Faculty Looking for Student-Researchers

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Check out our Past Scholars Page

Linked here is our past scholars page where all previous year's scholars are listed with their project titles and faculty mentors. If any of these projects sound interesting reach out to that faculty mentor using the "CSR Tips on how to find a faculty mentor" to help guide you.

Check out these faculty want ads below

All of the faculty want ads below are posted for faculty actively seeking out students to help on their projects. Don't be afraid to reach out to them, they want to hear from you.

Faculty Looking for Student-Researchers

Want Ads Posted Below

The CSR will list information provided by Cal State East Bay faculty who are interested in working with student-researchers. Students should follow the instructions provided by the faculty member and contact them directly (the CSR does not get involved in this initial contact with the faculty member). Most faculty will ask that you email them with specific information, so please read their project information, closely!

Faculty member: Dr. Amara Miller (Dept. of Sociology)

Description of Project:

I am currently hiring a Student Research Assistant to help with data analysis for an ongoing project on yoga.

The study uses mixed methods to investigate the evolution of yoga during the last fifty years in North America, with a special focus on power, inequality, and social justice. Note the project is not about physical fitness or yoga postures–it investigates broader social forces like commodification, secularization, and cultural appropriation of the practice including issues of sizeism, racism, and queerphobia in the industry and teaching profession. A majority of the data currently undergoing analysis is focused on the experiences of Desi teachers and also deals directly with questions about de/colonization of yoga.

The work will take place during the rest of Spring semester and across Summer 2023. Pay is $17/hour, with potential funding for up to 175 hours of work ($3000 total) depending on project needs. You must be a CSUEB student to apply (undergraduate or graduate level).

Key Job Responsibilities

  • Transcribe interviews and/or clean transcriptions generated through Zoom program to ensure accuracy.
  • Assist in coding anonymized interview data to identify key themes/patterns, as directed by the Principal Investigator (Amara Miller).

Qualifications

  • Must be a CSUEB student to apply
  • Preferred: prior completion of a Research Methods class in the social sciences that covers methods such as interviews and/or participant observation
  • Preferred: general knowledge of yoga and/or of Desi cultures
  • Preferred: interest and awareness of topics like cultural appropriation and decolonization

Contact info & Application Instructions

If you are interested, please email a resume and cover letter explaining why you are interested in and qualified for this position to Amara Miller (amara.miller@csueastbay.edu) by the end of the day on Friday April 7, 2023. If you have any questions, please reach out!

Faculty member: Dr. Ferrarello

Discipline: Philosophy/Psychology/ Health Sciences/Computer Sciences

General description of expertise:

I look for a media expert to create a podcast on the “Meaning of Life: Where Philosophy gets Personal”

Related majors for this project:

Philosophy/Psychology/ Health Sciences/Computer Sciences

Project: 

This project involves 3 media experts: director of photography, lead editor, video/music editor. This project consists of a series of 10 one-hour webinars and podcasts focused on 'the meaning of life'. Using a unique format, leading philosophers from all over the world will be invited to talk in very personal terms about their work and explain how their personal and professional choices contribute to shared well-being. The project will highlight the value that a global perspective  

Student-researcher expectations and responsibilities:

  • Work a minimum of 4 hours per week during the editing process
  • Work is limited to the cycle of 10 interviews to make

Dr. Ferrarello

Susi.ferrarello@gmail.com

Please, send me material of what you have already done in the field

Faculty member: Dr. Hazlehurst

Discipline: Ecology and Conservation Biology

General description of Dr. Hazlehurst’s expertise:

The Pollination Ecology & Conservation lab at CSU East Bay studies the behavior and diversity of the animals that pollinate California’s unique plants. If you are interested in exploring a career working in the outdoors or in the lab studying wildlife and plants, this lab could be a good fit for you! Check out our website HERE.

General description of projects in the Hazlehurst lab: 

Several projects are available for motivated undergraduates including both in-person and fully online research projects. All projects relate to the conservation of threatened species in California, specifically hummingbirds, insect pollinators such as bees, and plants. Email Dr. Hazlehurst if you are interested in learning more.

Student-researcher expectations and responsibilities:

  • Work a minimum of 3-5 hours per week on your research project (CSR Scholar requirement)
  • Attend lab meetings every 2 weeks (virtual meetings).
  • Participate in the lab’s Slack channel and communicate with Dr. Hazlehurst regularly by email. 

To contact Dr. Hazlehurst:

Email: jenny.hazlehurst@csueastbay.edu

In your email, please provide (a) a few sentences about your potential career interests and (b) what specific work we do in the lab that is of interest to you, and why.

Related majors for these projects:

Biology (Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Concentration, Cell & Molecular Biology, or others), Earth & Environmental Science, and Environmental Studies.

Project #1:

Graduate fellowship studying Restoration Ecology

The Hazlehurst Lab is recruiting 2 graduate students to the MS in Biological Sciences program to study native bee pollinators of rare and endangered plants and restoration of pollination services in N. California grassland and oak woodland habitats. You can find more information about the MS program in Biology at California State University East Bay here. A funded graduate fellowship may be available to offset the cost of the program. 

If you are interested, please send an email to Dr. Hazlehurst at jenny.hazlehurst@csueastbay.edu including a statement about why you are interested in this opportunity and a little bit about some of your future career goals and 1 letter of recommendation from a professor or relevant supervisor in a biology-related job OR contact information for a professor or relevant supervisor who can provide a reference for you (make sure you notify them first).

Project #2:

Hummingbird ecology

The Hazlehurst Lab at CSU East Bay in Hayward, CA is recruiting to the Masters program to study how the diet of Anna’s hummingbirds (Calypte anna) vary in urban and rural habitats. The student will assist in DNA extraction, PCR amplification, library prep, and next generation sequencing of fecal samples collected from hummingbirds at different locations around the East Bay in 2021. Samples will be analyzed for plant and arthropod diet diversity using metabarcoding techniques. Approximately 130 samples were collected in 2021 and are ready for analysis. The student will also participate in additional fecal sampling of hummingbirds in local parks, on campus, and in neighborhoods around the Hayward campus in Spring – Fall of 2022. Experience in molecular techniques like DNA extraction, PCR amplification, and sequencing is preferred but not required.

 If you are interested, please send an email to Dr. Hazlehurst at jenny.hazlehurst@csueastbay.edu and either one letter of recommendation from a CSUEB professor OR contact information for a CSUEB professor who can provide a reference for you (make sure you notify them first!). You can find more information about the MS program in Biology at California State University East Bay here

 

Faculty members: Dr. Anndretta Lyle Wilson, Dr. Carlos Salomon, Dr. Nicholas Baham, Dr. Jocyl Sacramento, Dr. Jennifer K. Tran, 

Discipline: Ethnic Studies

General description of Dr. Wilson's expertise:

Wilson is an assistant professor with specialities in Black Studies, Feminisms,  and Community Engagement in the Department of Ethnic Studies. Courses they teach include: Black Power, Enslavement and Resistance, Women of Color Writers, The Black Fantastic: Politics and Popular Culture, and Black Feminism(s). Their most recent publications include "Preserving Sacred Space: Mahalia Jackson’s Transnational Song Labor During the Era of Decolonization" (Springer) and "Between Duty and Romance: The Attraction of Sounding 'Black' in Paris" (University of California)

 

Related majors for this project:  Open to all majors. 

Project: 

Co-Editors: Nicholas Baham, Jocyl Sacramento, Carlos Salomon, Jennifer Tran, Anndretta Lyle Wilson

Love, Knowledge, and Revolution: Decolonizing Directions in Comparative Ethnic Studies is organized to guide instructors and students through an intersectional and comparative approach to understanding key theories, concepts, practices, and movements in Ethnic Studies. Each chapter introduces the decolonial process of Love, Knowledge, and Revolution rooted in the theoretical and activist lineages of Ethnic Studies as an academic discipline. The textbook begins with an introductory chapter explicating the decolonial legacies and origins of Ethnic Studies. The remaining chapters of the textbook are organized in three sections (1) Love; (2) Knowledge; and (3) Revolution as phases in a decolonial process and broach topics ranging from Comparative Ethnic Studies Pedagogy; Music and Performance; Visual Art; Ethnic Futurisms; Settler Colonialism and Indigeneity; U.S. Militarism and Migration; Race, Space; Cities; Class, Labor & Racial Capitalism; Women of Color Feminist Theory and Praxis; Gender and Sexuality; Decolonization; Environmental Activism; Immigration; Abolition and Prison Protest; Social Movements; and Liberation through Education. This textbook offers perspectives to help students develop critical self-awareness that nurtures a love for self and community, explore the theoretical insights of comparative Ethnic Studies, and engage in revolutionary praxis.


Student-researcher expectations and responsibilities: 

  • Work a minimum of 3-5 hours per week on your research project (CSR Scholar requirement)
  • Complete literature reviews using the University library databases 
  • Read and analyze primary and secondary source material 
  • Copy editing, proofreading, indexing, formatting, footnoting, and compiling data for review and publication. 
  • Desirable skills are being able to work independently, ask clarifying questions, knowledge of Chicago style formatting, Microsoft Office, and Google Suite software.  

Next Steps: 

Please complete the interest form uing this link: https://forms.gle/RyWQAcqBmtqjd7Wg9 

You will need to include your name, major, and a brief summary of why you are interested in this project.

Faculty member: Dr. Anndretta Lyle Wilson

Discipline: Ethnic Studies

General description of Dr. Wilson's expertise:

Wilson is an assistant professor with specialities in Black Studies, Feminisms,  and Community Engagement in the Department of Ethnic Studies. Courses they teach include: Black Power, Enslavement and Resistance, Women of Color Writers, The Black Fantastic: Politics and Popular Culture, and Black Feminism(s). Their most recent publications include "Preserving Sacred Space: Mahalia Jackson’s Transnational Song Labor During the Era of Decolonization" (Springer) and "Between Duty and Romance: The Attraction of Sounding 'Black' in Paris" (University of California)

Related majors for this project:

Open to all majors. 

Project: 

This book project centers Black United States performers who traveled and worked overseas through Jim Crow, Civil Rights, and Black Power eras. 

Student-researcher expectations and responsibilities: 

  • Work a minimum of 3-5 hours per week on your research project (CSR Scholar requirement)
  • Complete literature reviews using the University library databases 
  • Read and analyze primary and secondary source material 
  • Copy editing, proofreading, indexing, formatting, footnoting, and compiling data for review and publication. 
  • Desirable skills are being able to work independently, ask clarifying questions, knowledge of Chicago or MLA style formatting, Microsoft Office, and Google Suite software.  

Next Steps: 

Please contact Dr. Anndretta Wilson <anndretta.wilson@csueastbay.edu> if you are interested in more information or to apply for the position. Please include your name, major, and a brief summary of why you are interested in this project.

Faculty member: Dr. Stephen Asztalos

 

Discipline: Physics and Astronomy

 

General description of Dr. Asztalos’s expertise:
My research interests lie in particle astrophysics and stellar evolution, specifically in better
characterizing the properties of Cepheid variables, which are massive, variable stars subject to
periodic oscillations used as standard candles hence, cosmological distance indicators.

 

Related majors for this project:
Physics and astronomy, computer science, geosciences

 

Project:
Cepheid variable stars are massive stars that have ceased burning hydrogen in their cores and
are on the evolutionary track to becoming red supergiants. Along their evolutionary paths they
enter a region of instability (driven by a temperature dependent opacity) that is manifested by
the expansion and contraction of their outer stellar envelopes. The resultant period versus
luminosity relationship transforms these objects into standard candles; the expansion of the
universe was discovered by Edwin Hubble using Cepheid variables as distance indicators. As
central as they are to modern cosmology, some of their properties remain poorly understood.
Specifically, there persists a significant discrepancy between their inferred and modeled masses,
whose resolution may improve their ability to anchor the Hubble diagram. Recent data from the
Las Cumbres Observatory will be used to test the accuracy of 1D stellar modeling codes and
discrepancies used to infer where improvements are needed in the models.

 

Student-researcher expectations and responsibilities:
• Work a minimum of 3-5 hours per week on your research project (CSR Scholar
requirement)
• Work and communicate enthusiastically with a small team that includes undergraduates
from other institutions, as well as more senior scientists
• Learn the basic elements of stellar astrophysics
• Modify, test and run existing stellar evolutionary code(s) and analyze their output

 

Dr. Asztalos contact info. and instructions regarding what you need to provide when you
contact him about a student-research position:
Dr. Asztalos can be reached at stephen.asztalos@csueastbay.edu Please describe any physics
and/or astronomy classes you’ve taken, how much time you can devote per week and with what
languages you have programming experience.

Faculty member: Dr. Jenny Hazlehurst

 

Discipline: Ecology

 

General description of Dr. Hazlehurst's expertise: 

The Pollination Ecology & Conservation Lab @ CSUEB:

You have probably heard that pollinators, those helpful critters that move pollen from one flower to another and give us the abundance of wonderful plants ranging from wildflowers to major crops important to global food security, are in trouble. Pollinators are being threatened by habitat loss, pesticides, and climate change. Research in my lab focuses on how pollinators (from flies to bees to hummingbirds) change how and what plants they eat in response to these changes, and what cascading effects those changes might have on the plants that depend on animals for pollination. My lab is also interested in using citizen science platforms like iNaturalist to both aid in scientific data collection and to improve scientific literacy outside of the scientific community.

 

Related majors for this project: 

Biology, Earth & Environmental Science, Computer Science, Education, Communication, English, Art. 

 

Project: 

There are several projects available for students to work on as my new lab starts gearing up its research. 

   1. Using the iNaturalist app to document plant-pollinator networks in California 

The lab needs a tech savvy individual with a love for nature to help manage and promote our iNaturalist project, The California Pollination Project (website: https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/california-pollination-project). Part of this project will involve learning to do network analysis in the program R.

    2. Native bee diversity on CSUEB’s campus

Did you know there are over 4,000 species of bees native to North America, and most are very different from the popular honey bee? Help the lab start to document native bee diversity on campus! 

   3. Pollination ecology of the Snowplant (Sarcodes sanguinea) in the Sierra Nevada

Snowplant is a fascinating parasitic plant that features a large, bright red inflorescence of flowers that sticks straight up out of the ground in the Sierra Nevada mountains after the first snows begin to melt. It also happens to be a preferred food for at least one species of migratory hummingbird species, the Calliope hummingbird (Selasphorus calliope).

   4. Others… 

Do you have an idea for a research project involving pollinators, native California plants, or science communication? I am very open to exploring opportunities for artists, writers, and educators as well as scientists. Let Dr. Hazlehurst know!

 

Student-researcher expectations and responsibilities:

  • Work a minimum of 3-5 hours per week on your research project (CSR Scholar requirement).
  • Stay in regular communication with Dr. Hazlehurst about your research progress.
  • Attend and participate in regular lab meetings (twice a month).
  • Share in regular lab duties with other lab members (for example, maintaining and cleaning equipment that you are using). 
  • Complete all required lab and fieldwork training while in the lab.
  • Be a partner in creating a creative, collaborative, and productive atmosphere in the lab.

 

Dr. Hazlehurt's contact info. and instructions regarding what you need to provide when you contact her about a student-research position: 

Interested in doing research with us?

Directions: Reach out to Dr. Hazlehurst by email (see below). In the subject of the email, please mention CSR if you already are or are interested in applying to be a CSR Scholar. In the email itself, please provide a statement about your research interests and goals and how they intersect with the work my lab is doing on pollinators. In the email, please also include contact information for one faculty reference who is willing to give you a good recommendation (be sure to ask their permission first), and a copy of your Resume. Here is a summary of what you will need:

  • Contact information for 1 faculty reference (can be from another school, get their permission first).
  • A statement about your research interests and goals, and how they intersect with my lab’s research on pollinators.
  • A copy of your current resume.

Contact Info

Email: jenny.hazlehurst@csueastbay.edu

Website: https://www.hazlehurstecolab.com/

Faculty member: Dr. Albert R. Mendoza

 Discipline: Kinesiology (Physical Activity and Health)

 Looking for students from the following disciplines: Applied and basic sciences, and others (if applicable).

General description of Dr. Mendoza’s expertise:

Dr. Mendoza received his BS in Kinesiology (Exercise and Movement Sciences) and MS in Kinesiology (Exercise Physiology) from San Francisco State University and his Ph.D. in Kinesiology from the Physical Activity and Health Laboratory at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst.

 Dr. Mendoza's research focus is to develop and validate innovative methods to process and interpret physical activity and sedentary behavior data collected from wearable sensors (e.g., Fitbit or other wearable device data). This work will enhance our understanding of the relationship between physical activity, sedentary behavior and health.

Project:

The proposed project is a prospective cohort study of objectively measured, physical activity and sedentary behavior levels in college students with 1- and 2-year follow-ups.  We will also employ several validated questionnaires to explore relationships among outcome measures.  For example, a U.S. Household Food Security questionnaire will be used to identify those students/households that are food insecure. These data will allow us to identify: (1) whether students are meeting U.S. physical activity recommendations, (2) the amount of time students engage in sedentary behaviors (3) racial/ethnic disparities, (4) those at risk for negative health outcomes, and (5) possible intervention strategies to minimize risk for negative health outcomes.

Student-researcher expectations and responsibilities:

  • Work a minimum of 3-5 hours per week on your research project (CSR Scholar requirement),
  • Recruitment and consenting study participants,
  • Initializing, employing and downloading research- and consumer-grade activity monitors,
  • Administering questionnaires,
  • Analyzing and interpreting research- and consumer-grade activity monitor data, and,
  • Organizing, storing and maintaining activity monitors.

Dr. Mendoza’s contact information and instructions regarding what you need to provide when you contact him about a student-research position:

Contact Dr. Mendoza and inform him why you are interested in joining his research team, and why you may be a good fit.

Email:  albert.mendoza@csueastbay.edu

Faculty member: Dr. Nidhi Khosla, PhD, MPH, PGDRM (MBA)

 Discipline: Public Health

 General description of Dr. Khosla’s expertise:

Khosla’s research concerns access to care among vulnerable populations and reducing health disparities. Her current research focuses on increasing access to and satisfaction with palliative and end-of-life care among minorities, especially persons of South Asian origin. She has also researched organizational behavior such as collaboration among HIV agencies.

E esearch link (Google Scholar): Google Scholar Nidhi Khosla

MEDIA COVERAGE OF HER RESEARCH (select examples): 

  • http://medicalxpress.com/news/2015-07-south-asians-reluctant-medication-pain.html
  • http://www.business-standard.com/article/news-ians/south-asians-in-us-reluctant-to-report-pain-115072400530_1.html
  • http://www.indiawest.com/news/global_indian/study-points-to-need-to-share-end-of-life-wish/article_5bfb621e-0f91-11e5-bfbb-572da2f314e9.html
  • http://www.futurity.org/food-banks-public-assistance-953902/
  • http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/04/150416132337.htm 
  • http://medicalxpress.com/news/2015-06-clients-lost-safety-net-agencies.html 

 Related majors for this project: Health Sciences, Social Work, Education, Human Development preferred

 Project:

 Project 1 is focused on factors that affect healthcare-related decision making among South Asians. One dataset comprises 10 focus group discussions with youth of South Asian origin. Data was collected from Cal State East Bay students in 2018 and is being analysed. Another dataset includes focus group discussions and interviews with healthcare providers with experience caring for seriously ill South Asians. Students will learn how to do a literature review and how to prepare a manuscript for submission to a peer reviewed journal.

 Project 2 seeks to investigate issues around how to make advance care planning more popular among minorities and the knowledge-attitude-behaviors of young people towards advance care planning. Minorities are known to have low rates of advance directive completion. Advance care planning refers to behaviors such as completing a written advance directive (e.g., living will), appoint a durable power of attorney or having conversations with loved ones about the type of care one would desire if in the future one is not able to communicate one’s decisions/preferences. This project will involve literature review, and may involve data collection and analysis.

 Project 3 requires updating a literature review on collaboration among HIV agencies in the US, reviewing coding and possibly conducting a few interviews with HIV agencies’ representatives. This requires a Master’s level student.

 Student-researcher expectations and responsibilities:

  • Work a minimum of 3-5 hours per week on your research project (CSR Scholar requirement)
  • Meet with the professor and other student assistants on the team as required by the professor
  • Be conscientious, pay attention to details, be professional and submit timely and quality work
  • Maintain personal integrity and data integrity and not share project data or findings outside the study team
  • Be willing to take on research responsibilities as they emerge

Dr. Khosla’s contact info. and instructions regarding what you need to provide when you contact her about a student-research position:

Nidhi.khosla@csueastbay.edu

Office: SF 543, Phone- 510-885-2718

 A resume

A written sample such as a student paper or a piece of creative writing

Name of two referees at CSUEB-staff/professors who can discuss your abilities