Research Associates at the St. Louis Fed

Research associates work directly with Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis economists.

They help achieve our Research division’s objectives: providing high-quality, timely advice to the St. Louis Fed president about monetary policy and banking issues and producing and communicating economic research.

Responsibilities of Research Associates

Research associates—or RAs, for short—contribute to important work every day:

• To gain a deeper understanding of current economic issues, RAs engage in frequent discussions with economists.
• They review academic journals, market sources, and government reports.
• They assist economists by collecting and organizing data, using software packages such as Stata, SAS, R, MATLAB, Fortran, EViews, Python, and C++. This statistical, econometric and computational research is used in economists’ presentations and academic publications.
• RAs’ contributions frequently result in co-authored articles published on the St. Louis Fed’s website and in academic journals.
• RAs also summarize data and anecdotal information on regional economic conditions for the Beige Book and other regional research projects.

Meet the St. Louis Fed’s Current Research Associates

• 

  Mickenzie Bass

  Started at the St. Louis Fed: July 2024

  University/College: Southern Illinois University Edwardsville

  Major: Economics (minors in Mathematical Studies and Statistics)

“After developing a passion for studying economics at SIUE (roll cougs!), I believe that the RA role at the St. Louis Fed is the perfect launchpad for my career. This role allows me to enhance my statistical and programming skills while fostering my sense of curiosity and contributing to the Federal Reserve’s mission. I am excited about the prospect of engaging in interesting research and being surrounded by brilliant minds to learn from.”

• 

  Kevin Bloodworth II

  Started at the St. Louis Fed: July 2023

  University/College: College of William and Mary

  Major: Economics

“Being a student at the College of William and Mary pushed me to foster my sense of curiosity and opened a wealth of potential careers and options that I hadn’t been privy to in the past. Being immersed in an environment that valued asking relevant questions led to me not only interning in the Research department of the St. Louis Fed but also deciding to come back as a research associate. The opportunity to come back and be exposed to macroeconomic research, while also being able to develop my own statistical and programming skills, is an opportunity that I’m very much looking forward to.”

• 

  Dawn Chinagorom-Abiakalam

  Started at the St. Louis Fed: June 2024

  University/College: Clark University

  Majors: Economics and Mathematics

“My experiences growing up and exposure to economics as an undergrad fueled my interest in research. I wanted more opportunities to immerse myself in economics research and the RA position at the Fed provided that. Here, I get to work with brilliant economists in the division and strengthen my research skills as I prepare for graduate school. I look forward to the next few years of learning as I continue on this path towards a career in economics.”

• 

  Anna Cole

  Started at the St. Louis Fed: June 2024

  University/College: Rhodes College

  Majors: Economics and Mathematics

“Every day at the Fed, economists study issues that are inherently nuanced and complicated and develop a clear research plan and question. Through being involved in these projects, I am improving in my ability to apply technical approaches to a research question, but also how to ask good questions on complex social problems. I am looking forward to growing as a researcher, especially with the incredible mentorship of the economists and camaraderie among the research associates.”

• 

  Mikolaj (Mick) Dueholm

  Started at the St. Louis Fed: July 2023

  University/College: University of Minnesota

  Majors: Economics and History

“Working at the St. Louis Fed is a fantastic way for me to build research skills in preparation for a career as an economist. The Research division is a collaborative and enriching environment where RAs work alongside economists to develop economic intuition, as well as the data and software skills necessary to answer difficult research questions. So far, I’ve enjoyed working on exciting and innovative projects while also supporting the work of the Federal Reserve.”

• 

  John (Jack) Fuller

  Started at the St. Louis Fed: June 2022

  University/College: Arizona State University (undergrad) | Saint Louis University (graduate)

  Majors: Economics and Geography

“After moving east to St. Louis for my master’s, I knew I wanted to continue to build on what I learned from my time back in the desert. This position allows me to not only improve my technical skills, but also widen my perspective in economics from a talented group of economists and fellow research associates. It has overall been a rewarding experience and I am excited to come to work each day and to continue to improve my research capabilities while working with a great group of people.”

• 

  Brooke Hathhorn

  Started at the St. Louis Fed: July 2024

  University/College: Case Western Reserve University

  Majors: Economics and Mathematics

“Since my sophomore year of undergrad, I have been passionate about pursuing a PhD in economics. I knew I wanted to work as a research associate before applying to grad school in order to gain more exposure to economics research, improve my coding and writing abilities, and develop my critical thinking skills and research mindset. The St. Louis Fed was my ideal destination, not only for the top-notch Research division and strong record of graduate school placement, but for the emphasis on learning and development. My manager and economists are dedicated to helping me learn, achieve my goals, and grow as a researcher, and I am encouraged to collaborate with my peers, attend seminars, and partake in trainings and workshops. I feel more confident because of my experience at the Fed, and I am grateful to be a part of this research community.”

• 

  Marie Hogan

  Started at the St. Louis Fed: July 2023

  University/College: University of California, Berkeley

  Major: Economics

“It’s rare to work someplace that is as invested in your development and growth as the Fed’s Research department. I am surrounded by brilliant, supportive, and curious colleagues, while building supportive relationships with the economist I work for. In addition, I have frequent opportunities to attend economic seminars and conferences. I love that every day my job is to stay curious and learn valuable skills as I prepare to apply for graduate programs.”

• 

  Hoang Le

  Started at the St. Louis Fed: July 2023

  University/College: Lafayette College

  Major: Economics

“Working at the Fed has already provided me with many opportunities after my undergraduate career. I am grateful to take upper-level math courses and work alongside experienced and knowledgeable economists who are willing to teach me technical skills. In my time at the Bank, I have gained skills in critical thinking, statistical programming, and economic writing.”

• 

  Cassandra (Cassie) Marks

  Started at the St. Louis Fed: July 2022

  University/College: University of Missouri-Columbia (MIZZOU)

  Majors: Economics, Statistics, Political Science

“While at MIZZOU, I learned the importance of an interdisciplinary approach—both in and out of the classroom. Being able to study and ask questions in multiple fields fostered a sense of curiosity that I knew I wanted to continue to develop after graduation. At the Bank, I’m able to learn both soft and hard skills. Things like how to narrow down a research question, speak about research, and engage with colleagues, to more technical skills like coding, statistical analysis, and data visualization. The Bank has been a great place for me to continue to grow as a researcher and prepare for graduate school.”

• 

  Masataka (Masa) Mori

  Started at the St. Louis Fed: July 2023

  University/College: Middlebury College

  Majors: Economics and Mathematics

“The St. Louis Fed is a perfect place to study economic research and learn how research takes place in the real world and policymaking. Working for the Bank, I have had chances to develop technical skills to conduct economic research as well as opportunities to explore various research topics through seminars. Furthermore, the collaborative relationship I maintain with my economists and research associates motivates me to follow my intellectual curiosity every day while informing me on how to best pursue graduate studies.”

• 

  Ashley Stewart

  Started at the St. Louis Fed: July 2022

  University/College: Sewanee: The University of the South

  Major: Economics (minor in Mathematics)

“Upon graduation, I knew I wanted to immerse myself in economic research and felt the St. Louis Fed would be the perfect environment for that. As a research associate, I work closely with other capable RAs as well as experienced economists who help strengthen my programming and statistical analysis skills and deepen my economic knowledge. Every day at the St. Louis Fed is an opportunity to learn something new and take on a different challenge.”

• 

  Trần Khánh Ngân (Ngân Trần)

  Started at the St. Louis Fed: February 2022

  University/College: Mount Holyoke College

  Major: Economics (minor in Mathematics)

“My education in the liberal arts at Mount Holyoke fostered my sense of curiosity and taught me the importance of asking good questions. I wanted to nurture my curiosity beyond graduation, which is why I decided to come back as a full-time RA after interning in the Research department. So far, I have had the opportunity to get immersed in every step of the academic research process, from forming research questions to collecting and analyzing data, to writing and editing. I am excited to continue learning and growing as a researcher.”