SOMA Lab at USC

08/31/2022

The Department of Population and Public Health Sciences is seeking a full-time Program Administrator position. The Program Administrator will assist staff with management of data collection for multiple research projects funded by the California To***co Related Disease Prevention Program and the California Department of Public Health. Specifically, they will execute data collection protocols involving collecting, recording, and entering data for all active research projects, and supervising data collection staff. They will also participate in research design discussions and be responsible for developing survey and recruitment materials. This position requires recruitment of research participants including contacting local high schools to meet with administrators, faculty, staff, and students. Other duties will include managing and overseeing the completion of project-specific grant progress reports, performing descriptive statistics to summarize data, comprising material for scientific presentations and manuscripts (e.g., conference posters, PowerPoints, literature reviews), purchasing and drafting settlements for project-related expenses, and completion of IRB-related documents. They will also regularly maintain the lab’s website and social media pages.

07/05/2022

The USC SOMA Lab is looking for participants to complete a one-time ONLINE survey on Zoom for a research study on professional occupation and health behaviors. There is no cost to participate, and eligible participants will be compensated.

Adults over 21 years old, fluent in English, currently living in the U.S. and have previously, or currently, worked for a social media company are eligible to participate.

To find out if you are eligible, fill out an online, confidential prescreening survey using this link: https://redcap.link/1sk9ogyy.

If you are eligible, we will contact you to meet with USC researchers on Zoom to complete the survey.

05/10/2022

The USC SOMA Lab is looking for participants to complete a one-time ONLINE survey for a research study on professional occupation and health behaviors. There is no cost to participate, and eligible participants will be compensated.

Adults over 21 years old, fluent in English, currently living in the U.S. and have previously, or currently, worked for a social media company are eligible to participate.

To find out if you are eligible, fill out an online, confidential prescreening survey using this link: https://redcap.link/1sk9ogyy.

05/03/2022

The Department of Population and Public Health Sciences is seeking a full-time Senior Research Associate to be part of Project 1 of the To***co Center of Regulatory Science (TCORS) situated in the Keck School of Medicine of USC. The Senior Research Associate will assist in reaching the aims related to Project 1 of the USC TCORS. The main goal of the project is to inform the FDA's Center for To***co Products so they can best regulate the manufacturing, marketing, and distribution of to***co products to protect public health.

For more information and to apply click here: https://usccareers.usc.edu/job/los-angeles/senior-research-associate/1209/28309782480

Interested candidates should submit a letter outlining their research experiences (one page), CV with prior academic record, reprints of any relevant publications, and names of three references.

Learn more about applying for Senior Research Associate at USC

10/08/2021

PRISM Health Symposium 2021 is accepting abstracts and open for registration!

We are accepting abstracts for the IN-PERSON PRISM Health Symposium 2021. We encourage submissions from trainees, junior faculty, and professionals underrepresented in medicine (UIM).

Selected abstracts will present at PRISM on Friday, December 3rd, 2021. If selected, one author will need to be available to present the abstract.

Submission Deadline — Friday, October 29, 2021
Abstract Notification — Friday, November 12, 2021

Use this link to read more and apply:

Qualtrics sophisticated online survey software solutions make creating online surveys easy. Learn more about Research Suite and get a free account today.

08/11/2021

The Department of Population and Public Health Sciences is seeking a full-time Project Assistant to be part of the Social Media Analytics (SOMA) Lab at the Keck School of Medicine of USC. The Project Assistant will help the Lab director meet the aims of a study funded by the To***co-Related Disease Research Program. The main goal of the project is to inform to***co control policy efforts by identifying kid friendly to***co marketing strategies and understanding their impact on to***co-related attitudes and behaviors in high school students.

For more information and to apply, click here: https://usccareers.usc.edu/job/los-angeles/project-assistant/1209/12385318416

Interested candidates should submit a cover letter outlining their experiences, resume, and names of three references.

07/26/2021

Check out our team's recent paper in Journal of Medical Internet Research (JMIR). We aimed to examine public tweets referencing both Puff Bar and JUUL products.

Background: In response to the recent government restrictions, flavored JUUL products, which are rechargeable closed-system electronic ci******es (e-ci******es), are no longer available for sale. However, disposable closed-system products such as the flavored Puff Bar e-cigarette continues to be ava...

06/07/2021

Checkout our new paper in Journal of Medical Internet Research (JMIR) that described ni****ne-related topics of conversation authored by the public and social bots on Twitter.

Background: Cultural trends in the United States, the ni****ne consumer marketplace, and to***co policies are changing. Objective: The goal of this study was to identify and describe ni****ne-related topics of conversation authored by the public and social bots on Twitter, including any misinformati...

05/25/2021

New Industry Watch in this month's issue of BMJ To***co Control from SOMA Lab. It highlights a new product (SLEAV) that is designed to facilitate stealth va**ng and targeted toward youth. Click the link below to read the full article!

Stealth va**ng (ie, the use of devices resembling everyday products to facilitate inconspicuous va**ng) has proliferated in the face of smoke-free air laws that include electronic ci******es (e-ci******es).1–3 To this end, companies are modifying smartwatches, video games, toys and apparel to help...

05/18/2021

Director of SOMA Lab featured in The New York Times! Check it out here:

Social and psychological forces are combining to make the sharing and believing of misinformation an endemic problem with no easy solution.

04/29/2021

Check out our recent publication in collaboration with USC POWER Lab. We analyzed Twitter posts from 2020 that discussed the risks and benefits of cannabis use during pregnancy and postpartum. Read the full article here:

(2021). Twitter Posts About Cannabis Use During Pregnancy and Postpartum:A Content Analysis. Substance Use & Misuse. Ahead of Print.

04/20/2021

New commentary in The Conversation on the use of music videos to promote e-ci******es to young people from SOMA Lab Director. Read the full article here:

Product placement in music videos totals $15 million to $20 million a year and is rising. E-cigarette makers are discovering it's a great way to lure young adults into va**ng.