Apply to SURE-EH

Program Summary

The SURE-EH program provides up to two years of hourly employment to UW undergraduate students to conduct research in areas relevant to the environmental health sciences and the mission of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences.

Students entering the program can work up to 30 hours per week over the summer, and up to 13 hours per week during the academic year.

Current Application Period

Applications will open on Monday, April 7, 2025 at 9:00am and close on Friday, April 25, 2024 at 5:00pm.

After a short review period, top applicants will be contacted to set up in-person interviews during the week of May 5, 2025.  Offers will be made by the end of May.

Available Positions

We are now accepting applications for the following projects. Please read and review as you will be asked to rank up to three choices in the application (you also have the option of choosing less than three). You should also note any specific desired qualifications for each position.

Project # 1: Heat prevention policy implementation evaluation & practical heat prevention solutions for agricultural workers

Description: The Pacific Northwest Agricultural Safety & Health (PNASH) Center heat projects aim to characterize, develop, and evaluate solutions for heat-related illness prevention for agriculture. These projects have co-developed and evaluated a train-the-trainer heat toolkit and supervisor decision support tool and collected data on sleep and housing conditions among crop workers who work in the heat. Our newest project seeks to conduct a timely implementation evaluation of a new updated State occupational heat policy for agriculture to inform practical prevention solutions. 

Student Opportunity: We are seeking an undergraduate student to assist with qualitative and/or quantitative data collection and analysis for our heat policy implementation evaluation project. This position offers opportunities to work on a collaborative team, including with agricultural partners, to collect qualitative and/or quantitative key informant interview and/or survey data, analyze data, and summarize results, which will ultimately be integrated into education and outreach products for partners. The student would work under supervision of faculty mentors and a research coordinator and benefit from collaboration and support from the PNASH Center community. 

Desired qualifications: 

• Undergraduate student, preferably at the junior or senior level, with completed coursework in public health, occupational health and safety, or related fields.

• Interest in agricultural health and/or workplace safety.

• Keen to learn and apply research methodologies, data analysis, and/or communication strategies in the field of public health and safety.

• Strong communication skills and a commitment to contributing to team goals and project outcomes. 

Project # 2: Identifying household-level perceptions, behaviors, and adaptation interventions utilized to mitigate the effects of extreme heat and wildfire smoke exposures in the City of Spokane, WA.   

Description: We are seeking an undergraduate student to assist with a natural hazards, emergency preparedness-related community needs assessment in Spokane, WA. In collaboration with Gonzaga University, we will utilize the Community Assessment for Public Health Emergency Response (CASPER) sampling methodology to collect information around perceptions, behaviors, and use of evidence-based interventions important to natural hazard emergency preparedness activities. Typically, CASPERs are deployed in the aftermath of a disaster, but more recently, they are being used to understand a community’s capacity to respond to select natural hazards. Our CASPER will characterize the City of Spokane’s capacity to respond to wildfires and extreme heat events. The sampling event, itself, will occur in Fall 2025 (likely during the month of October) over the course of 2 successive weekends (F-Sun and Sat-Mon). We are seeking an undergraduate student to in yr 1: assist with survey tool development, provide logistical support for the ~12 on-the-ground survey teams, potentially participate in the sampling event (depending on student’s availability), provide data input/analysis support; and in yr 2: work with CEER and Gonzaga’s Climate Institute on implementing intervention strategies identified through yr 1’s work.  

Desired qualifications: Undergraduate at junior level with excellent communication and organizational skills; experience with REDCap survey tool is a bonus.

Project # 3: Wastewater surveillance of emerging public health threats in rural Washington 

Description:  In Washington state, rural counties often have limited access to healthcare and reduced infectious disease testing capacity compared to their urban counterparts. The resulting health disparities are deepened by emerging public health threats such as Candida auris and antimicrobial resistance. Wastewater surveillance is a cost-efficient tool to track emerging public health threats by sampling large populations independent of the healthcare system. We are seeking a motivated undergraduate to assist with the development of wastewater surveillance methods for emerging pathogens such as Candida auris and multidrug antimicrobial resistant organisms. We will develop methods that are feasible for local health jurisdictions to adapt and implement but sensitive enough to inform public health interventions. The student will gain experience in wastewater surveillance concentration methods, DNA/RNA extraction, digital PCR and Nanopore sequencing. The student will be mentored by Dr. Furhmeister and a graduate student with an emphasis on developing their own independent project.

Desired qualifications: Undergraduate coursework in microbiology and/or environmental health. Laboratory experience in microbiology and/or environmental health is a plus. 

Project # 4: Using high-throughput chemical screening to discover environmental risk factors for autism  

Description: The Geng lab is seeking an undergraduate student to assist with a high-throughput chemical screening project which uses zebrafish as a model to discover environmental chemicals that can potentially increase the risk of developing autism spectrum disorder in humans. This is achieved by exposing zebrafish embryos to a chemical library containing over 4,000 common environmental chemicals and examining effects on zebrafish social behavior. Social behavior is used as a readout because its deficit is a hallmark of autism spectrum disorder. We use a custom build state-of-the-art behavioral imaging station and custom written codes to analyze social behavior in fish. Chemicals discovered in the screen that inhibit the development of social behavior in zebrafish will be further validated in rodent models and studied for downstream molecular pathways using various experimental techniques. The student is expected to participate in all aspects of this study under the supervision of a research scientist and graduate students. As the project progresses and after the student gains more experience, some aspects of the study can be assigned to the student as an independent sub-project. 

Desired qualifications: Undergraduate coursework in biology related subjects or planning to take key biology courses such as cell biology and biochemistry. The Geng lab is biology heavy, so interest in studying the biological mechanisms of environmental toxicants is desired. 

Project # 5: Detecting enteric pathogens for understanding the effects on human health and gut microbiome

Description: We are seeking a motivated undergraduate student to assist with a project on focused on understanding the impact of implementing a city-wide sanitation system on enteric pathogen infections in vulnerable populations. Our research aims to understand the relationships between sanitation infrastructure, environmental exposures, diarrheal disease, and child heath outcomes in low- and middle- income countries. This project would entail processing and analyzing samples from children in Mozambique, where there is a high burden of enteric disease due to limited sanitation and water resources. The student will work in our laboratory under supervision of the lab manager and/or research scientist. The student will learn important and transferrable skills, which may include sterile technique, sample collection and concentration methods, nucleic acid extraction, media preparation, bacterial culture, molecular assays, and data analysis. The student will also have opportunities to write meeting abstracts, contribute to research articles, and present their research findings. 

Desired qualifications: Undergraduate with completed course work in microbiology. Interest in public health research. Previous lab experience (including lab coursework) is desired but not required.

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