Research Assistant III

Overview

The salary range for this position is $28.00 - $30.00 per hour depending upon qualifications and is non-negotiable.

Established in 1943, the mission of the SDSU Research Foundation (SDSURF) is to support the research objectives of San Diego State University by helping faculty and staff find, obtain, and administer funding for their research and sponsored programs. SDSU achieved its strategic plan goal of becoming an R1, premier public research university in early 2025 furthering discoveries, interventions, and solutions that improve communities and change the world. SDSURF provides the full life cycle of grants services to faculty and staff to further their important work.

Our vision is to foster a culture of creativity and collaboration with integrity and respect for individuals that results in the delivery of superior service to support the university’s strategic aspirations.

Our core values:

Service: We are a service organization that strives to provide superior support to the university community to achieve SDSU’s goals; we are committed to being professionally competent by setting high standards and working hard to achieve results; and we continually seeking to improve our skills and capabilities by valuing education and professional development.

Collaboration: We seek to actively engage with our stakeholders and employees to identify issues and design solutions, build strong relationships grounded in trust, openness, and inclusion and achieve the best results by taking pride in the accomplishments of our colleagues.

Innovation: We work towards inspired solutions to improve and adapt to emerging opportunities and challenges, creative ways to streamline and enhance our delivery of services through resourceful and proactive problem solving and strategic use of technology and reduction of obstacles.

Respect: We promote a culture where every individual is valued and treated with dignity, we honor open-mindedness toward different viewpoints and ideas and have a genuine appreciation for varied backgrounds, experiences, and ways of thinking.

Integrity: We are committed to act with the highest ethical standards, with honesty, integrity, and transparency, provide consistent and accurate information and value and respect all individuals.

FUNCTION OF THE UNIT

The School of Public Health at San Diego State University fosters a collaborative and interdisciplinary research environment committed to advancing public health through evidence-based inquiry and community engagement. The school is home to diverse faculty expertise across health management and policy, global health, epidemiology, environmental health, and biostatistics, with a strong emphasis on addressing health disparities and promoting health equity. The SDSU School of Public Health is ranked in the top 15% among Public Health Schools in the United States and 3rd in California by U.S. News and World Report. Our research infrastructure includes partnerships with local and state health agencies, and robust support for quantitative and qualitative research. Faculty and researchers benefit from a dynamic academic setting that encourages innovation, impactful scholarship, and translation of research into policy and practice—particularly in areas such as Medi-Cal expansion, immigrant health, and health systems financing. This environment provides an ideal foundation for conducting rigorous, policy-relevant research that informs public health decision-making in California and beyond.   

PURPOSE OF THE POSITION

A research position is available as part of a California Department of Insurance-funded initiative to evaluate the effects of Medi-Cal expansions regardless of immigration status. This project aims to generate evidence on how these policy changes influence health insurance coverage, healthcare utilization, program financing, and employment patterns across the state.

The researcher will work closely with the project PI, Dr. Wilton Choi, and the SDSU School of Public Health research team. This position will focus especially on the project’s financing and economic modeling aims, including analyses of premiums, out-of-pocket costs, tax liabilities, disposable income, and employment effects. The work may include preparing and analyzing large administrative and survey datasets, developing simulation inputs, and supporting TAXSIM, IMPLAN, or related policy simulation models.

This position is a good fit for someone with strong quantitative skills and an interest in health economics, health policy, public insurance programs, California health systems, or policy evaluation. Experience with large datasets, econometric or quasi-experimental methods, microsimulation, TAXSIM, IMPLAN, ACS/CHIS data, Medi-Cal claims, or reproducible data analysis is especially helpful. 

Responsibilities

SPECIFIC DUTIES

Conducting Research 60%

• Assist with cleaning, managing, and analyzing large administrative and survey datasets (e.g., CHIS, ACS PUMS, Medi-Cal claims).
• Conduct statistical and econometric analyses under faculty supervision.
• Prepare and process TAXSIM input files and summarize tax simulation outputs.
• Assist with economic impact analyses using IMPLAN or similar input-output modeling tools.
• Help prepare model inputs, conduct quality checks, and document data processing and analytical procedures.
• Perform literature reviews and summarize relevant research findings.
• Support data visualization, preparation of tables and figures, and preliminary interpretation of results.
• Maintain research documentation and comply with data security and IRB requirements.

Research Dissemination 25%

• Assist in preparing tables, figures, and supporting materials for manuscripts, policy reports, and presentations.
• Contribute to literature reviews and background sections of research papers.
• Help prepare presentation materials for conferences, seminars, and stakeholder meetings.
• Assist with editing and formatting manuscripts and reports.

Professional Development 10%

• Participate in seminars, workshops, and training related to health economics, health policy, and applied econometrics.
• Meet regularly with faculty mentors to discuss research progress and develop analytical skills.
• Engage with interdisciplinary research teams and collaborative meetings.

Other Duties as Assigned 5%

• Perform other research-related tasks that support the objectives of the project.

Qualifications

Knowledge & Abilities

• Strong quantitative research skills in health economics, health services research, public policy, public health, economics, statistics, data science, or a related field.
• Experience cleaning, managing, and analyzing large administrative or survey datasets.
• Proficiency in at least one statistical programming language, such as R, Python, Stata, SAS, or SQL.
• Ability to develop reproducible code, analytic files, data dictionaries, tables, and figures.
• Familiarity with policy evaluation methods, including quasi-experimental designs, regression analysis, survey-weighted analysis, or microsimulation.
• Ability to support analyses related to health insurance coverage, healthcare spending, premiums, out-of-pocket costs, tax payments, disposable income, and employment outcomes.
• Strong attention to detail and ability to check data, code, assumptions, and model outputs carefully.
• Ability to summarize technical findings clearly for manuscripts, reports, policy briefs, and presentations.
• Understanding of research ethics, confidentiality, data security, IRB requirements, and data-use agreements.
• Ability to manage multiple projects and deadlines.
• Ability to work independently while communicating regularly with faculty, research staff, and policy partners.
• Flexibility in adjusting research direction as needed.

Education & Experience

• Completion of sufficient upper division coursework
• OR -Equivalent of two years full time progressively responsible related experience in lieu of coursework.

Preferred Qualifications & Special Skills

• Bachelor’s degree required in Public Health, Economics, Public Policy, Statistics, Data Science, Health Services Research, or a related field. Master’s degree or current graduate enrollment preferred.
• Experience in designing, conducting, and analyzing quasi-experiments in the relevant field.
• Experience with ACS PUMS, CHIS, CPS, MEPS, Medicaid claims, Medi-Cal data, or other health policy datasets.
• Experience with TAXSIM, IMPLAN, microsimulation, input-output modeling, economic-impact analysis, or cost analysis.
• Experience preparing analytic files for tax, insurance coverage, health spending, or employment-related analyses.
• Familiarity with Medicaid, Medi-Cal, Covered California, health insurance coverage, healthcare financing, premiums, out-of-pocket spending, or employer-sponsored insurance.
• Strong oral and written communication skills for writing research papers, presenting findings at conferences, and collaborating with colleagues.
• Ability to mentor or supervise graduate students or junior researchers may also be preferred in some cases.
• Experience presenting research findings at national or international conferences.
• Demonstrates eagerness to learn new techniques, tools, or concepts.

Additional Applicant Information

• Candidate must reside in California and live within a commutable distance from SDSU at time of hire.
• Job offer is contingent upon satisfactory clearance based on background check results (including a criminal record check).
• San Diego State University Research Foundation is an equal opportunity employer. Consistent with California law and federal civil rights laws, SDSU Research Foundation provides equal opportunity in employment without unlawful discrimination or preferential treatment based on race, sex, color, ethnicity, or national origin or any other categories protected by federal or state law.  
• Employment decisions are based on an individual’s qualifications as they relate to the job under consideration. Our commitment to equal opportunity means ensuring that every employee has equal access to resources and support. 
• SDSU Research Foundation complies with Titles VI and VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, the California Equity in Higher Education Act, California’s Proposition 209 (Art. I, Section 31 of the California Constitution), and other applicable state and federal anti-discrimination laws including grant or contract terms and conditions related to funded program activities. Further the SDSU Research Foundation maintains a Nondiscrimination Policy that prohibits discriminatory preferential treatment, segregation based on race or any other protected status, and all forms of unlawful discrimination, harassment, and retaliation in all programs, policies, and practices.  
• SDSU Research Foundation makes all employment decisions including, but not limited to, applicant screening, hiring, promotion, demotion, compensation, benefits, disciplinary actions, and terminations on the basis of merit.