Undergraduate Internship (unpaid, for credit) – Summer/Fall 2015

Title:                    Research Assistant

Duties:                 The intern’s primary responsibilities will be to assist with a variety of community-based/outreach projects, as well as substance abuse focused research projects. Students can participate in one or more of the following projects depending on the amount of time committed. No prior research experience is required.

Community-Based Projects/Outreach

·         Maryland Community Services Locator (MDCSL): Funded by the Governor’s Office of Crime Control and Prevention, CESAR is working to develop and maintain its free online service locator tool (www.mdcsl.org) that houses information for almost 9,000 social service, health service and criminal justice programs statewide. Students can participate in conducting telephone surveys with community providers, data maintenance and updates using Microsoft Excel, and community outreach at resource fairs.

·         CESAR FAX: The weekly CESAR FAX publication provides a concise, one-page overview of a timely substance abuse issue. Students can be involved with all aspects of writing this publication.

Research Projects

·         Community Drug Early Warning System (CDEWS): With funding from the Executive Office of the President, Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP), CESAR is conducting ongoing studies to assess trends in offender drug use in the United States. Expanded drug testing panels are being used to screen existing urine specimens from individuals under drug monitoring as part of the criminal justice system. Students can participate in data collection, analysis and report preparation as part of this study.

·         National Drug Early Warning System (NDEWS): Funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), the NDEWS project is an innovative public health surveillance system designed to identify new drugs and drug trends as they emerge. The project will focus on new drugs, such as synthetic cannabinoids (e.g., Spice/K2) and designer stimulants (e.g., Molly), and changes in the use of more traditional drugs such as heroin. Students may be involved with NDEWS in several ways, including assisting with news scans, website updates, analysis of social media scans and data collection and analysis.

·         Substance Abuse Prevention Needs Assessments and Program Evaluations: The primary project tasks include conducting local substance abuse prevention needs assessments and program evaluations. These projects were implemented as a part of local initiatives to prevent underage drinking, substance abuse, and risky sexual behavior. Students can participate by assisting with data entry, checking and analysis using Microsoft Access/Excel. Students can also assist with developing data tables for report preparation.

·         The Intersection of HIV Risk Behavior and Violent Victimization among Black Male Victims of Violent Injury: This study involves ethnographic interviews with African American males who have sustained violent injury (gunshot wound, stabbing, or violent assault) to examine the hypothesis that those who experience violent victimization may engage in HIV risk behaviors. Students can participate by transcribing and coding ethnographic qualitative interviews with African-American male victims of violent injury.

Qualifications: No prior research experience is required. This candidate must have strong attention to detail, as well as excellent written and verbal communication skills. Preferred skills: interest in substance abuse/health research, knowledge of Microsoft Excel and/or Microsoft Access, experience working with community service providers.

Hours: 10 hours/week minimum. Ability to commit a greater number of hours is a plus!

Preference will be given to candidates that are interested in working with CESAR for more than one semester.

Compensation:    This is an unpaid internship open to undergraduate students only and may be used to earn BSOS, HLTH, or CRIM internship credit (3 credits). These credits may be used to fulfill elective credit requirements.

To Apply:             Please submit by email a cover letter, resume, unofficial transcript and writing sample to:  

Amy Billing

Center for Substance Abuse Research (CESAR)

University of Maryland, College Park

301-405-9796

billing@umd.edu

Application

Deadline:             Open until filled. We encourage applicants to submit applications by COB Monday, 4/20/15.