Supporting Sexual Violence Prevention Research – YEDI-Affiliated Project
Sabrina Boyce, Professor
Public Health
Applications for Fall 2025 are closed for this project.
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Sabrina Boyce
Day-to-Day Supervision: Ricardo Vera Monroy, M.S. (Data Analyst) or Emma Jackson, M.P.H. (Program Manager)
Project Description
Sexual and dating violence (SV/DV) and child sexual abuse (CSA) have far-reaching health and social consequences, disproportionately affecting marginalized communities. Despite decades of prevention work, there remain significant gaps in community-level, evidence-based approaches that address the systems, structures, and norms that contribute to violence. The Boyce Research Lab works to fill these gaps by partnering with communities and agencies to generate actionable research.
This position will support several projects that may contribute to potential community impact around safety and violence prevention, including:
- Translation & Publication Support – Assisting with translation of materials between English and Spanish, formatting manuscripts, and preparing citations for submission to public health journals.
- Literature Reviews – Conducting targeted literature reviews to identify evidence-based or promising practice indicators for policy, systems, and environmental (PSE) change; drafting “connection-to-violence” statements that link data indicators to sexual violence prevention outcomes.
- Qualitative Analysis – Supporting preliminary coding and synthesis of interviews with LGBTQ+ youth about dating violence and harassment, as well as de-identified qualitative data from What’sOK?, an online helpline for youth seeking help with potentially problematic sexual behaviors.
This role is well-suited for students interested in gaining hands-on experience in academic public health research and learning diverse skills in translation, literature synthesis, qualitative analysis, and research administration.
YEDI Description
If you are selected for this research project, you will also be invited to join the Youth Equity Discovery Initiative (YEDI) Program, a research mentorship program that aims to build supportive pathways into research careers, service, and leadership addressing adolescent wellbeing. The year-long program provides weekly skill-building workshops, cascading mentorship, and professional development training to a cohort of 20-30 undergraduate scholars working on faculty-led youth equity research projects (like this one). Past scholars have benefitted from YEDI’s mentorship and professional development opportunities (including faculty and graduate student speakers). The program culminates in an end-of-year research poster symposium.
The 2025-2026 YEDI cohort will meet in BOTH fall and spring. For the Fall, the workshops will take place on Tuesdays, 2:00pm-3:30pm starting September 30th. In order to take part in the YEDI program, you MUST be able to attend the workshops at this time. As a YEDI scholar, you will sign up for a PH198 class and receive 1 unit. This is in addition to the units you receive for your URAP research project. For any questions about YEDI, please contact YEDI’s Director Marieka Schotland (mschotland@berkeley.edu) or visit our website here. Participation in the YEDI Program is not required for this research project, but is strongly encouraged.
About the Boyce Research Lab
The Boyce Research Lab builds the evidence base to guide domestic and global approaches to promote gender and health equity in partnership with communities most impacted by inequity. We strive to understand the communities we work with, include voices historically excluded from research, partner directly with stakeholders, and communicate openly and respectfully as a team. Our work centers lived experience in the interpretation of results and aims to produce evidence that advances community and practitioner efforts toward social and health equity.
Role:
Tasks and Responsibilities
- Translate materials between English and Spanish.
- Format manuscripts and prepare citations for academic journal submissions.
- Conduct literature searches, summarize findings, and draft evidence-informed statements for violence prevention work.
- Assist with qualitative data coding, organization, and synthesis.
- Participate in weekly check-ins with senior research staff; most meetings will be held via Zoom, with in-person 1:1 meetings to be negotiated.
Learning Outcomes and Benefits to Student
- Training in research ethics (CITI Human Subjects Protection certification provided if needed).
- Skill development in literature review, qualitative analysis, academic writing, and translation.
- Mentorship through both the Boyce Research Lab and YEDI program.
- Contributions may be acknowledged in publications.
Qualifications:
Required Qualifications
- Interest in and comfort working with sensitive public health topics, including sexual violence, child sexual abuse, and LGBTQ+ health.
- Strong written and verbal communication skills.
- Reliable, detail-oriented, and able to work independently.
- Ability to commit 6–8 hours per week for both Fall 2025 and Spring 2026, with flexibility around exam periods and observance of university and national holidays.
- Willingness and ability to participate in the Youth Equity Discovery Initiative (YEDI), including required Tuesday workshops (2:00–3:30 pm, starting September 30, 2025).
- Open to both first-time YEDI participants and returning “master” YEDIs, who will focus on leadership and mentorship in the program.
Preferred Qualifications
- Spanish language proficiency for translation work.
- Experience with qualitative data analysis (e.g., NVivo, Dedoose).
- Familiarity with citation management software (e.g., EndNote).
- Interest in literature reviews, academic writing, and data interpretation for community-based prevention.
Day-to-day supervisor for this project: Ricardo Vera Monroy, Staff Researcher
Hours: 6-8 hrs
Off-Campus Research Site: Remote work with in-person meetings to be negotiated.
Related website: https://gehdev.ucsd.edu/youth-connect-study/
Related website: https://www.calshare.org/