Student Technician-1

Texas A&M University System•Dallas, TX

3d•Onsite

About The Position

Texas A&M AgriLife is an organization that supports healthy living for all Texans, through the research of targeted agricultural practices that yield nutritious food sources, outreach programs that train community members on growing their own food, and preservation of natural resources via eco-friendly means, all while following practices that lead to a stronger Texas economy. Overseen by the Office of the Vice Chancellor and Dean for the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Texas A&M AgriLife includes the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service, Texas A&M AgriLife Research, the College of Agriculture & Life Sciences at Texas A&M University, Texas A&M Forest Service, and Texas A&M Veterinary Medical Diagnostic Laboratory. The Texas A&M AgriLife Institute for Advancing Health Through Agriculture (IHA) is the world’s first academic institute to bring together precision nutrition, responsive agriculture, and social and behavioral research to reduce diet-related chronic disease in a way that considers environmental and economic effects. The IHA comprises three focus areas—healthy living, precision nutrition, and responsive agriculture—and unites experts from various fields such as agriculture, nutrition, behavioral sciences, social sciences, life sciences, engineering, data and computation science, and economics. Healthy Living programs implement, evaluate, and disseminate scientific solutions, applicable to all Texans, for improved public health. We aim to understand the means of building communities around healthy living and facilitating the delivery of current, accurate, evidence-based programs, guidelines, and information that supports healthier living for Texans. Areas of particular interest to Healthy Living include health disparities; food access, food systems, food and nutrition insecurity, dietary patterns and behaviors; diet/food intervention and program development and evaluation; physical activity behaviors and intervention development; policy system and environmental change; citizen science and community engaged research; and mHealth technologies for monitoring, assessment, and interventions. The Healthy Living team works on a broad portfolio of extramurally funded, community-engaged research and active collaborations with community partners, cooperative extension, and many academic and nonprofit organizations throughout Texas and beyond. The IHA’s Healthy Living program welcomes applications from scholars who possess related expertise and are eager to play a role in our supportive, interdisciplinary research group, specifically focused on solutions to address risk factors for obesity and related chronic diseases. The IHA’s Healthy Living program is housed at the Texas A&M AgriLife Center at Dallas, which focuses on scientific research, public outreach, and education programs. The Center is a regional hub for all Texas A&M AgriLife activity. It is one of 13 AgriLife Centers across the state - each focusing on issues specific to their region. Initiatives at Dallas hinge on healthy living, urban agriculture and forestry, and water and land resource management.

Requirements

Ability to work independently and manage priorities and tasks as assigned.
Excellent oral and written communication skills.
Highly organized and detail oriented.
Professional demeanor.
Currently enrolled in an undergraduate/graduate program.
Motivated to learn.
Comfortable with public speaking.
Able to work as part of a team.
All positions are security-sensitive. Applicants are subject to a criminal history investigation, and employment is contingent upon the institution’s verification of credentials and/or other information required by the institution’s procedures, including the completion of the criminal history check.

Responsibilities

Provide project managers and staff with administrative and technical support for Healthy Living research projects and initiatives.
Assists in program and research evaluation, including searching the literature, reports, sign-in sheets, evaluation surveys, and other record-keeping activities and other data collection activities.
Prepares materials for and helps with implementation of Healthy Living programs
Supporting other office-related tasks (e.g., attending meetings, taking meeting minutes, organizing supplies).
Maintains orderly work environment.
Participates fully in all orientation and training provided by AgriLife Research
Performs other duties as assigned.