Summer Research Assistants for Plant-Based Teaching Kitchen and Lab

Are you interested in teaching kitchens, plant-based nutrition, community partnerships, health equity, sustainable food systems, and/or food sovereignty?

Our UMass Elaine Marieb College of Nursing Teaching Kitchen and Koh Lab collaborate with community partners to work towards sustainable and culturally-tailored plant-based nutrition interventions for health promotion and chronic disease prevention across the lifespan. We are looking for two highly motivated and detail-oriented summer undergraduate research assistants to support data management, social media engagement, manuscript preparation, and community outreach. 

To apply, please share your resume/CV and an essay (300 words or less) describing your research interests and why you would like to join our team.

Name of research group, project, or lab
UMass EMCON Teaching Kitchen and Koh Lab
Why participate in this opportunity?

This opportunity will provide you with hands-on experience in research, data management, publishing, and community engagement.

Representative publication or further information
Teaching Kitchen.pdf
Logistics Information:
Subject Category
Community Health Education
Computer Science
Multicultural
Nutrition
Public Health Sciences
Sustainable Food & Farming
Student ranks applicable
Sophomore
Junior
Senior
Student qualifications

Required

  • Detail-oriented, self-directed, creative/innovative 
  • Adaptable
  • Strong organizational and writing skills
  • Reliable and able to commit to weekly meetings during Summer 2026 (may need to come to Amherst 2-3 times per month)
  • Ability to work collaboratively in interdisciplinary teams
  • Responsibly manage confidential data
  • Major in Nursing, Public Health, Nutrition/Dietetics, Health Sciences, Communications, or related field

Preferred

  • Experience with SPSS, NVivo, Excel, REDCap
  • Prior experience working with community partners
  • Basic website development experience (e.g., WordPress, Squarespace, Canva)
  • Ability to manage social media for projects

 

Time commitment
8-10 h/wk
Position Types and Compensation
Paid - General
Number of openings
2
Techniques learned

Gain skills in multi-methods (quantitative, qualitative, mixed), nursing and/or research processes, publishing, and learn how to build community partnerships

Project start
May/June 2026
Contact Information:
Mentor
Linda Koh
lmkoh@umass.edu
Principal Investigator
Name of project director or principal investigator
Linda Koh
Email address of project director or principal investigator
lmkoh@umass.edu
2 sp. | 8 appl.
Time commitment
8-10 h/wk
Subject Category
Public Health Sciences (+5)
Community Health EducationComputer ScienceMulticulturalNutritionPublic Health SciencesSustainable Food & Farming