Research Trainee

University of York; New Brunswick; On-site; CAD 40,000 - 60,000; Full time

Job summary

A prestigious research institution in New Brunswick is seeking two full-time Research Trainees for an exciting project on the effects of smartphones on sleep and mental health. You will collaborate with a multidisciplinary team, supporting research work and daily operations. Ideal candidates will possess an undergraduate degree in Psychology or a relevant field, along with knowledge of research techniques and experience working with children. This fixed-term contract positions is set to start in January 2026.

Qualifications

• Undergraduate degree in Psychology or relevant discipline is required.
• Knowledge of relevant research topics and techniques is essential.
• Experience working with children and/or schools is important.

Responsibilities

• Support the day-to-day operation of the research project.
• Assist alongside other researchers and team members.
• Undertake research work within the overall programme.

Skills

Research techniques

Working with children

Knowledge in psychology

Education

Undergraduate degree in Psychology or relevant discipline

Job description

Department of Psychology

Professor Lisa Henderson (Head of Psychology, University of York) and collaborators are looking to hire two full-time Research Trainees to support an exciting new research project, funded by the Huo Family Foundation.

SmartSleep - Waking up to the Effects of Smartphones and Social Media

Adolescents are immersed in a smartphone-dominated digital world with instant access to social media. While this can offer opportunities for connection, mounting evidence points to sleep disruption, poor mental health, and declining cognition. Despite growing concern, policy action has stalled partly due to limited causal evidence. Existing randomised controlled trials (RCTs) face methodological challenges, and mechanistic understanding remains underdeveloped.

Our feasibility and pilot work—featured in Channel 4’s Swiped—suggests that a 21-day SM/smartphone detox can improve sleep, wellbeing, and cognition in teens. Our research also points to sleep as a critical mediator between problematic smartphone use and mental health. We have now received a large grant from the Huo Family Foundation to scale up this research programme to examine the behavioural and neurophysiological pathways linking smartphone/SM use to youth mental health and cognition, focusing on sleep as a key causal mechanism.

This project will comprise a multimethod 3-arm RCT (N=1500 11–14-year-olds) to compare a total 21-day smartphone/social media detox to pre-sleep restriction and typical use. Sleep will be measured via subjective report as well as via wearables and sleep EEG. Utilising physiological methods (e.g., heart rate, galvanic skin response), we will examine how sleep influences emotional reactivity to social media and moderates intervention response. In collaboration with the University of York’s Smart Data Donation Service, we will augment screen time/social media reports and engagement questionnaires with rich and ecologically valid social media insights.

Our hope is that this research will provide policymakers with mechanistic, causal evidence and inform translational strategies—such as collective digital detoxes or pre-bedtime interventions—to promote digital health among young people.

Role

This post will work alongside a Research Associate and a Project Administrator. Beyond this, the project, led by Professor Henderson as PI comprises a large and multidisciplinary project team of developmental and cognitive psychologists, social psychologists, psychiatrists, neuroscientists, data analysts, educators and clinical trials experts, as well as health professionals from Health Professionals for Safe Screens UK and The Sleep Charity. As a Research Trainee you will provide critical support to the research project, undertaking research work within the overall programme and assisting with the day to day operation of the research.

The post is to start as soon as possible and no later than June 2026 and is a fixed term contract from January 2026 to December 2028, with the possibility of end date extension with a later start date.

Skills, Experience & Qualification needed

The postholders will have an undergraduate degree in Psychology or a relevant discipline. They will have knowledge in one or more topics relevant to the project, and knowledge and experience of a range of research techniques and methods relevant to the project, including the ability to work effectively with children and/or schools. Full details of the main qualifications, knowledge, skills, experience and qualifications essential to the post are provided in the Person Specification.

Interview date: To be confirmed

For informal enquiries: please contact Professor Lisa Henderson on [e-mail]