Adopted and Foster Teens Ages 12–15 Can Earn Up to $245 in a UCLA Study
✅ Participants receive up to $245 for completing all study activities
✅ Teens participate in interactive brain games, lab activities, and MRI scans
✅ Get a photo of your teen's brain from the MRI scan
Could the tiny microbes in your teen’s gut influence how their brain develops? The Teen Bugs Study is designed for adopted and foster teens ages 12–15 and explores how organisms in the gut, such as bacteria and viruses, may affect brain and body development during the teen years. Researchers are especially interested in how these gut “bugs” may relate to mental health, including common challenges like anxiety and depression.
As part of the study, teens will participate in interactive activities during an MRI scan, while parents complete questionnaires that provide helpful background information.
You’ll also have the opportunity to follow your teen’s development over time. The study includes several check-ins over approximately five years, helping researchers understand how teens grow and change during these important years.
Sign up today to learn more about how your teen can take part in this important research.
Why Participate?
Compensation for Your Time
Participants may receive up to $245 for completing all study activities. Up to $80 for the parent and up to $165 for your child
Parents will also receive compensation for completing questionnaires and helping coordinate visits.
Support Critical Research
By taking part, families contribute valuable information that may help researchers better understand teen mental and physical health, which may benefit other teens in the future.
Teens with MRI contraindications (e.g., braces, pacemakers, metal implants). *Teens with braces may still apply and be kept on a waitlist until braces come off.
Teens who are currently pregnant
Teens with medical conditions preventing safe blood draws or MRI
Teens who cannot safely complete virtual and in-person study procedures
Teens between 12 and 15 years old
Teens who have experienced foster care/adoption
Ability to participate in virtual and in-person visits at UCLA
Willingness to complete questionnaires, provide biological samples, and undergo MRI
Parent/guardian available to provide consent and complete required questionnaires
Study Process
The study team will explain the research in its entirety, but some details include:
Complete a quick phone pre-screening to check eligibility and attend the first visit (virtual or in-person) to complete questionnaires and interviews.
Attend the second in-person visit at UCLA for MRI, biological samples, and interactive neuroscience activities.
Follow-up visits at 1–1.5 and 2–2.5 years to repeat procedures.
Meet the Lead Researcher
Dr. Bridget Callaghan
Dr. Callaghan is a psychologist and developmental neuroscientist at UCLA. Her research focuses on how early experiences, including stress and environmental factors, shape teen brain and mental health development. She has extensive experience conducting research with teens in safe and supportive lab environments.
Dr. Jennifer Silvers
Jennifer Silvers, Ph.D., is an Associate Professor in the Developmental and Social areas of the Department of Psychology at UCLA. Her research uses a combination of behavioral, physiological, and neuroimaging methods to understand how children, adolescents, and adults regulate their emotions, as well as how close relationships, such as friends and family, shape and support emotional experiences across development.
Study Location
This study involves in-person visits at
Brain Mapping Center at UCLA
The UCLA Psychology Department conducts cutting-edge research on brain development, mental health, and the interactions between the brain and body. Our labs provide a safe, supportive environment for teens and families participating in research studies.
Your Safety Comes First
Ethics Approved Research Studies
This study has been reviewed and approved by the University of California, Los Angeles Institutional Review Board
Qualified Study Professionals
Qualified health professionals will monitor your health as it relates to the study.
Ethical Recruitment Practices
The Trialfacts team is GCP-trained, ensuring the rights, safety, and well-being of research subjects are protected.
Privacy Standards You Can Trust
We adhere to all national privacy standards used by doctors’ offices, hospitals, and medical institutions.
Your Safety Comes First
This study has been reviewed and approved by the University of California, Los Angeles Institutional Review Board
Ethics Approved Research Studies
Qualified health professionals will monitor your health as it relates to the study.
Qualified Study Professionals
The Trialfacts team is GCP-trained, ensuring the rights, safety, and well-being of research subjects are protected.
Ethical Recruitment Practices
We adhere to all national privacy standards used by doctors’ offices, hospitals, and medical institutions.
Privacy Standards You Can Trust
Participant’s Rights
Informed Consent
You will receive a detailed outline of all details of the study, including risks and procedures, and you will be given the chance to ask study staff questions before you decide whether to participate.
Withdraw At Any Time
If you decide to participate in the study and later feel that you no longer wish to be part of it, you can withdraw at any time
Secure and Confidential Data
Your records relating to this study and any other information received will be kept strictly confidential, except as required by law.
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