Graduate Research Assistant Openings
The following is a sampling of research faculty within the Department of Allied Health Sciences who are actively recruiting graduate research assistants for Fall 2025 admission.
Dr. Caitlin Caspi
e-mail:caitlin.caspi@uconn.edu
Program (MS/PhD):MS, PhD
Number of openings:1
Specific certifications/skills required: Degree in health-related field (Bachelor’s for MS or MS/MPH for PhD); Strong scientific writing skills; Experience with research project management, data management and/or statistical analyses.
Dr. Kristen Cooksey Stowers
e-mail: kristen.cooksey@uconn.edu
Program (MS/PhD): MS, PhD
Number of openings: 1
Specific certifications/skills required: Have taken a biostatistics course. Some experience working with communities. Familiarity with social determinants of health and/or health disparities literature.
Dr. Anna-Michelle McSorley
e-mail:amcsorley@uconn.edu
Programs (MS/PhD): MS, PhD
Number of openings: 1
Brief description of research: Our group engages with projects that center health equity and social justice for communities often found at the margins of society. Through a political and social determinants of health lens, we apply mixed methodologies to examine structures and systems that shape population health outcomes locally, nationally, and globally. Our work primarily focuses on Latine/x populations, with an emphasis on Puerto Rican communities. However, we approach our work in solidarity with communities who experience similar barriers to health and well-being. As a member of the team, you will have the opportunity to contribute to several active projects in the areas of Latine/x population health, data equity, health and social policy, and territorial health.
Research area key words: Population health, public health, Latine health, Latino health, Puerto Rican health, territorial health, political determinants of health, social determinants of health, policy
Specific certifications/skills required: Degree in health-related field (Bachelor’s for MS or MS/MPH for PhD); Prior experience with quantitative data analysis and/or community-engaged research methodologies; Proficiency in Spanish also preferred but not required.
Location: Our research space is located on the UConn Waterbury campus.
Dr. Sherry Pagoto
e-mail:sherry.pagoto@uconn.edu
Program (MS/PhD): MS, PhD
Number of openings: 1
Specific certifications/skills required: PhD – previous experience in digital health research for disease prevention (e.g., obesity, diabetes, CVD, cancer). MS – desire to prepare for PhD programs in clinical health psychology, public health, health communication, or similar.
Dr. Aviana Rosen
e-mail:aviana.rosen@uconn.edu
Program (MS/PhD): MS, PhD
Number of openings: 1 (Fall 2024 & Spring 2025)
Brief description of research: 10 hr/week GA working as a Research Assistant on the USDA Hatch grant, A pandemic’s effect on Mediterranean Diet adherence among obese adolescents: A meta-analytic modeling and survey implementation of lessons learned from Spain to curb youth obesity in the United States.
Assist with survey implementation and data interpretation– preparing IRB proposal, finalizing survey, data management, data analysis, collaborating on publications.
Specific skills required: statistical analysis, excellent scientific writing skills, proficiency in Spanish language (not required)
Dr. Eric Ryberg
e-mail: eric.ryberg@uconn.edu
Programs (MS/PhD): MS, PhD
Number of openings: 1
Brief description of research: Our group has several projects at the junction of environmental chemistry and environmental health. We primarily investigate the role of sunlight in pathogen disinfection and pollutant degradation to improve water quality in both engineered systems and the natural environment. We pair fundamental observations with the development of sunlight-enabled water treatment technologies to reduce the global burden of disease in populations exposed to contaminated water. As a member of the Ryberg Lab, you will participate fully in the research process – contributing to grant proposals, designing and performing experiments, analyzing data, and drafting and revising manuscripts for publication.
Research area key words: Environmental chemistry, environmental health, drinking water treatment, solar disinfection (SODIS), drinking water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) development
Specific certifications/skills required: Bachelor’s degree in a STEM or health-related field, wet-laboratory experience
Dr. Roman Shrestha
e-mail: roman.shrestha@uconn.edu
Research area keywords: mHealth, HIV, substance use, mental health, global health
Program (MS/PhD): MS, PhD
Number of openings: 1
Brief description of research: We have multiple ongoing projects, both in domestic and international settings, that focus on HIV and substance use prevention and mental health using mHealth technologies as an innovative platform to scale-up prevention efforts in key populations (e.g., PWID, MSM, TGW). Graduate students are involved in all phases of research, including grant writing, data collection tool/survey development, recruitment, retention, data management and analyses, and manuscript writing.
Specific certifications/skills required: Bachelor’s degree in health-related field and familiarity with statistical software such as R, SAS, or SPSS (MS); master’s degree in health-related and familiarity with statistical software such as R, SAS, or SPSS (PhD).
Dr. Molly Waring
e-mail: molly.waring@uconn.edu
Program (MS/PhD): MS, PhD
Number of openings: 1
Brief description of research: Our research focuses on health promotion among perinatal persons and mothers, including both observational and intervention studies related to the use of social media for weight management, mental health, and health information seeking.
Research area keywords: pregnancy/post-partum; social media; nutrition; weight management; mental health; health information
Specific certifications/skills required: Degree in health-related field (Bachelor’s for MS or MS/MPH for PhD); strong scientific writing skills; experience with data management and statistical analyses (SAS or R preferred).