PSYCH 499 Program

Who We Are

The overarching mission of the School Mental Health Assessment, Research, and Training (SMART) Center is to promote high-quality, culturally-responsive programs, practices, and policies to meet the full range of social, emotional, and behavioral (SEB) needs of students in both general and special education contexts. The SMART Center aims to accomplish this mission by using innovative and practical research methods to:

• Develop contextually-appropriate, low-burden programs that prevent or ameliorate SEB problems;
• Develop strategies for communities, districts, and schools to increase the use of effective SEB programs, practices, and policies;
• Support indigenous providers such as teachers and school-based mental health providers in their roles; and
• Enhance the interconnections across school, home, and community contexts.

The Center represents a transdisciplinary collaboration between faculty in the College of Education (CoE), the School of Medicine (SoM; Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences), and the School of Social Work at the University of Washington. Through this collaboration, SMART facilitates more equitable, effective, and integrated approaches to research and technical assistance surrounding the design and implementation of evidence-based SEB interventions.

Undergraduate 499 students will have exposure to multiple SMART Center projects and take on many of the same roles and responsibilities as Research Assistants. Under the direction of the 499 Program Director, students will be paired with a Research Coordinator mentor who will serve as their Lead Task Supervisor and explore the project-specific, research, and professional development interests of the 499 Students and assign tasks as needed. Students will have an opportunity to be part of a 499 cohort and attend weekly meetings where guest speakers discuss SMART Center projects, provide research-related trainings (i.e. qualitative interview training, Qualtrics, coding), and discuss relevant research literature and methodologies. Additional opportunities might include: shadowing field staff, providing support at SMART Center events, trainings, expert summits, and attending project team meetings.

499 Students will assist Research Staff with tasks as needed. This may include, but is not limited to:

• Transcription of youth, school clinician, and teacher qualitative interviews
• Manuscript preparation (i.e. literature searches, reference reformatting, etc)
• Data collection, entry, and cleaning
• Calculate descriptive statistics
• Reformatting and collation of project, field, and training materials
• Support staff during meetings, events, and trainings

Learning Benefits

• Develop new skills (e.g., qualitative coding, Excel formulas, calculate descriptive statistics, draft brief reports, etc.) through completing project tasks and skill practice assignments
• Develop general research skills that are transferable to other fields
• Exposure to universal SEB interventions and implementation science (e.g., why programs don’t produce intended student outcomes, how to increase use of interventions, how to improve the delivery quality of interventions)
• Develop close working relationships with Director, Managers, Task Supervisors, and other staff members
• Discuss research topics in weekly seminars as a 499 Program cohort
• Apply coursework to real-time research
• Summarize and present research topics and study results
• Craft research questions and create poster for the annual Undergraduate Research Symposium

Many previous 499 Students have used this research course as an opportunity to learn about and understand the work that goes into conducting research before applying to graduate school.

Projects of Interest

499 Students will have the opportunity to work on one of three teams which are led by researchers across a variety of disciplines (e.g., clinical psychology, educational psychology, family and human development, special education). Read more about the teams and their projects below.

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ASPIRE

Autism Services and Practices Implementation Research in Education

The ASPIRE Pod, led by Dr. Jill Locke, focuses on autism in the classroom, and many of their projects seek to better understand how we can support schools and enhance care for autistic students. They are looking for 499 Students to support their work in autism and implementation science research across multiple school-based studies.

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DREAMI

Designing, Real-world Effective [and Equitable] Approaches to Multilevel Implementation

The DREAMI Pod, led by Dr. Aaron Lyon, is a robust federally funded research program devoted to the development of usable and effective approaches to improving the accessibility, effectiveness, and equity of social, emotional, and behavioral interventions delivered in K-12 (primarily public) school settings.

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TAC

Training and Technical Assistance Core

TACore, led by Dr. Larissa Gaias and Kelcey Schmitz, helps bridge the research-to-practice gap by supporting student-serving organizations and professionals to develop, deliver, and evaluate effective school mental policies and programs across multiple tiers of school and community support. TAC provides a range of services including training, technical assistance, and program evaluation. A 499 Student would likely work on the projects below and support TAC through literature review, transcription, website development, and program evaluation activities.

Minimum Requirements

• Junior or Senior standing
• STRONGLY ENCOURAGED: Completed or currently enrolled in PSYCH 209 (Fundamentals of Psychological Research)
• Minimum commitment of two consecutive quarters (Fall and Winter)
• Register for 2 or 3 credits each quarter (equivalent to 6 or 9 hours work each week)
• Commit to in-person work at our Sand Point office (potential for hybrid model given schedule)
• Begin work the week of September 29, 2025
• Complete quarterly evaluations (self, Task Supervisors, 499 Program)
• Attend a weekly 499 seminar
• Interest in addressing mental health in schools for youth
• Previous experience working with youth or in schools is helpful, but not required
• Willingness and desire to learn!

Please note the following:

• We are looking to bring on several students for Fall 2025
• We are currently only accepting students who are interested in receiving course credit for PSYCH 499 (Undergraduate Research)
• Applicants will not be contacted until the second week of September

If you have questions, please contact Taylor Ullrich (tullrich@uw.edu).

Leadership & Staff 

		Aaron Lyon, PhD Faculty Advisor, 499 Program Director, SMART Center Methods Core Co-Director, UW ALACRITY Center Director, Research Institute for Implementation Science in Education (RIISE) Professor, Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences
		Jodie Buntain-Ricklefs, MSW, MPH Director, 499 Program Assistant Director of Implementation and Evaluation, SMART Center Pod: DREAMI Projects: Accessible, Collaborative Care for Effective School-Based Services (ACCESS), Public Health Seattle King County (PHSKC), Relationships to Enhance Learners’ Adjustment to Transitions and Engagement (RELATE), Research Institute for Implementation Science in Education (RIISE)
		Vaughan Collins, MSW Manager, 499 Program Research Coordinator, SMART Center Pod: DREAMI Projects: Helping Educational Leaders Mobilize Evidence (HELM), Research Institute for Implementation Science in Education (RIISE), Usability of Social-Emotional and Behavioral Interventions: Links to Implementation and Translation to Youth Outcomes (USABILITY)
		Taylor Ullrich, MS Manager, 499 Program Research Coordinator, SMART Center Pod: DREAMI Projects: Beliefs and Attitudes for Successful Implementation in Schools (BASIS) – Teachers, Usability of Social-Emotional and Behavioral Interventions: Links to Implementation and Translation to Youth Outcomes (USABILITY)
		Aislyn Gordon, BA Task Supervisor, 499 Program Research Study Coordinator, SMART Center Pod: DREAMI Projects: Beliefs and Attitudes for Successful Implementation in Schools (BASIS) – Teachers, Usability of Social-Emotional and Behavioral Interventions: Links to Implementation and Translation to Youth Outcomes (USABILITY)
		Casey Chandler, BA Pod Lead, 499 Program Data and Evaluation Coordinator, SMART Center Pod: TAC Projects: Assessment of Suicide and Self-Injury to Enhance School Safety (ASSESS), Efficacy of a Brief Intervention Strategy for School-based Mental Health Clinicians (BRISC), Northwest Mental Health Technology Transfer Center’s School Mental Health Supplement (NW MHTTC SMH), Training & Technical Assistance Core (TACORE), Washington Association of Educational Service Districts (AESD) Behavioral Health Student Assistance Program (BH-SAP), Workforce for Student Well-being Initiative (WSW)
		Bethlehem Kebede, BS Task Supervisor, 499 Program Research Analyst, SMART Center Pod: TAC Projects: Efficacy of a Brief Intervention Strategy for School-based Mental Health Clinicians (BRISC), Training & Technical Assistance Core (TACORE), Washington Association of Educational Service Districts (AESD) Behavioral Health Student Assistance Program (BH-SAP), Workforce for Student Well-being Initiative (WSW)
		Jennifer Cohen, MNPL Task Supervisor, 499 Program Program Operations Manager, SMART Center Pod: TAC Projects: Northwest Mental Health Technology Transfer Center’s School Mental Health Supplement (NW MHTTC SMH)
		Marissa Thirion, BA Pod Lead, 499 Program Research Coordinator, SMART Center Pod: ASPIRE Projects: Testing the Efficacy of the Helping Educational Leaders Mobilize Evidence (HELM) Implementation Strategy
		Kemmerly Chipongian, BA Task Supervisor, 499 Program Research Coordinator, SMART Center Pod: ASPIRE
		Priyanka Ghosh Choudhuri Task Supervisor, 499 Program Research Study Assistant, SMART Center Pod: ASPIRE