Join our team!

Graduate students.

Our lab is currently accepting graduate students for the current school year and will be reviewing applications for the next academic year.  We seek ambitious, hardworking students interested in applied, quantitative research focused on novel and effective ways to promote the health and well-being for families across the state and nation.

If you are interested in learning more or joining our lab, please send Dr. Barton an email at the Illinois email account listed on his faculty webpage.

Undergraduate students.

Undergraduate students working in the lab play a vital role in supporting our research and outreach. Current activities for undergraduate research are focused on various aspects of digital program delivery and evaluation, including participant recruitment, website development, project communications, data management, data analyses, and report/manuscript writing. Interested students should send an email to Dr. Barton, briefly explaining their background and interest in working in this lab (note: availability for Spring 2022 is quite limited; interested students are still encouraged to email Dr. Barton to reserve an application space should an opening become available).

Director:

Dr. Allen Barton is a prevention scientist whose research program addresses the health and well-being of individuals and families. Over the last decade, his work has examined risk and protective processes within families that affect individuals’ health, substance use, and relational well-being. Dr. Barton’s research program also includes a strong applied emphasis, focusing on developing and evaluating family-centered prevention programs.  Dr. Barton received his BS and MS in Engineering from the University of Illinois and his PhD in Human Development and Family Science from the University of Georgia (UGA).  His postdoctoral research was in prevention science at the Center for Family Research at UGA.  Prior to coming to Illinois, he spent three years as an Assistant Research Scientist at CFR. Dr. Barton is currently an Assistant Professor and Extension Specialist in Human Development and Family Studies at the University of Illinois. His faculty webpage is available here.

 

 

Graduate students:

Qiujie Gong is a graduate student in the Department of Human Development and Family Studies. She received her B.S. in Psychology from the University of Pittsburgh and M.S.Ed in Professional Counseling from the University of Pennsylvania. Her research areas are parenting and parental involvement. She is interested in how father involvement and father-child relationship affect children’s development. She is also interested in understanding conflicts among family dyads and exploring ways to promote better family relationships.

 

 

 

Noah Larsen is a graduate student in the Department of Human Development and Family Studies. He received his B.A. in Mathematics from Skidmore College. Prior to coming to Illinois, Noah worked for Outward Bound, a youth development organization, for five years as an Instructor and Program Manager. His research interests include prevention science, family relationships, and risk and resilience.

 

 

Undergraduate student:

 

Grace Gapinski is an undergraduate student studying developmental psychology with a minor in human development and family studies. She hopes to pursue a doctoral degree in clinical psychology after graduation. Her research interests include the bidirectional relationship of parent-child relationships and romantic relationships. Outside the lab, she enjoys playing sports and watching movies.  

 

 

 

 

Collaborators:

Cutting-edge, translational research for substance use and family health is a team endeavor.  Our laboratory has benefited greatly from a tremendous group of collaborators that have supported and strengthened our research.  Recent collaborators include:

Steven Beach, Regents Professor, Psychology and Director of the Center for Family Research, University of Georgia

Gene Brody, Regents Professor and co-Director of the Center for Family Research, University of Georgia

Brian Doss, Professor, Psychology, University of Miami

Justin Lavner, Associate Professor, Psychology, University of Georgia

Doug Smith, Associate Professor and Director, Center for Prevention Research and Development, School of Social Work, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Scott Stanley, Research Professor, Psychology, Denver University and Co-Founder of PREP.