Psych Scoop, 6/11/19

June 11th, 2019

The Psych Scoop is sent to all Psychology Undergraduate students and alumni every Tuesday throughout the academic school year. Share your news with psyadvis@umn.edu!

Research

1. Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program Applications for Fall 2019

The Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program has added another opportunity for students to submit an application to be funded for research in Fall 2019. Applications will be due July 1, 2019, and here's the link for the program with further information. The Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program (UROP) provides all University of Minnesota undergraduates, regardless of college, major or discipline, the opportunity to partner with a faculty member on research, scholarly or creative project. UROP gives students a chance to explore academic and career interests, apply classroom learning to real-time research and prepare for a career or graduate school while working closely with a U of M faculty member. Students may work on a project of their own creation or take part in a faculty member’s existing project.

2. *Credit or Volunteer* Undergraduate Volunteer Research Assistant in Stress Laboratory

The laboratory of Dr. Justin Anker is looking for an undergraduate volunteer research assistant to assist in an ongoing psychophysiology study in the Department of Psychiatry. The purpose of the study is to identify biomarkers of recovery for alcohol use disorder. Responsibilities include the maintenance of experimental protocols (e.g., data entry, participant recruitment, and scheduling). This opportunity is eligible for PSY 4993 credit. Students interested in completing an Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program application are strongly encouraged to apply. We require a commitment of at least 10 hours per week and those able to make a multiple-semester commitment will be given priority. If you are interested, please send a copy of your resume to the study coordinator, Nikki Degeneffe at degen022@umn.edu.

3. *Credit or Volunteer* Research Assistant positions available in the DSCN Lab

The Developmental Social Cognitive Neuroscience Lab, directed by Drs. Stephanie M. Carlson and Philip D. Zelazo, is looking for undergraduate research assistants for the summer. Research assistants in our lab have the opportunity to participate in all aspects of the research process, from recruiting families to coding data and running sessions with children. Research in our lab broadly examines the development of executive functions – the set of neurocognitive skills that allow for flexible, goal-directed behavior. Current projects are exploring the role of executive functions in children’s creativity, how children’s executive function is related to their learning, the role of cognitive skills in preventing emotional responses, and how Head Start interventions help improve parent and child executive function skills. Research assistant positions are available both for directed research credit (CPSY 4994) and on a volunteer basis. For most studies, preference is given to students who are willing to commit at least 6 hours per week and who are interested in continuing to work in the lab during subsequent semesters. Interested students should apply on our website or email childlab@umn.edu for an application.

4. *Credit* Research on Personality Predictors of College Performance

Samuel Lee and Dr. Nathan Kuncel are looking for an undergraduate research assistant (UGRA) during the summer and fall, with the possibility of continuing into the spring semester. The project is a meta-analysis of personality predictors of academic performance. As an UGRA, one can expect to spend the majority of time reading and coding studies for the analysis. We ask that UGRAs register for PSY 4993/5993 Directed Research. UGRAs are expected to commit to an average of 8-9 hours per week and attend regular meetings with team members. To apply, please contact Samuel Lee at Leex7833@umn.edu. Include your name, expected graduation date, GPA, reasons for applying, and all relevant psychology and research methods coursework. Include “Research Assistant Position” in the subject line. Please also attach your resume.

5. *Credit or Volunteer* Studying Individual Differences in Opioid Use Disorder

We are looking for volunteers who are interested in investigating how different factors contribute differently per individual to the vulnerability to become and remain addicted to drugs in opioid use disorder. Anna Zilverstand, Ph.D. is the lab Principal Investigator and a faculty of Psychiatry. Her lab is part of the UMN MDT addiction team, which offers a multidisciplinary research environment with collaborators in different departments. We employ neuroimaging, behavioral testing, questionnaires, and interviews to study our participants and are looking for volunteers from science, health-related, computer-science or technology fields to become involved. Tasks that you could work on (based on your personal background and experience) include, but are not limited to preparation of 4-second video clips as task stimuli, programming tasks in Psychopy/Matlab, data management in MySQL, behavioral data analysis in Matlab/R/SPSS/SAS, neuroimaging analysis on the UMN CMRR and MSI compute servers, e.g. using Python, FSL, AFNI, SPM, CONN, ANACONDA, nipype, fmriprep, singularity, and literature searches. If you are interested in becoming involved in any of the above tasks, please contact Anna Zilverstand at annaz@umn.edu. Please include your CV and a few sentences explaining your motivation to apply.

Scholarships

6. Quell Scholarships

The Department of Psychology is seeking self-nominations from Undergraduates to be named as our 2019-2020 Quell Scholars! This honor comes with a minimum of $1,000 award/scholarship for the 19-20 academic year. Three UMN Psychology Undergraduate Students will be selected! Qualifications include being a psychology undergraduate with a competitive GPA (3.25 and above), a demonstrated commitment to clinical mental health services (volunteer or work), plans to continue in a clinical mental health setting beyond graduation, and must complete the application by the Deadline for consideration (must include resume). Note: Those planning to work solely in a research-based program are not a good fit with this award based on the donor's requirements. Students chosen will be asked to provide a brief (1 paragraph Biography), picture (head-shot), and may be asked to participate in a future Quell event on campus. The application deadline is Monday, June 24th, by 12:00 pm (noon, central time). Fill out the application today!

7. Psi Chi Undergraduate Scholarships

Any undergraduate Psi Chi member who will be or is enrolled in a psychology or psychology related major for the upcoming Fall 2019 semester who has not previously received a Psi Chi Undergraduate Scholarship and will be able to use the full $3,000 by June 30, 2020, is eligible to apply. Psi Chi Undergraduate Scholarship recipients are chosen based on Psi Chi activity, personal qualities consistent with Psi Chi's Mission, financial need, and academic excellence. The application deadline is July 5th. Fill out the application on the website.

8. Sharon S. Brehm Undergraduate Psychology Scholarships

The Sharon S. Brehm Undergraduate Psychology Scholarships will recognize outstanding psychology undergraduate students who demonstrate financial need. The Brehm Scholarships will help defray the students’ direct educational costs (e.g. tuition, institutional fees, required textbooks, etc.). This funding will be available for the Spring 2020 semester. Please review eligibility requirements and how to apply on the website. The deadline is July 1st, 2019.

Engagement

9. Summer 2019 Internship with Growth & Justice

We are currently piloting a new program called Policy Bytes. Policy Bytes interviews thought leaders regarding their support for competing policy proposals and facilitates a dialogue that clearly describes both common ground and areas of disagreement. This content is published widely in order to inform the public deliberation on complex public policy. Students with a background/interest in journalism/political science/public policy/sociology are encouraged to apply. This position is for the Summer of 2019 as well as Fall 2019, 12 hours per week (flexible with remote work possible). Growth & Justice will provide a strong structure including feedback, mentorship, and networking opportunities to those interested. See job responsibilities on GoldPASS. Email matt@growthandjustice.org with your cover letter and resume to apply.

Jobs/Internship Opportunities

IMPORTANT: Organizations listed below are not necessarily affiliated with or endorsed by the Department of Psychology or Psychology Undergraduate Advising. Please exercise the same discretion you would in viewing any other source.

10. Minnesota Twin Registry - Research Assistant (Full-time Position)

Dr. Glenn I. Roisman of the Institute of Child Development and Dr. Bob Krueger of the Department of Psychology, Co-Principal Investigators on a five year NIH-funded grant to follow-up the large Minnesota Twin Registry (MTR) cohort into late life, seek to hire a Research Assistant (8352R2: Researcher 2) responsible for carrying out field studies by interviewing study participants (aged 60-80 years) in their homes. In addition to questionnaires that participants will complete online (or by mail) before the in-person visit, structured research assessments conducted by the Research Assistant will include: an hour-long interview with the twin participants about their childhood experiences, objective assessments of twin participants’ physical health (including collecting samples of body measurements and a blood draw), and standardized measures of cognitive health. The Research Assistant will review data to assure quality and prepare data for analysis and publication. They will work closely with the MTR research participants, MTR co-investigators, and the MTR project coordinator who schedules visits, so a bachelor degree is required and research experience, knowledge, and skills plus outstanding communication and problem-solving skills are preferred. In addition, applicants must have a valid driver’s license and be willing to use their own car to travel for assessments of the older twins in this study. The Research Assistant will be compensated for mileage at University rates. To apply for the position, got to the UMN Job Board and search for Job ID 330242.

11. Minnesota Twin Registry - Student Position

The Minnesota Twin Registry is looking for an undergrad student to work 15-20 hours per week. The job involves recruiting research participants over the phone (60%), delivering blood samples to two labs on campus (30%), and some administrative support (making photocopies, assembling assessment packets,etc.) (10%). This position is not summer-only. If interested, please contact Zuzanna Pasek at pasek013@umn.edu.

12. VALUE Coordinator/All-LIC Coordinator (Program/Project Specialist)

This position supports both the VA Longitudinal Undergraduate Medical Education (VALUE) clerkship specifically and all longitudinal integrated clerkships (LICs) at the University of Minnesota Medical School more broadly. The VALUE Coordinator/All LIC Coordinator has a dual reporting relationship to the VALUE Clerkship Directors and to the Director of Integrated Education - Clinical Science. For more information and application instructions, visit the job description.

13. PIB Technical Study Coordinator Junior Specialist (1 position open)

Broadly, the Translational Cognitive and Affective (TCAN) Laboratory studies the neural mechanisms of cognitive dysfunction in psychotic illness. This position is to serve as a technical study coordinator for the Pathophysiologically Informed Biomarkers for Treatment Response In Psychosis (PIB) project at UC Davis Medical Center under Dr. Cameron Carter. The goal of the proposed research is to examine the ability of three non-mutually exclusive pathophysiologically based biomarkers (task fMRI, diffusion measures of free water, and neuromelanin-sensitive MRI) to predict treatment response in individuals with recent onset psychosis. Specifically, we plan to measure each of these biomarkers at baseline in individuals with schizophrenia-spectrum disorders and then follow these individuals over a period of 1 year. We will then use a multi-tiered set of analyses to test the predictive power of each biomarker and use the more advanced machine and deep learning tools to assess how these measures together predict a positive response to treatment. The incumbent will coordinate many aspects of the research study. The incumbent will use knowledge of mental health conditions to conduct outreach presentations to recruit research participants and will conduct phone evaluations to determine study eligibility of potential participants. The incumbent will also consent study participants, schedule all of their research appointments, and monitor progress through the study procedures. Other responsibilities and application instructions can be found in the job description.

14. CNTRaCS Study Coordinator Junior Specialist - (2 positions open)

Broadly, the Translational Cognitive and Affective (TCAN) Laboratory studies the neural mechanisms of cognitive dysfunction in psychotic illness. This position is to serve as a study coordinator for the Cognitive Neurocomputational Task Reliability & Clinical Applications Consortium (CNTRaCS) project at UC Davis Medical Center under Dr. Cameron Carter, which entails a range of responsibilities including scheduling, consenting and recruiting participants, cognitive testing of participants, and storing data in an appropriate manner. The goal of this study is to determine whether advancements in computational psychiatry will allow us to improve upon standard cognitive neuroscience approaches toward better understanding the pathophysiology that underlies cognitive dysfunction in people with serious mental illness (SMI). Specifically, the study involves collecting electrophysiology (EEG) data and administering- “to give” or to “present to”, not to be confused with “administration”, a set of computerized cognitive tasks to healthy participants and individuals with SMI (schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder, bipolar disorder with psychosis, major depression). The incumbent will coordinate many aspects of the research study. The incumbent will use knowledge of mental health conditions to conduct outreach presentations to recruit research participants and will conduct phone evaluations to determine study eligibility of potential participants. The incumbent will also consent study participants, schedule all of their research appointments, monitor progress through the study procedures, and interface with coordinators at the 4 other CNTRaCS research sites. Other responsibilities and application instructions can be found in the job description.

15. Office of Research and Graduate Programs Seeks Part-Time Student Administrative Support Specialists

The Office of Research and Graduate Programs in the College of Liberal Arts is seeking to hire an outgoing, advanced level student worker to assist the unit with specific technical and non-technical projects, general clerical duties, and other duties, as assigned. View the full job description by going to the UMN Job Site and search under student jobs with the Job ID 330279.

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