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Women's Mental Health Research Program

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WMHRP Undegraduate Training Opportunities

Student Research Assistants are valuable members of the Women’s Mental Health Research team and play an important role in the implementation of our research studies. Students should be self-motivated and display a high attention to detail.

Student RAs complete Initial Investigator and Human Subjects Protection HIPAA training. Depending on available studies and level of involvement, RAs may receive additional training in neurocognitive testing/scoring, specimen processing, bloodborne pathogen handling and conducting the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM Disorders (SCID).

For more information on Undergraduate Research at UIC, please visit the UIC Office of Undergraduate Research or the Undergraduate Research Experience websites.

Research Assistant Qualifications

The student should be in good academic standing with a strong GPA (3.0 or above) and have an interest in women’s mental health, psychology, psychiatry, medicine, nursing, epidemiology, microbiome, biology, nutrition, immunology, computational biology, engineering or related field.

We strongly prefer a 2-year commitment from students because of the effort required to train students in our research methods. Exceptions may be made on a case-by-case basis for seniors. Students should plan to commit 10 hours per week during the school year to the WMHRP.

Preference may be given to students in the Honors College; students who have completed courses in research methods or statistics; and/or students with a background in statistics, engineering, epidemiology and/or computer science. Familiarity with Excel and/or REDCap is ideal.

Interested applicants should complete the WMHRP Research Assistant application form and send it, along with a resume and copy of current transcripts to BrainResearchuic [dot] edu.

WMHRP Current Undergraduate Trainees

Amyah Cardine

Undergraduate Research Assistant, CoNECt Lab and Women's Mental Health Research Program

Amyah Cardine has conducted research with 4 years of biological research experience, including training of neurological methodologies within a behavioral discipline. In addition to this research experience, Ms.

Julieta Melkun

Undergraduate Research Assistant, Women’s Mental Health Research Program

Julieta Melkun is a third year pre-medical undergraduate student at University of Illinois Chicago who is pursuing a BS degree in Nutrition and MD. She is a research assistant at Bealab for the MoMent study where she assists with processing biological sampling, organizing clinical data, and completing other various lab tasks.

Diana Mihaylova

Undergraduate Research Assistant, Women’s Mental Health Research Program

Diana is currently a second-year pre-medical undergraduate student who is pursuing a BS degree in Neuroscience. She is a member of the Honors College and plans to pursue a medical degree. Outside of classes, she is a pharmacy technician and an active hospital volunteer. She is also the director of event for the Eastern European Student Association club on campus.

Eveleen Shihn

Undergraduate Student Volunteer, Women’s Mental Health Research Program

Eveleen is a freshman at UIC majoring in Neuroscience and minoring in Political Science on the pre-medical track in the LAS and Honors College. She is an undergraduate volunteer of Dr. Pauline Maki’s laboratory within the Women’s Mental Health Research Program at UIC.

Baeyoung Yoo

Undergraduate Research Assistant, Women’s Mental Health Research Program
Department of Psychiatry, UIC

Baeyoung is currently a second-year Biological Sciences student aiming for a double major in Neuroscience and Gender & Women’s Studies. She is a member of the Honors College and is an active hospital and hospice volunteer outside of classes.

WMHRP Former Undergraduate Trainees

Rafia Ali BS

Graduate Research Assistant

Rafia is currently a third year medical student at the University of Illinois Chicago College of Medicine. She received her B.S. in biological sciences and a minor in sociology from University of Illinois Chicago. Rafia previously worked with the Women’s Mental Health Research Program at UIC and has a background in clinical research in women’s health and psychiatry. She is interested in mood and anxiety disorders and their relationship to women’s health.

Mia Bakis

Psychiatry Volunteer

Mia is a junior studying Neuroscience at UIC and hopes to have a career in research. She is currently interested in neuroplasticity and the microbiome. Mia received the Chancellor’s Undergraduate Research Award (CURA) to support her research in the lab in the 2018-19 academic year.

Brittany Beard

Psychiatry Volunteer

Brittany graduated from UIC with a B.S. in Neuroscience. She worked on the Perinatal Mental Health research projects in the Women’s Mental Health Research Program from April 2018 until graduation in May 2019. She will be spending a gap year abroad teaching English in Korea and hopes to continue her professional education when she returns.

Hira Chouhdry

Hira graduated from the Honors College with a B.S. in Neuroscience. She plans on attending medical school after graduation and following her dream of serving those in need. Hira joined the Women’s Mental Health Research Program in 2016. She completed a capstone project on “The Effects of Pregnancy Intention on Perinatal Depression.” Hira was awarded the Hodgkin and Huxley Award by the faculty of the Laboratory for Integrative Neuroscience for her outstanding undergraduate achievements in neuroscience.

Brianna David BS

Psychiatry Volunteer

Brianna is currently a Clinical Research Coordinator with BeaLab in UIC’s Bioengineering Department. She graduated from UIC with a B.S. in Neuroscience with a minor in Latin American and Latino Studies in May of 2019. She was a research assistant for the Women’s Mental Health Research Program from February of 2018 to May of 2019. Her goal is to attend graduate school. Brianna is interested in understanding the neurobiological components of trauma and perinatal depression and anxiety.

Annesti Elmasri

Annesti graduated from the Honors College with a B.S. in Biology. She is currently enrolled in the College of Pharmacy at UIC. Annesti joined the Women’s Mental Health Research Program in 2015 due to her belief that when you change the life of a woman, you change the life of an entire community. Annesti completed a capstone project on “Anxiety in Pregnant Women with Gestational Diabetes”.

Agatha Fernandez

Agatha graduated from the Honors College and UIC’s College of Nursing. Agatha joined the Women’s Mental Health Research Program in 2015. She completed a Capstone project on “Determining the Prevalence of Perinatal Depression in a Diverse, Urban Population Using PHQ-9 and Computerized Adaptive Diagnostic test for Major Depressive Disorder (CAD-MDD).”

Mennat Gharib

Mennat graduated from the Honors College with a B.S. in Biological Sciences and a minor in Spanish. She worked on the Perinatal Mental Health research projects in the Women’s Mental Health Research Program from March 2017 until graduation in May 2019. She will be taking a gap year before attending graduate school. She completed an Honors Capstone research project looking at the “Effects of Race, Stress and Income on Neonate Birthweight.”

Erykah Harris

Erykah graduated from the Honors College with a B.S. in Nursing. She worked on the Perinatal Mental Health research projects in the Women’s Mental Health Research Program from September 2015 until graduation in May 2019. She completed an Honors Capstone research project looking at the “Convergent Validity of PHQ-9 and CAT-MH and the Relationship between Screening Outcomes and Treatment for Depression in Perinatal Women.” She will begin her nursing career at Emory University Hospital – Midtown.

Marina Isaac

Marina graduated from UIC with a B.S. in Neuroscience. She worked on the Perinatal Mental Health research projects in the Women’s Mental Health Research Program from October 2018 until graduation in May 2019. She will be taking a gap year before attending medical school.

Jessaly John

Jessaly graduated from the Honors College with a B.S. in Biological Sciences and a B.A. in Psychology. She worked on the Perinatal Mental Health research projects in the Women’s Mental Health Research Program from March 2018 until graduation in May 2019. She completed an Honors Capstone research project looking at the “Sociodemographic Factors in Antenatal Depression and Anxiety During the Third Trimester on Infant Birth Weight.” Jessaly will be pursuing a Masters in Nursing with the intent to become a Family Nurse Practitioner.

Nisha Haider

Psychiatry Volunteer

Nisha is a junior studying psychology, with a minor in biology. With this, she plans on to continue her academic career and apply to a Physician’s Assistant school. Nisha’s interest in working as an advocate for mental health aspired her to join The Women’s Mental Health Research Program. She is interested in understanding depression and plans to gain an understanding in women’s health with respect to microbiome. She hopes to apply such knowledge in her career path of medicine and help people with associated mental health issues.

Rachel Horwitz

Rachel is a Sophomore at UIC majoring in Neuroscience. She is a member of the honors college. After graduation, Rachel plans to pursue graduate studies in neuroscience. Rachel’s interest in the intersection between gender equality and mental health led her to the Women’s Mental Health Research Program. Rachel received the Chancellor’s Undergraduate Research Award (CURA) to support her research in the lab in the 2018-19 academic year.

Abha Mahajan

Psychiatry Volunteer

Abha is a junior studying Public Health at UIC. She is involved in the professional, pre-health fraternity Delta Epsilon Mu, as well as serving as a tutor for low-income students. Abha aspires to go to medical school and hopes to become a pediatrician in the future. Outside of as well as exploring places to eat. She is excited to start her journey with the Women’s Mental Health Research Program and looks forward to collaborating with other interprofessional students to better her understanding of the field.

Nandini Sarup

Psychiatry Volunteer

Nandini Sarup is a first-year student majoring in Integrated Health Studies on a Pre-Health Information Management and Pre-Medicine Tracks. She is excited to assist in the MoMent research study and bring new ideas to the Women's Mental Health Research Program. Additionally, Nandini is freshman representative on Indian Student Association Board and member of Society of Future Physicians. She is also on the Volunteering Committee of the Honors College Advisory Board in the Honors College. During her free time, Nandini pursues Indian classical dance and Hindustani singing as well as playing the violin. After graduation, Nandini is hoping to attend medical school and work with international organizations.

Zainab Shah

Zainab graduated from the Honors College with a B.S. in Biological Sciences. She worked on the Perinatal Mental Health research projects in the Women’s Mental Health Research Program from August 2017 until graduation in May 2019. She hopes to attend medical school following her gap year. She completed an Honors Capstone research project looking at the “Relationship between Perinatal and Postpartum Depression and Glucose Levels.”