Undergraduate Research Opportunities

Edson College Undergraduate Research Charter

The Edson College of Nursing and Health Innovation at Arizona State University is committed to providing an inclusive, health care and health outcomes-focused research experience directed at serving individuals, families and communities, and affording undergraduate students of all majors the opportunity and resources to explore their research interests and ideas with guidance from experienced Edson College faculty researchers.

Why should I get involved with research?

Prior research has found that becoming involved in authentic scientific experiences as an undergraduate student is associated with higher graduation rates, greater acceptance rates to graduate schools, broadened career options (particularly in academic, industry and other professional science networks), and meaningful relationships with faculty mentors and peers within a team-based research setting.

How can I get involved with research at the Edson College?

Enroll in a faculty-led section of the course HCR 280 or HCR 480 Team-Based Research Practicum. Each section represents a lab or research project opportunity open to small groups of students of any major to obtain practical research skills while being an integral part of a research team implementing a health, nursing, healthcare and/or health innovation related studies.

Edson College Research Opportunities

For Credit in Fall 2023

HCR 280/480 Team-Based Research Practicum (1-3 credits)

Course Description: Small-group (e.g., team, project, lab, clinic, center-based) health, nursing, healthcare, and health innovation–related study and research experiences, led by an Edson College faculty mentor, for students of all majors.

*Note. Permission from the faculty mentor is required prior to enrollment. Contact them today!

Lab/Project	Class #s	Contact	Description
People, Places, & Health Equity Lab + LGBTQ Health & Aging Lab	96749 96756 96763 96770	Aaron.Guest@asu.edu	Dr. Guest’s lab focuses on 1) understanding the influence and use of the social and built environments on health throughout the life course, emphasizing older age and rural environments, and 2) Decreasing Health Disparities Among Marginalized Aging Populations and Reducing Discrimination Among Aging Older Adults. We conduct interdisciplinary mixed methods research focused on improving the health of aging LGBTQ individuals. The lab is dedicated to using this knowledge to generate novel approaches to reduce health inequalities.
Comparative Health Policy Analysis & Experiences in Healthcare Lab	96759 96760 96773 96774	Allie.Peckham@asu.edu	This is a health services research lab that conducts comparative policy analysis to impact health service delivery and policy through innovative research and thinking and it seeks to understand the wide-ranging field of health and health care to help improve the health of individuals and communities.
Diabetes Prevention in Latino Youth & Families	96753 96767	Allison.Nagle@asu.edu	Dr. Gabriel Shaibi’s lab develops, tests, and expands diabetes prevention programs for high-risk Latino youth and families in collaboration with community partners and stakeholders. Join us as we implement a study funded by the National Institutes of Health to prevent type 2 diabetes in high-risk Latino families https://news.asu.edu/20210927-new-grant-expands-community-based-diabetes-prevention-research
Latino Jornaleros (Day Laborers) Project + Latino Migrant Youth Project	96754 96768	Fiorella.Carlos.Chavez@asu.edu	Dr. Chavez's Migrant Youth Health & Wellbeing lab focuses on understanding the implications of work-life stressors on Latino/a/ migrant workers' mental health. To accomplish this, we use qualitative (audio interviews) and quantitative data (questionnaires) to explore the role of cultural values and financial necessity in the decision of young adults to migrate for work and the psychological consequences of that decision and examine adult-like behaviors among migrant adolescents as well as the alternative pathways to adulthood these youth may take in adolescence.
View of Aging, Social Context, & Health	96755 96769	Hannah.Giasson@asu.edu	Dr. Giasson’s lab examines the social contexts that shape views of aging and the impact of such views on people’s health and well-being. Students in the lab will have opportunities to collaborate on research projects investigating the emergence of attitudes and beliefs about aging (e.g., examining the role of media/social media in shaping how people feel about aging) and evaluating the cognitive, behavioral, social, emotional, and physiological implications of age stereotypes. Projects in the lab also explore potential interventions for improving views of aging across the life span.
Emotional & Cognitive Health in Late Life Lab	96758 96772	Molly.Maxfield@asu.edu	Dr. Maxfield's research focuses on emotional responses to cognitive changes occurring as we age. One aspect of her research examines older adults' anxiety about cognitive changes, including anxiety in anticipation of cognitive changes or the possibility of a dementia diagnosis in the future. A second focus of research examines how a history of childhood abuse and neglect influences cognitive functioning in midlife and beyond.
Physical Activity, Community Collaboration, and Equity Lab	96752 96766	releephd@yahoo.com	Dr. Rebecca Lee's research promotes physical activity and healthy eating, leveraging community partnerships to create health equity. The BE SAGE study helps get young children (age 3-5) back to in person school safely using a combination of open air garden-based physical activity and nutrition activities and saliva COVID-19 screening tests in preschools serving Hispanic children and families.
Vaccination Ethics and Policy + Applied Public Health Ethics and Decision Making Lab	96762 96779 96776 96780	rgurarie@asu.edu	Focusing on health systems management, health equity and bioethics, Dr. Gur-Arie's lab focuses on issues related to of infectious disease, public health, global health, policy, and ethics.
Physical Activity and Health Lab	96750 96764	Rodney.Joseph@asu.edu	Dr Joseph’s physical activity and health lab focuses on conducting innovative research promoting physical activity to reduce health disparities and promote health equity, Students enrolled will have the opportunity to collaborate on a variety of research projects, including studies promoting physical activity among African American and Hispanic women and midlife individuals at high-risk for Alzheimer’s Disease and related dementias.
Circadian Rhythms and Sleep Lab	96761 96775	Shawn.Youngstedt@asu.edu	Dr. Youngstedt’s lab investigates non-pharmacologic means of influencing sleep and circadian rhythms, for example, with exercise and bright light.
Close Relationships & Health Lab	96751 96765	Shelby.Langer@asu.edu	This lab is dedicated to the scientific study of close relationships, in particular dyads or pairs. Examples include partners, spouses, children and parents, and care recipients and caregivers.
Cancer & Digital Storytelling Lab	96757 96771	Sunny.Kim@asu.edu	Dr. Sunny Kim’s Cancer & Digital Storytelling Lab investigates the effects of digital storytelling on emotional distress (depression, anxiety) among cancer patients and caregivers. Current research projects involve testing the efficacy of narrative-based storytelling as a psychosocial therapeutic intervention among bone marrow transplant patients/caregivers at Mayo Clinic and storytelling effects on promoting HPV vaccination among vulnerable and underserved populations, including racial/ethnic minorities and immigrants.