Underrepresented Researchers Program at Portland State University

The Program

Our Underrepresented Researchers Mentoring Program provides training for individuals who historically have faced barriers in pursuing careers in social sciences research, and creates opportunities for young people with serious mental health conditions to enter careers as co-trainers in interdisciplinary mental health education and as peer support providers to young people.

This mentoring program offers research opportunities in young people's mental health to undergraduate and graduate students at Portland State University. The project identifies people who are underrepresented in research (people of color, young people who have experience using mental health services, and young people with disabilities). Participants receive training and access to supports and resources to become skilled and confident researchers.

Current Mentees

Armand Beikzadeh | Student Research Assistant

I am an undergraduate student at Portland State University majoring in psychology. I am interested in topics like diversity, discrimination and inclusion. My position at the RRI as a student research assistant has been very valuable in helping me progress in my research-related career goals. It has provided me with deeper insight on the research process, experience with handling surveys, and exposure to useful platforms like Qualtrics and Excel. Additionally, the work environment is extremely warm, welcoming and supportive, all while providing a space that also importantly encourages productivity. Finally, my positive experience of working here has been largely due to the supportive relationships held between the other student workers and our supervisor. Having such an encouraging environment and team has made the completion of daily work tasks fun and efficient, from inputting data in Excel and scoring videos on VCP, to eating pizza with project participants at theater-test sessions. This experience of working at RRI has proved to be a truly unique and wonderful one.

Victoria Kincaid | Student Research Assistant

I am a student research assistant at the Regional Research Institute for Human Services. I work on both the AMP and MNM projects assisting with qualitative coding, transcribing, and preparing materials for MNM pre-test sessions. I am a first year student at PSU majoring in psychology on the pre-med track. I am most interested in working with queer communities of color, most specifically black LGBT youth in order to improve standards of care in the mental health care system. My experience at the RRI has allowed me to pursue my interest in research as well as work alongside established researchers in social services. I have greatly enjoyed my position here and look forward to learning even more in relation to human service research.