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Substituting healthy plant proteins for red meat lowers risk for heart disease – HSPH News

Study is first meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials to look at health effects of red meat in diet by swapping it for other types of foods

For immediate release: April 9, 2019

Boston, MA – Diets that replaced red meat with healthy plant proteins led to decreases in risk factors for cardiovascular disease (CVD), according to a new study from Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and…

Seeking a paid research assistant to work on a behavioral economics trial supporting mothers of preterm infants

The project: This study is an ongoing randomized control trial (RCT) aiming to support mothers of preterm infants in a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) in Boston in engaging in caregiving activities while their infant is in the hospital. Many financial, logistical, and behavioral challenges are barriers to mothers’ ability to visit the hospital while their infant is an inpatient, and this can have important ramifications on infant health and development, and maternal wellbeing. This RCT tests the impact of small financial transfers on mothers’ ability to provide skin-to-skin care and breastfeeding to their infants in the NICU, and subsequently on their infants’ growth and development. The trial is being run at Tufts Medical Center, and is supported by a research coordinator there, and PIs at both Tufts and the Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH).

The position: The RA would be take over the role currently held by Kat Andrews (doctoral student graduating this spring), and would work with behavioral economics Professor Maggie McConnell at HSPH. Some activities would include collaborating with the Tufts-based research coordinator to ensure high-quality data collection, managing phone and in-person surveys, and contributing to publications and future grant proposals. There is also ample opportunity for the RA to expand this work to address his/her own research questions in the future (and would therefore also be a good opportunity for those hoping to write a thesis/dissertation on a related topic). There is some limited funding for this position.

Timing/hours: The onboarding at the hospital takes several months, so we are looking for an RA to join immediately in order to commence the administrative steps required for hiring. The bulk of the work would start toward the end of the spring term and will continue for approximately one year. The work schedule is driven by study enrollments, so can be quite variable, but the RA might expect to work 5-10 hours per week.