Jacob McKeever, a 3rd year Health Studies major, was recently awarded the Higher Education Research Council (HERC) Fellowship.
The HERC fellowship, funded by the Idaho State Board of Education, grants McKeever financial support for dedicated research time which will include work with a faculty member serving as a research mentor.
McKeever said he will be “working on a systematic literature review involving vaping prevention and intervention among adolescents within the United States. The goals of this review are to determine best practices for prevention and intervention of vaping behaviors, and suggest areas for further research.”
The funding and structure of the fellowship, he said, will provide a framework for the research process and an opportunity for me to share and report my findings.”
School of Public and Population Health Assistant Professor Vinita Sharma will be McKeever’s mentor through the research process.
“I look forward to supporting him in dissemination of the study process and results through local and regional conferences,” Sharma said.
Sharma sees the mentor-mentee relationship as a two way learning experience.
“I see these interactions as learning opportunities for both of us,” Sharma said.
For McKeever, the opportunity to work with Sharma is a chance to extend what he’s already learned from her in the classroom.
“Working with Dr. Sharma and having her as an instructor has been a valuable experience as I have had the opportunity to learn from her about both research processes and health education and promotion,” McKeever said. “I am looking forward to continuing to work with her going forward.”