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Undergraduate Research Assistant – SF State CREATE with Dr. Misra (Public Health) and Dr. Qamar (Nutrition) (Federal Work Study only)

San Francisco State University
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Position Description:

SF State CREATE is launching an exciting new Federal Work-Study (FWS) undergraduate research, scholarship and creative activity program for Spring 2026.  Students gain paid, mentored research experience and career-ready skills while contributing to real faculty projects and presenting their work at semester’s end.  Students will also take part in monthly SF State CREATE professional development sessions focused on building confidence, identity and community as researchers, workforce skills and professional habits, and graduate school readiness.  If selected for this position, the student will work with the designated faculty member (listed below) on their research or creative project for the Spring 2026 semester.

General Job Information

***MUST BE WORK-STUDY ELIGIBLE*** (No Exceptions)

  • Confirm your work-study award by looking at your financial aid package in MySFSU.  You must have at least $2000 left on your award for this semester, hold no other work-study position and have no other research funding, to be eligible for this position.  You will be asked to confirm the total amount of your work-study award.
  • The position requires U.S. I-9 verification employment eligibility. *We are unable to hire international students (J-1 or F-1 status) for this position, as this is a federal work-study position.

Hourly Rate: $20/hour
Hours: ~6 hours/week (total number of hours for Spring semester is ~ 100 or more depending upon available financial aid work study award to the student); 1 hour meeting (currently Weds 5-6pm) and 2 weekly 2-hour shifts (days/times can be flexible to student schedule but must be regular).

Dates: Early February, 2026 – May 29, 2026
Location: HSS

The student assistant will also be expected to attend SF State CREATE’s four professional development cohort sessions on February 13, March 6, April 3 and May 1 from 10-11:30am and will be expected to present their work at a showcase at the end of the semester (date and time TBD).

Position Overview
Dr. Supriya Misra, Associate Professor of Public Health and Dr. Zubaida Qamar Associate Professor of Nutrition are seeking a student research assistant for a project that will collect data about climate change, sustainable food systems, and mental health with SF State students to expand our knowledge about the experiences of marginalized college students and inform the campus’ future food systems interventions. You will join a team with two graduate student researchers who have been working on this project since Fall 2025.

Responsibilities will include assisting with on-campus recruitment, data collection through a student survey and two focus groups, and initial quantitative and qualitative data cleaning and analysis (which will continue into the summer). Additional responsibilities will include reading and summarizing peer-reviewed research literature to assist with research manuscripts related to food security and mental health and supporting the development of new grant proposals to create a student gardening intervention. This hybrid position will include virtual weekly meetings with the research team and on-campus activities for study recruitment and data collection. 

Primary Responsibilities

The student research assistant will engage in hands-on, mentored research activities, including: 

  • Attending weekly research team meetings 
  • Managing project logistics (e.g., IRB approval, coordination, scheduling) 
  • Conducting literature reviews including summary and synthesis of findings 
  • Contributing to data collection including running the student survey and co-facilitating two focus groups 
  • Assisting in quantitative and qualitative data cleaning and analysis 
  • Contributing to a research manuscript about food security and mental health using recent campus data

Preferred Qualifications

  • Current upper division bachelor’s student in public health, health education, nutrition/dietetics, social work, psychology, or a related field
  • Familiarity with SF State campus community to assist with recruitment
  • Detail-oriented skills for organizing and tracking project logistics
  • Strong communication and interpersonal skills to support data collection
  • Ability to find and read peer-reviewed research articles would be a plus