Join Our Lab

The Cognitive Health in Late Life (CHILL) Lab is seeking highly motivated research assistants to volunteer for two ongoing research studies:

1. The Assessing Memory in Every Neighborhood (AMEN) Study: Administering cognitive screening measures and collecting survey data from community engagement initiatives (e.g., brain health seminars, community clinics, and tabling at local events) to engage underrepresented communities in Alzheimer’s disease research.

2. Black Impact 2.0: Conducting cognitive assessments as part of a 6-month wellness intervention to promote cardiovascular health in Black Men.  

This would be an ideal opportunity for gaining research experience in preparation for graduate-level education (e.g., medical school, graduate school in psychology, particularly clinical neuropsychology). Research assistants may be eligible to gain academic credit via registering for Undergraduate Research in Psychology (PSYCH4998).

RESPONSIBILITIES:

Responsibilities for undergraduate research assistants will include:

• Community engagement (40%): Assisting with brain health seminars; assisting with tables at health fairs; fostering relationships with faith communities, clinics, and local organizations.

• Research activities (40%): Administering cognitive screening measures; assisting with data collection from surveys; contributing to scientific abstracts, presentations, and publications.

• Professional development (20%): Attending lab meetings; reviewing scientific journal articles on Alzheimer’s disease; cultivating oral communication skills for scientific and lay audiences.

TIME COMMITMENT:

• Research assistants will be asked to commit to volunteering approximately 2-8 hours per week from now until Spring/Summer 2026.  Most weeks will involve one or two lab meetings (approximately 1 hour each), and an assignment to complete outside of lab. 

• Occasional community engagement events (1-3 times per month, up to 5 hours per event) may occur on evenings and weekends. For the Black Impact 2.0 study, there will be a week in April and October when undergraduate students will need to volunteer 8 hours in a single week (4 hours on two weeknights).

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS:

• Active enrollment as an undergraduate student (or recent graduate of) The Ohio State University in psychology, neuroscience, biology, nursing, exercise science, public health, or a related field of study, including pre-medical / pre-professional students.

• Minimum GPA = 3.3 or above

• Proficiency with Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, Excel, and Outlook.

• An interest in networking, community engagement, and public speaking.

• Availability to volunteer during nonstandard hours (e.g., evenings, weekends, approximately once per month) for community engagement activities and data collection.

HOW TO APPLY

Email the following to Dr. Grant (grant.866@osu.edu):

a) Résumé / curriculum vitae (CV)

b) Ohio State University Advising Report

c) A description of the following:

• Your major / concentration (e.g., psychology, pre-med, etc.)

• Your class standing (e.g., sophomore, junior, etc.)

• Your expected graduation date (e.g., Spring 2026, Spring 2027).

• Why you’re interested in research on health equity / Alzheimer’s disease.

• Any experience with community engagement (e.g., volunteering with local organizations, tabling or managing a booth, diversity initiatives, serving underserved populations, planning events with faith communities or other cultural groups).

• Any experience assisting with research studies, data management software (REDCap, Qualtrics) or conducting statistical analyses (e.g., SPSS, R, or JASP), including any coursework in research methods and statistics.

Applications will be reviewed immediately on a first-come first-serve basis. 

Qualified candidates will be scheduled for an interview with Dr. Grant.