since the training is fairly involved, 1-year commitment (Fall-Spring, or Spring-Fall) is required. You'd be working in a small group (3-4 student researchers), and comfortable coordinating/scheduling flexibly. The hours (3-5/week) are calculated based on 2-3 experimental recordings a week, which, depending on participant availability, might take place evenings or weekends. Any ma...

The primary goal of this research is to conceptualize, design, fabricate, and deploy a robotic arm driven by the principles of tensegrity structures, providing a unique approach to robotic movement, flexibility, and adaptability. Tensegrity, a portmanteau of "tension" and "integrity", refers to structural systems that derive their stability from a balance between tension and compression components. In recent years, there has been a growing interest in applying the principles of tensegrity to the realm of robotics, primarily due to its potential advantages such as lightweight structures, increased flexibility, and adaptive resilience. Scope: Literature Review: Investigation of existing research related to tensegrity robotics, its prin...

I am looking for a team of students from a variety of disciplines. I would like the team to be part of UA Crimson Start-Up to assist with NSF applications in the future. We are searching for students with Business backgrounds to lead this effort. I am searching for Mechanical engineering students to assist with design components of the Safe Walker. Pre-Med students to assist with writing about the health impacts of falls in older adults and prevention efforts as well as surveying older adults and health providers. Psychology and social work students to aid in survey development and surveys and manuscript writing. Kinesiology students to provide feedback on walker design and survey occupational and physical therapists. The goal of this r...

The Mapping Personal Finance Education project will involve data collection of school-level financial education course offering standards in US high schools for the 2024-2025 academic year. The data collection effort is intended to encourage further research documenting the effects of personal finance education. Financial education course offering standards will be collected from online course catalogs and matched to publicly available data on school characteristics. The project outcomes include constructing a dataset for the use of researchers, developing documentation explaining how to use the data and detailing the specifics of the dataset, and producing a summary of results of the data collection for dissemination, including changes in ...

In this project, you will assist on a series of exciting projects examining the use of LLMs in media production and its effect on public trust towards media and media professionals. Under guidance, you will have the chance to conduct literature review, develop surveys and experiments, and help analyze data if you have the right skills set. You will have the chance to meaningfully contribute to social science research and will have the chance to be listed as an author in peer-reviewed journal articles in leading outlets in fields such as communication, information science, and interdisciplinary social science, which will be a great testimony to your research ability should you choose to pursue a graduate program or any research-related jobs ...

Seeking motivated undergraduate student(s) to assist a professor in preparing grant proposals and manuscripts related to the association between social determinants of health and Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD). This position offers a unique opportunity for students interested in public health, health disparities, medicine, epidemiology, or related fields to gain hands-on experience in academic research and grant/manuscript writing. Key Responsibilities: • Assist in gathering, reviewing, and synthesizing relevant literature for grant proposals and research manuscripts. • Contribute to the drafting and editing of research proposals and academic manuscripts for submission to peer-reviewed journals. • Help format and p...

We are seeking a dedicated and detail-oriented undergraduate and graduate research assistant with experiences in quantitative and qualitative research methods. The successful candidate will contribute to a research project regarding “Asian Americans and Health Care Services in Alabama.” This is a dynamic and hands-on role that offers the opportunity to gain practical experience in mixed method research approach in academic setting. The successful candidate will work closely with the research team in involving data collection, analysis, and report/manuscript writing. Required Qualifications Major in a relevant field such as social sciences, social work, psychology, health sciences, or a related discipline. • Strong proficiency in...

This MRI study will be examining dissociative states associated with a history of trauma exposure among former foster youth. I'm looking for a highly motivated undergraduate student to help with basic research tasks, including recruitment, assistance with eligibility screenings, and audio transcription of scripts to be used in the MRI scanner....