MPC members can apply to use the services of a 10-hour per week graduate research assistant for a short period of time (typically 4-6 weeks). Priority is given to projects that (a) have a population studies focus, broadly construed; (b) can quickly result in a publication and/or grant proposal; (c) can clearly benefit from short-term research assistance; and (d) do not already have external funding. Preference will be given to junior faculty. All MPC faculty, postdocs, and research staff members are eligible to use this service.
Short Term RA service applications are currently closed. They will reopen January 2026.
The application form will request the following information:
- Your name and departmental affiliation
- Details about your project: A title and a short (~2 paragraph) description of the overall project's goals and activities
- Describe the relevance or alignment of the project with the MPC's primary research areas
- Information about the product that will result (e.g., a publication, a grant proposal, a conference presentation) and when that product will be produced
- A statement about current external funding support for the project
- A description of the specific activities the research assistant would do and (if not obvious) how they fit into the overall project
- Indicate in order of preference which of the upcoming time periods you request Short Term RA service. Each week is 10 hours. Exact start and end dates of RA service will depend on availability of the student.
- Aug. 25 - Sept. 26 (5 weeks)
- Sept. 29 - Oct. 24 (4 weeks)
- Oct. 27 - Nov. 28 (5 weeks)
- Dec. 1 - Jan. 7 (5 weeks)
Questions? Contact us at [email protected].
Fall 2025 Short Term RA
Grace Huftel
Skills:
- Data cleaning, management and quantitative analysis in R and SAS
- Quantitative Methods: Descriptive, t-tests, Correlations, ANOVAs, MANOVAs, Regression, Nonparametric tests, Mediation/Moderation
- Qualitative Methods: Creating qualitative questionnaires with open ended questions, conducting focus groups, transcribing audio, coding and thematic analysis
- Project management and coordination: co-developed quantitative and qualitative statistic courses for statistics software
- Conducting literature reviews
Relevant UMN Grad Courses
- PUBH 6341 Epidemiology Methods I, PUBH 6450 Biostatistics I, PUBH 6342 Epidemiology Methods II, PUBH 6451 Biostatistics II, PUBH 7420 Clinical Trials
Biography
Grace Huftel is a Master of Public Health (MPH) student in Epidemiology at the University of Minnesota. She holds Bachelor of Science degrees in Psychology and Sociology from the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire, where she also minored in Mathematics with a concentration in statistics. Her academic training and professional experience have equipped her with strong skills in quantitative research design, data management, and analysis. Proficient in R and SAS, she is currently analyzing Minnesota Student Survey data for her MPH Applied Practice Experience (APEX); this research investigates connections between cannabis use, adverse childhood experiences, and social determinants of health among Minnesota adolescents for the Minnesota Department of Health. Her expertise also extends to qualitative methods, including designing focus group questionnaires and conducting thematic analysis. This research training is complemented by professional experience in project coordination and community-engaged work, from her AmeriCorps service at the Eau Claire City-County Health Department to her employment at the Minnesota Department of Health.As a researcher, she is eager to advance social determinants of health research while applying a health equity lens to identify and address health inequalities.