Supervising Faculty: Ana Radovic, MD, MSc
To Apply: Complete the application form located at: https://pitt.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_e3Y4kwIgUbZiE2q. If you have not heard back in two weeks, contact Kayla Odenthal at the email address below.
Contact: Kayla Odenthal, KRO20@pitt.edu
Area of Research: Psychology, Psychiatry, Social Work, Pediatrics, Adolescent Medicine
Description of Research: The SOVA Lab focuses on how to use technology to improve mental health services for adolescents with symptoms of depression or anxiety, whether in the community, pediatric primary care settings, or online. Our team has developed and studied website intervention for teens with symptoms of depression or anxiety - sova.pitt.edu – which aims to allow adolescents to anonymously share their stories in a safe space, counteract negative attitudes toward treatment, and provide opportunities for social support. The site is paused due to lack of funding, but students interested in writing articles for the site or applying for funding to expand our mental health curriculum using website content are always welcome. Current research opportunities with the SOVA Lab are in clinical research recruitment in partnership with the UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh Center for Adolescent and Young Adult Health. Students will work with our research team to understand clinical recruitment, engagement, consent procedures of adolescents and young adults in clinical settings for several ongoing studies, and can also provide support to our Youth Research Advisory Board. Our main partner we are currently working with is RAND corporation and we are actively recruiting, enrolling, and conducting a substance use prevention brief intervention in people between the ages of 12-17, called CHAT. You can learn more about CHAT here.
Requirements:
- Overall GPA of 3.0 or higher
- 12 credits of Psychology (including current term)
- STAT 0200/1000/1100 Statistics
- PSY 0036 Research Methods Lecture
- PSY 0037 Research Methods Lab
- Prefer students who can enroll in 2 or 3 credits of PSY 1903
- Prefer students who can commit to two semesters of PSY 1903
- Prior experience with children is preferred.
Recruitment Process: Students should contact Dr. Ana Radovic (ana.radovic@chp.edu) and Ms. Kayla Odenthal (kayla.odenthal2@chp.edu) via email with their CVs or resumes. After receiving their CVs, Ms. Odenthal, the research coordinator, will reach out and conduct a brief initial phone interview to discuss the project, potential tasks, and ask the student about their goals, and how many credit hours they plan to take for the coming semester(s). Selected students will be invited to do a Zoom interview with PI and RA. Students will be selected on a number of hours to be committed, flexible availability, prior experience with adolescents or children, communication skills, professionalism, leadership skills, computer proficiency, student interest in the projects, student’s research goals, and leadership skills.
Terms offered: Fall, Spring, Summer
Number of Students: 3
Lab website: sova.pitt.edu, sovaproject.pitt.edu, on Twitter see @aradstak and @sovaproject, on Instagram see @sova_project