The School Mental Health for Minoritized Youth and Families (SMILE) Research Lab is directed by Dr. Prerna Arora in the School Psychology Program at the Department of Health and Behavior Studies at Teachers College, Columbia University. Our lab’s mission is to promote collaborative research to increase access to culturally-informed mental health care for marginalized youth and adolescents. Our vision for SMILE lab is that it will serve as a platform for collaboration and dissemination of youth and adolescent mental health research, as well as for the training of students within the field of psychology.
Our lab aims to promote mental health among Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) and immigrant-origin youth and families by supporting research that can be translated into interventions impacting communities and populations that are historically marginalized. Efforts towards this goal include:
The SMILE Lab doctoral and master students work closely with Dr. Arora in both project-team specific meetings, group lab meetings, and individual mentoring sessions. In addition to contributing to ongoing research, doctoral students are expected to engage in independent, mentored research including presenting their work at national conferences and submitting their work for publication in peer-reviewed academic journals. As leaders on the team, doctoral students also mentor master's research assistants.
Dr. Arora is recruiting graduate students for the 2021-2022 academic year. Research positions are filled on a rolling basis.