Summer Research Assistant at CLF
The Center recruits a limited number of student Summer Research Assistants positions to work during the summer. This year these positions are only open to current JHU students. The positions provide programmatic, research, and administrative assistance to CLF staff members. Responsibilities for each position include a range of duties and activities, such as conducting web-based research, report writing, data cleaning and data entry, data analysis, literature review, and event planning. Performing administrative support activities is part of each CLF Research Assistant’s scope of work, but will generally involve no more than 20 percent of work hours. Research Assistants are encouraged to attend CLF-sponsored seminars, lectures and other activities scheduled throughout the summer.
Students applying for 2026 Summer Research Assistant positions at CLF must be active in a degree-seeking, full-time or part-time status at JHU, must be physically in the United States, and must hold and maintain current work authorization during payment/work dates (i.e., foreign national students must be valid, unexpired J-1 and F-1 visa holders).
There are five (5) openings at the Center.
1. U.S. Seafood Consumption Survey & Manuscript
Scope of work: The Research Assistant will support the Aquatic Food Systems & Public Health focus area to field a national survey to better understand American seafood consumption patterns. The research assistant will assist with data cleaning, analysis, literature review, and manuscript writing related to this survey and another manuscript using NHANES data on seafood consumption in America.
Skills required: Knowledge of food systems and nutrition issues, strong communication skills (virtual and in person), experience reviewing scientific literature, familiarity with quantitative and/or qualitative data analysis, prior coursework in statistics, experience with data analysis software (e.g., R, STATA, or SAS), and strong writing skills.
Hours/Week: 20-37.5
Level of education: Masters or DrPH
2. Occupational health and safety in U.S. fisheries, aquaculture, and processing
Scope of work: The Research Assistant will assist with data analysis and writing up findings related to seafood workforce demographics, worker health and safety interview data, and policies related to worker health and safety. Duties include working with qualitative interview data and quantitative workforce data to assist with summarizing findings, creating data visualizations, and writing for scholarly/peer reviewed audiences and the general public.
Skills required: Familiarity with food systems issues, occupational safety or workers’ rights, qualitative interview data analysis, and strong communication skills (virtual and in person) and writing skills.
Hours/Week: 20-37.5
Level of education: DrPH or Masters
3. Meatless Monday and Sustainable Diets Research Assistant
Scope of Work: The research assistant will assist CLF with research support, data collection and literature reviews for research projects related to the Meatless Monday (MM) Campaign and promotion of sustainable, healthy diets. Duties may include tool development, quantitative and qualitative data analysis, research summaries, writing, and report generation. May also include administrative duties as needed to assist the MM team or other CLF projects. Potential projects include drafting research summaries on identified topics relevant to Meatless Monday implementation, working with CLF and JH Dining to draft student survey and/or a campus-based plant-forward food guide, data analysis and summaries, and contributing to food systems training materials.
Skills required: Experience and/or training related to nutrition and sustainability and knowledge of food systems, public health, and preferably the Meatless Monday initiative; good communication, writing and organizational skills; experience with literature searches and data collection, recognizing the value of rigorous analysis and careful work; an independent worker who can also work effectively in a collaborative team-oriented environment.
Special Requirements: Proficiency in MS Office Suite, working knowledge of EndNote or RefWorks preferred, and ability to conduct simple data analysis using Excel, R, or Stata preferred.
Hours/Week: 10-20
Level of education: Masters
4. National Food Systems Landscape
Scope of Work: The Research Assistant will conduct two assessments of the landscape of national and state or regional organizations. The first assessment would identify organizations with relevant capacity building and policy expertise to provide training and technical assistance to food policy councils (FPCs). Over the past twelve years, CLF has provided technical assistance, research and resources to FPCs across the United States. FPCs are increasingly mature and seeking more and different ways to grow their capacity, amplify their policy voices, and convene together. To support this growth in FPCs, this project would identify academic, nonprofit, advocacy, and narrative organizations with expertise related to expressed areas of growth for FPCs in organizational development, policy and food systems. Areas of interest include but are not limited to policy advocacy, conflict resolution, dialogue and deliberation, fundraising, narrative change, rural prosperity, and budgeting. The second assessment would identify state, regional and local organizations, coalitions, and advocacy groups engaged in advocacy, organizing, and/or training around the impact of industrial agriculture facilities on communities. The project would involve defining the bounds or scope for the landscape assessment, identifying and documenting characteristics of each entity, conducting interviews with a select cohort of entities, and developing strategic recommendations for partnerships.
Skills required: Knowledge of food policy councils, food systems and/or environmental justice organizations in the United States; be organized and detail oriented.
Hours/Week: 8-10
Level of education: Masters
5. YouthHunger
Scope of Work: The Research Assistant will work alongside the principal investigator in all aspects of the project assisting with a mixed methods study that investigates the behavior of Maryland youth experiencing food insecurity. The duties will include participating in project planning, drafting and submitting IRB, coordinating with State of MD and community partners to facilitate data collection, collecting data, analyzing data and presenting results.
Skills required: Interest in the sociological aspects of hunger, mixed-methods research, and be able to work well with community partners and at risk youth.
Special Requirements: Some weekends may be required. Must be able to travel to data collection sites in western Maryland, Prince George’s County, Maryland, and Cambridge, Maryland.
Hours/Week: 20-37.5
Level of education: DrPH or Masters
Start date: o/a June 15, 2026
End date: o/a August 28, 2026
Hours: between 8 - 37.5 (depending on position filled)
Salary range: Commensurate with educational level
Applications for CLF student summer Research Assistants must be received by 9:00 a.m. on Monday, April 6, 2026. Process and additional information will be provided to selected shortlisted applicants only o/a Friday, April 10, 2026.
Instructions for applying to be a 2026 CLF Student Research Assistant
Please submit the following to clf@jhu.edu:
- Completed CLF RA Application Form
- An updated CV or resume describing your work experience, academic background, specific skills and expertise.
- Two or three references and contact information, to include both academic and work setting references.
- A writing sample of a paper you have developed from start to finish and that involved a review of literature.
- A cover-letter outlining the following:
- why you are interested in working with CLF
- what you hope to gain through a CLF Research Assistant’s experience
- a brief description of what you see yourself doing in five years