UROP Project

Examining the Avoidance of Political Outgroup Members: The Fear of Stigma by Association

Intergroup Relations, Social Psychology, Stigma, Politics, Polarization
Research Mentor: Dr. Ashby Plant, she/her
Department, College, Affiliation: Psychology, Arts and Sciences
Contact Email: plant@psy.fsu.edu
Research Assistant Supervisor (if different from mentor): Lucas Guberman he/him
Research Assistant Supervisor Email: guberman@psy.fsu.edu
Faculty Collaborators:
Faculty Collaborators Email:
Looking for Research Assistants: Yes
Number of Research Assistants: 2
Relevant Majors: Psychology, Sociology, Political Science
Project Location: On FSU Main Campus
Research Assistant Transportation Required:
Remote or In-person: In-person
Approximate Weekly Hours: 8-10, Flexible schedule (Combination of business and outside of business. TBD between student and research mentor.)
Roundtable Times and Zoom Link:
Not participating in the roundtable

Project Description

People in the United States tend to avoid people who do not share their political beliefs. They prefer instead to socialize with those who do share their beliefs, even though it is well known that interacting with people who have opposing political views (i.e., political outgroup members) can reduce political polarization. We argue that this avoidance of political outgroup members has only contributed to the political division in the United States. One reason why people might be unwilling to interact with political outgroup members is the fear of stigma by association. Stigma by association is the process by which an individual becomes stigmatized for associating with someone from a stigmatized group. Accordingly, someone may become concerned that they will experience stigma by association and wonder “If my friends see me associating with someone who doesn’t share our political views, will they think less of me?”. The purpose of this project is to examine whether and why people experience fear of stigma by association in the political arena. Specifically, we conduct a psychological study to examine whether and how the fear of stigma by association contributes to the avoidance of political outgroup members. If you are interested in learning more about how social concerns may impact political polarization, this project is for you!

Research Tasks: in-person data collection, assisting with survey design, attending in-person lab meetings

Skills that research assistant(s) may need: Research assistants must be willing to collaborate with a research team and learn about designing and conducting a psychological research study. Other skills include the ability to pay attention to small details, organization, and time management.

Mentoring Philosophy

In this project, you will be supported using a dual mentorship approach by faculty member, Dr. Ashby Plant, and PhD student, Lucas Guberman. Having two mentors, instead of one, will not only offer you an increased support system, but also provide you with the advantage of learning from mentors at different stages of their careers. By combining our experiences, networks, and expertise, we aim to create a rich and well-rounded foundation for your research involvement, academic growth, and professional development. In return, we hope our mentee(s) display an eagerness to learn, grow, and refine their talents. Ultimately, our goal is to create a mentoring relationship that not only supports your success in this project, but also equips you with the skills, confidence, and professional skill sets that will serve you well throughout your future endeavors.

Additional Information


Link to Publications

https://fsuplantlab.wixsite.com/fsuplantlab
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Mathematical and Computational Oncology

mathematical oncology, differential equations, stochastic processes, optimal control, cancer modeling, applied mathematics
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Research Mentor: Nazanin Naghdalizadeh Mokari,
Department, College, Affiliation: Department of Mathematics, Arts and Sciences
Contact Email: nn23g@fsu.edu
Research Assistant Supervisor (if different from mentor):
Research Assistant Supervisor Email:
Faculty Collaborators: Prof Nishan Mudalige
Faculty Collaborators Email: nishan.mudalige@utoronto.ca
Looking for Research Assistants: Yes
Number of Research Assistants: 1
Relevant Majors: Open to all majors; Mathematics, Applied Mathematics, Statistics, Computer Science, Biology, and Medical/Pre-Health majors are preferred.
Project Location: On FSU Main Campus
Research Assistant Transportation Required:
Remote or In-person: In-person
Approximate Weekly Hours: 5–10, Flexible schedule (Combination of business and outside of business. TBD between student and research mentor.)
Roundtable Times and Zoom Link:
  • Day: Tuesday, September 1
    Start Time: 1:00
    End Time: 2:00
    Zoom Link: https://fsu.zoom.us/j/99578685639
  • Day: Thursday, September 3
    Start Time: 1:00
    End Time: 2:00
    Zoom Link: https://fsu.zoom.us/j/99578685639

Project Description

This project develops an open-access undergraduate course in mathematical and computational oncology, similar to the e-book An Introduction to Mathematical Epidemiology (a prior UTM–FSU–Maclay collaboration involving Prof. Mudalige and Prof. Morsky). Rather than a single research project, the deliverable is an educational resource: a structured, example-driven course covering three chapters including, differential equation models of tumor growth and tumor–immune dynamics, stochastic processes in cancer cell populations, and optimal control theory applied to treatment scheduling. The student will learn each topic under the supervision of the mentoring team, then help collect text, worked examples, code, and figures for the corresponding chapter. The expected outcome is at least one e-book chapter and a poster presentation; if scope and the student's preference allow, this may extend to a paper. In the fall, the student develops a complete draft of Chapters 1–3 (text, worked examples, code) with the mentoring team. If the student remains interested in the spring, they move into a mentored project applying course material to an original question, culminating in either a poster or a paper depending on scope and preference.

Research Tasks: Reading and problem sets on ODE modeling, stability/bifurcation analysis, stochastic processes, and optimal control theory
Collecting text, worked examples, code, and figures for course chapters
(Spring, continuing if student interested) a research project using book culminating in a poster or paper

Skills that research assistant(s) may need: Required: basic differentiation
Recommended: introductory Python or willingness to learn; background knowledge in biology and medicine is beneficial, but not required

Mentoring Philosophy

My approach starts by identifying what a student wants to get out of the experience, whether that's research skills, a stronger foundation in applied math, or exposure to what a research career looks like, and building the project around that. I aim to give students real ownership of their piece of the work rather than treating them as an extra pair of hands: they contribute actual course content, not just background tasks. I check in regularly, adjust the pace and depth to the student's background, and try to create an environment where getting stuck or being wrong is a normal, expected part of the process rather than something to avoid.

Additional Information

This is an example of e-book that have been done before;
https://nishanmudalige.github.io/UTM_FSU_Biostats/

Link to Publications

https://arxiv.org/abs/2604.01385
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The Effects of Lactoferrin and Iron Supplementation on Functional Iron Transport and Tissue Oxygenation in Athletic Populations

Exercise Physiology, Sports Science, Clinical, Athlete, Supplement, Performance
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Research Mentor: sf24i@fsu.edu Sadio Fenner,
Department, College, Affiliation: HNFS, Education, Health, and Human Sciences
Contact Email: sf24i@fsu.edu
Research Assistant Supervisor (if different from mentor):
Research Assistant Supervisor Email:
Faculty Collaborators: Dr. Michael Ormsbee
Faculty Collaborators Email: mormsbee@fsu.edu
Looking for Research Assistants: Yes
Number of Research Assistants: 2
Relevant Majors: Open to all majors, preferably people who have backgrounds in nutrition, health sciences, exercise physiology, and sports.
Project Location: On FSU Main Campus
Research Assistant Transportation Required:
Remote or In-person: In-person
Approximate Weekly Hours: 5-10 hours, Flexible schedule (Combination of business and outside of business. TBD between student and research mentor.)
Roundtable Times and Zoom Link:
Not participating in the roundtable

Project Description

To investigate the effects of 8 weeks of Lactoferrin and iron supplementation on functional iron transport and tissue oxygenation in athletic populations. Study design is expected to include VO2 peak testing for oxygen consumption, near-infrared spectroscopy to measure real-time muscle oxygen saturation (SmO₂) and total hemoglobin (tHB) in active muscle tissue, carbon monoxide rebreathing to measure total hemoglobin mass and blood volume, as well as blood biomarkers related to inflammation, immune, and recovery status.

Research Tasks: Literature review, data collection and analysis, study visits

Skills that research assistant(s) may need: Required; Good communication, personable, open-minded, positive attitude. Recommended: basic lab etiquette

Mentoring Philosophy

At the core of my philosophy is a commitment to creating a learning environment where every student feels seen, heard, and respected. I believe that meaningful education begins with genuine connection. When students feel valued as individuals, they are more engaged, confident, and motivated to learn. My goal as a mentor is to meet students where they are and support them in developing both competence and curiosity, regardless of the career paths they ultimately pursue. I strive to design learning experiences that foster critical thinking, encourage thoughtful discussion, and highlight the relevance of course material to a variety of professional and personal contexts. Whether a student plans to become a clinician, researcher, coach, or work in an entirely different field, I want them to leave this space with skills and perspectives that will empower them to succeed and to contribute meaningfully to their communities. I also believe in modeling humility and lifelong learning. By creating a space where questions are welcomed, mistakes are treated as opportunities for growth, and diverse viewpoints are explored with openness, I hope to help students build confidence in their own voices and see learning as a collaborative process. My aim will always be to help students recognize their potential, develop a sense of purpose, and feel inspired to keep learning long after they move on from our lab.

Additional Information


Link to Publications

linkedin.com/in/sadio-f-02598a139
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Engineering extracellular vesicles to treat neurological disorders

extracellular vesicles, chimeric antigen receptor, three-dimensional, organoids
Research Mentor: Dr. Yan Li,
Department, College, Affiliation: Chemical and Biomedical Engineering, FAMU-FSU College of Engineering
Contact Email: yli4@fsu.edu
Research Assistant Supervisor (if different from mentor):
Research Assistant Supervisor Email:
Faculty Collaborators:
Faculty Collaborators Email:
Looking for Research Assistants: Yes
Number of Research Assistants: 2
Relevant Majors: Open to all majors
Project Location: IRCB, 2001 Levy Ave
Research Assistant Transportation Required: Yes
Remote or In-person: In-person
Approximate Weekly Hours: 5-10, During business hours
Roundtable Times and Zoom Link:
Not participating in the roundtable

Project Description

Treating neurological conditions continues to present a challenge to therapeutics development. The blood- brain barrier, a multicellular structure that regulates chemical transport into neural tissue, prevents the diffusion of polar compounds into the brain. This introduces a new design constraint to therapeutic development. Stem cell therapy has been proposed as a highly effective treatment for neurological conditions but requires invasive delivery to treat neural diseases. However, stem cells also secrete therapeutic factors that can be administered via less invasive routes. Extracellular vesicles, or EVs, are cell- secreted, membrane-bound nanoparticles that help mediate paracrine signaling by carrying proteins, nucleic acids, and lipids. In addition, their display of transport- facilitating proteins on their outer surface allows them to be transported across biological membranes such as the blood- brain barrier. This study focuses on EV engineering using various methods, analyzing changes in cargo, uptake, and resulting bioactive properties across several disease models.

Research Tasks: literature review, data collection, data analysis

Skills that research assistant(s) may need: Literature reading, biology background

Mentoring Philosophy

Identifying what motivates each mentee: we want to train the students to be self-motivated; we believe teaching a student how to fish is more important than giving them fish. We also focus on encouraging growth through challenges

Additional Information


Link to Publications

https://eng.famu.fsu.edu/cbe/people/li
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Intersectionality of artificial intelligence (AI), mental health, and career development among college students

AI, mental health, career readiness
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Research Mentor: sdong3@fsu.edu Shengli Dong,
Department, College, Affiliation: Florida State University, Department of Educational Psychology and Learning Systems, Education, Health, and Human Sciences
Contact Email: sdong3@fsu.edu
Research Assistant Supervisor (if different from mentor):
Research Assistant Supervisor Email:
Faculty Collaborators:
Faculty Collaborators Email:
Looking for Research Assistants: Yes
Number of Research Assistants: 6
Relevant Majors: Open to all majors, but prefer those who have AI and computer backgrounds or interests in mental health and career development
Project Location: On FSU Main Campus
Research Assistant Transportation Required:
Remote or In-person: Fully Remote
Approximate Weekly Hours: 5-10 hours a week, Flexible schedule (Combination of business and outside of business. TBD between student and research mentor.)
Roundtable Times and Zoom Link:
Not participating in the roundtable

Project Description

AI is a reality and is omnipresent in higher education, bringing unprecedented changes to the sector in the 21st century (Educause, 2024). This project will explore the intersection of artificial intelligence (AI), mental health, and career development among college students. We will examine the impact of AI resources on these students’ well-being and career readiness during their transition to postsecondary education in the era of AI.

Research Tasks: • 1. Literature review
• 2. IRB application
• 3. AI app development
• 4. Data collection and analysis
• 5. Manuscript writing


Skills that research assistant(s) may need: • 1. Good writing skills (required)
• 2. Literature review experiences (required)
• 3. APA format style (recommended)
• 4. Data collection and analysis (recommended)
• 5. Knowledge of and experience with Qualtrics and SPSS (recommended)
• 6. Skills in AI app development and coding (recommended)

Mentoring Philosophy

I feel honored to receive the UROP mentor award in 2025. Providing timely advising and generous mentoring for students on their research is an important aspect of my commitment to student development. I take a developmental mentoring approach. During the initial process, I help students familiarize themselves with relevant literature and engage them in IRB training. These activities help them connect with the literature and the research team. Over time, I have been assigned more responsibilities in data collection, analysis, and writing. I constantly involve students in conference presentations and publications

Additional Information


Link to Publications

https://annescollege.fsu.edu/research/research-teams-initiatives/promote-successful-transition-higher-education-and-work
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Multimodal Learning for Human Activity Recognition

Artificial Intelligence, Multimodal Learning, Human Activity Recognition, Data Precessing
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Research Mentor: Mr. Quoc Bao Phan, He/Him
Department, College, Affiliation: Electrical and Computer Engineering, FAMU-FSU College of Engineering
Contact Email: qp25c@fsu.edu
Research Assistant Supervisor (if different from mentor):
Research Assistant Supervisor Email:
Faculty Collaborators:
Faculty Collaborators Email:
Looking for Research Assistants: Yes
Number of Research Assistants: 2
Relevant Majors: Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Computer Science, Data Science, Statistics, or related fields.
Students from other majors with relevant programming or machine-learning interests are also encouraged to apply.
Project Location: Center for Advanced Power Systems, 2000 Levy Avenue, Tallahassee, FL 32310
Research Assistant Transportation Required: FSU bus service to Innovation Park/Center for Advanced Power Systems. Students should verify the current route and schedule.
Remote or In-person: Partially Remote
Approximate Weekly Hours: 8–10 hours per week, Flexible schedule (Combination of business and outside of business. TBD between student and research mentor.)
Roundtable Times and Zoom Link:
Not participating in the roundtable

Project Description

Human activity recognition aims to identify physical activities, behaviors, or contextual states from data collected by heterogeneous sensing modalities. These modalities may include accelerometers, gyroscopes, wearable sensors, physiological signals, audio, images, or video. Although individual modalities can provide useful information, their reliability and relevance may vary across activities, users, and operating conditions.

This project will investigate multimodal machine-learning methods for human activity recognition. The research assistant will study how information from multiple modalities can be encoded, combined, and used to improve recognition accuracy and robustness. The project may compare early fusion, late fusion, feature-level fusion, attention-based fusion, and modality-specific representation learning. The specific dataset, sensing modalities, and model architecture will be selected based on data availability, project feasibility, and the student’s technical background.

The research will evaluate whether multimodal models outperform single-modality baselines and examine how recognition performance changes when one or more modalities are noisy, incomplete, or unavailable. Potential models include conventional machine-learning classifiers, convolutional neural networks, recurrent neural networks, and Transformer-based architectures.

The expected outcomes include a reproducible experimental pipeline, comparative analysis of multimodal fusion strategies, visualizations of model performance, a technical report, and a presentation or poster for the FSU Undergraduate Research Symposium. Depending on the student’s progress and the significance of the results, the work may contribute to a future research publication.

Research Tasks: 1. Literature Review and Dataset Selection: Review literature on human activity recognition, multimodal learning, sensor-based machine learning, and multimodal fusion. Identify and evaluate suitable publicly available datasets containing two or more sensing modalities.
2. Data Preparation and Baseline Development: Preprocess and explore the selected dataset, including handling missing values, normalizing features, segmenting time-series signals, and visualizing activity distributions. Implement or reproduce single-modality baseline models and evaluate them using accuracy, precision, recall, F1-score, and confusion matrices.
3. Multimodal Modeling and Robustness Evaluation: Implement one or more multimodal fusion approaches and compare them with the single-modality baselines. Conduct additional experiments under noisy, missing, or degraded modalities. Maintain organized code and experimental records, participate in regular meetings, and present progress updates.
4. Result Analysis and Research Presentation: Analyze the experimental results, prepare figures and tables, write a technical summary, and develop a poster or presentation for the FSU Undergraduate Research Symposium.

Skills that research assistant(s) may need: Required:
Basic programming experience/understanding in Python or another programming language; willingness to learn machine-learning tools; ability to work independently after receiving guidance; effective written and verbal communication; and commitment to attending regular research meetings and documenting progress.

Recommended:
Experience with Python libraries such as NumPy, pandas, Matplotlib, or scikit-learn; introductory knowledge of machine learning, probability, statistics, linear algebra, or signal processing; familiarity with Git and GitHub; and previous exposure to PyTorch or TensorFlow.

Prior research experience and prior expertise in multimodal learning are not required. Students who have completed introductory programming coursework and are motivated to learn machine learning are encouraged to apply.

Mentoring Philosophy

My mentoring philosophy is centered on structured guidance, gradual independence, open communication, and mutual respect. I recognize that undergraduate researchers enter a project with different technical backgrounds, career goals, and levels of confidence. At the beginning of the project, I will work with the student to identify their goals, evaluate their current skills, and establish achievable milestones.

I will initially provide clear tasks, learning resources, examples, and regular feedback. As the student develops technical and research skills, I will gradually give them greater ownership over experimental design, implementation decisions, and interpretation of results. Regular meetings will be used not only to review progress but also to discuss challenges, research reasoning, and professional development.

I aim to create an environment in which students feel comfortable asking questions, proposing ideas, and discussing unsuccessful experiments. Research frequently involves uncertainty and failure, and students should learn to treat unexpected results as opportunities for investigation rather than as personal shortcomings. At the same time, I expect students to communicate honestly, document their work, prepare for meetings, and take responsibility for agreed-upon tasks.

My goal is to help the student develop practical technical skills, scientific reasoning, confidence, and an understanding of responsible and reproducible research. By the end of the project, the student should be able to explain both what they accomplished and why their methodological choices were appropriate.

Additional Information


Link to Publications

https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=jegzWzAAAAAJ&hl=en
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How does trauma affect how we perceive the world around us?

PTSD, EMA, trauma responses, survey
Research Mentor: Brad Schmidt, Ph.D.,
Department, College, Affiliation: Psychology, Arts and Sciences
Contact Email: garcia@psy.fsu.edu
Research Assistant Supervisor (if different from mentor): Mr. Jaime Garcia Quiles He/Him/His
Research Assistant Supervisor Email: garcia@psy.fsu.edu
Faculty Collaborators:
Faculty Collaborators Email:
Looking for Research Assistants: Yes
Number of Research Assistants: 2
Relevant Majors: Psychology
Project Location: On FSU Main Campus
Research Assistant Transportation Required:
Remote or In-person: Partially Remote
Approximate Weekly Hours: 5-10, During business hours
Roundtable Times and Zoom Link:
  • Day: Tuesday, September 1
    Start Time: 5:00
    End Time: 6:00
    Zoom Link: https://fsu.zoom.us/j/4758652269

Project Description

Posttraumatic stress is often characterized by distressing and intrusive memories of a traumatic event. While a significant body of literature has focused on how these threats are encoded, emerging evidence suggests that memory processes after the traumatic event are equally as important in maintaining distress. Dynamic social retrieval theory posits that ongoing retrieval and related forgetting processes shape the changing nature of the trauma memory with these retrieval events varying in intended versus unintended recall after experiencing a trauma-relevant cue. The present study aims to test how these cues are witnessed/recalled in everyday life, and how that may serve to maintain posttraumatic stress.


Research Tasks: Students should expect to gain experience in participant recruitment, project management, literature review, data collection, and developing their own research projects. Students will be encouraged to ask questions and develop their own ideas for how this project may grow and relate to their own interests.

Skills that research assistant(s) may need: Required: Strong writing skills, open mind, clear communication skills
Recommended: Strong interest in psychology research
Training for specific tasks will be provided.

Mentoring Philosophy

My goal as a mentor is to cultivate my students’ interests and equip them with the tools and knowledge that will best prepare them to engage in rigorous scientific research. I wish for my students to think critically about our project and identify where research should go next. I ascribe to a step up, step back approach where I hope to equip my students with the skills they need to succeed, and then step back to further develop their skills through the roles and experiences given while being around should issues/questions arise.

Additional Information


Link to Publications


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Introduction to Laboratory Experimental Research in Economics

experimental economics, contests, public goods, land assembly, markets, law and economics
Mark-Isaac-Headshot.jpg
Research Mentor: misaac@fsu.edu Mark Isaac,
Department, College, Affiliation: Economics, Social Sciences and Public Policy
Contact Email: misaac@fsu.edu
Research Assistant Supervisor (if different from mentor):
Research Assistant Supervisor Email:
Faculty Collaborators:
Faculty Collaborators Email:
Looking for Research Assistants: Yes
Number of Research Assistants: 2
Relevant Majors: Preference for Economics majors, or related disciplines including Finance, Risk Management, Accounting, Political Science, Philosophy, and Governance and Civics, plus any PPE minors.
Project Location: On FSU Main Campus
Research Assistant Transportation Required:
Remote or In-person: In-person
Approximate Weekly Hours: 10, Flexible schedule (Combination of business and outside of business. TBD between student and research mentor.)
Roundtable Times and Zoom Link:
Not participating in the roundtable

Project Description

The positions will be comprised of four main components: 1 ) The student will learn about the importance of protecting human subjects and will be expected to pass the IRB CITI training for students; 2) The student will learn why economics can be an experimental discipline; 3 ) The student will work with other members of our lab, including other UROPs, to help in the subject recruitment process, lab demonstrations, and conference support ; 4 ) The student will work through appropriate literature reviews and interaction with the mentor to propose and experimental economics design as complete as possible but without actually building a computer program and collecting the data. This independent research design will form the core of their poster presentation.

Research Tasks: IRB certification, assistance with subject recruiting, becoming up to speed on the foundations of experimental economics, literature review. independent modeling and research design.

Skills that research assistant(s) may need: REQUIRED: Generally computer literate for standard tools such as Google Scholar, JSTOR, Excel, graphing programs, AI, Dropbox, etc..

RECOMMENDED: Having taken, or at least being enrolled in, the Principles of Microeconomics course. The more economics courses the better, unless of course the student is proposing a "bridge" project between Economics and, for example, Philosophy; in that case course literacy will be specific to the student's interest.

Mentoring Philosophy

Many students have never though of Economics as an experimental discipline. My philosophy is to bring the student up to a particular level of basic knowledge in human subjects protection and the origins of experimental economics and then to explore with them their personal topical interests that might be amenable to a prototype experimental economics project. They will have some standard assignments in our lab (typically in subject recruiting, presentations, helping with a conference) but beyond that I will give them a great deal of latitude to do their own reading and literature review to find a topic that interests them.

Additional Information

Last year I mentored four UROPS, which was a lot of fun, but I felt stretched too thin. This year I would like to limit myself to two UROPS and spend more time with each of them.

Link to Publications

myweb.fsu.edu/misaac
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Targeted Assessments of Cognition in Tactical-Performance with Ingested Ketones: The TACTICK Trial

Ketones, Cognition, Human Performance
Research Mentor: Connor McKay,
Department, College, Affiliation: Health, Nutrition, and Food Sciences, Education, Health, and Human Sciences
Contact Email: crm25@fsu.edu
Research Assistant Supervisor (if different from mentor):
Research Assistant Supervisor Email:
Faculty Collaborators:
Faculty Collaborators Email:
Looking for Research Assistants: Yes
Number of Research Assistants: 2
Relevant Majors: Exercise Physiology
Project Location: Florida Public Safety Institute. 75 College Dr. Havanna Fl
Research Assistant Transportation Required: Yes
Remote or In-person: In-person
Approximate Weekly Hours: 8, Flexible schedule (Combination of business and outside of business. TBD between student and research mentor.)
Roundtable Times and Zoom Link:
Not participating in the roundtable

Project Description

We are looking to assess the efficacy of an exogenous ketone supplement for saving cognitive performance under stress in the tactical athlete. Following a triple blinded, placebo controlled, double-armed, crossover design, we will assess if the ketone supplement saves cognitive performance following exhuasitve exercise using traditional cognition testing as well as novel tactical specific measures (i.e., live-round marksmanship and weapons familiarization).

Research Tasks: Data collection and analysis

Skills that research assistant(s) may need: No prerequisite skills required, all will be taught!

Mentoring Philosophy

My mentoring style comes straight from the best mentors I've ever had. They expected nothing but my best work, and somehow never made me feel bad when I missed the bar. That's the balance I want with my own mentees: push hard, keep it safe to fail. I give mentees ownership of an actual piece of the project, not a training wheels version of it. When they hit a wall, I ask questions instead of handing over the fix, and I let them sit with it. Weekly check-ins keep me in the loop without hovering over them. Mistakes aren't something I try to prevent. They're something we debrief after, because that's where the learning sticks. I'm not trying to build a mentee who follows instructions well. I want one who starts thinking like a scientist on their own.

Additional Information


Link to Publications


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Scoping Review of Happiness in LGBT Populations

Scoping Review, Happiness, LGBT
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Research Mentor: Dr. Casey D. Xavier Hall, PhD, MPH,
Department, College, Affiliation: Florida State University, Nursing
Contact Email: cxavierhall@fsu.edu
Research Assistant Supervisor (if different from mentor):
Research Assistant Supervisor Email:
Faculty Collaborators:
Faculty Collaborators Email:
Looking for Research Assistants: Yes
Number of Research Assistants: 6
Relevant Majors: Open to all, but I will give special consideration to nursing majors or nursing pre-majors.
Project Location: On FSU Main Campus
Research Assistant Transportation Required: No, the project is remote
Remote or In-person: Fully Remote
Approximate Weekly Hours: 5-10, Flexible schedule (Combination of business and outside of business. TBD between student and research mentor.)
Roundtable Times and Zoom Link:
  • Day: Wednesday, September 2
    Start Time: 5:00
    End Time: 6:00
    Zoom Link: https://fsu.zoom.us/j/98809264997

Project Description

This project will provide students with exposure to scoping and systematic review skills. These skills are often gained during graduate school. The specific project will focus primarily on happiness, quality of life, and subjective well-being among LGBT people across the lifespan. Students will develop scientific literacy skills as well as scoping and systematic review skills such as abstract review, full-text review, and data extraction. This project will have flexible hours (students can do work between classes, late at night, or early in the morning). The aim is for the project to result in a peer-reviewed publication and students will be co-authors.

Research Tasks: Students will develop scientific literacy skills as well as scoping and systematic review skills such as abstract review, full-text review, and data extraction.

Skills that research assistant(s) may need: An interest in health research, diverse populations.
Reading/writing skills.
Basic technological skills.

Mentoring Philosophy

My mentorship philosophy for working with undergraduate students is:

1) Collaboratively create an understanding of how we envision teamwork. I always start by discussing what works well for all parties to develop a compact. This is a roadmap of what kind of communication works well, what kinds of rules we want to set for ourselves, and how we will operate as a team. We will revisit the compact regularly through the course of the project.

2) Identify common interests and long-term goals. I always want to know a students’ interests and long-term goals so that a learning experience can be tailored to best fit these interests and goals.

3) Develop foundational understanding and skills in scientific research. My goal is to help UROP students develop an understanding of behavioral health research through an applied project. This will serve as a foundation for future endeavors.

4) Encourage independent-learning and intellectual curiosity. While I provide educational resources to my students, I also encourage students to learn independently, seek resources, and develop an intellectual curiosity that will serve them if they pursue graduate coursework.

5) Meet a student where they are at. I am a queer, first-generation college graduate and I understand how those identities and experiences impacted me as an undergraduate student. I strive to meet my students where they are at in regard to identity or experience with the understanding that we all come from different backgrounds which may impact the ways we experience academic endeavors including power structures within academia.

Additional Information

https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=VHTb9_8AAAAJ&hl=en&authuser=1

Link to Publications

https://cpshe.fsu.edu/
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