Psych Scoop, 8/20/19 - Research Edition!

August 20th, 2019 - Research Edition!

The Psych Scoop is sent to all Psychology Undergraduate students and alumni every Tuesday throughout the academic school year. 

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Research

1. *Credit or Volunteer* ADAPT Projects Coding Positions

Undergraduates are invited to apply for a research internship with the ADAPT projects, which study the impact of interventions to support families after military deployments. We are looking for responsible undergraduates in the social sciences or with related experience for our behavioral coding team. Coders are an important part of our research team. Coders watch videos of family members interacting and rate the behaviors according to our coding manual. Coders learn about healthy family interactions from evidence-based practices, which supports professional development toward research and direct service career goals. Coders must have reliable access to the internet in a private space (ability to watch videos where others can’t see or hear), and ability to come to reliability meetings at our office in Minneapolis weekly to 2x per month. Due to our investment in skill development for coders, we require that coders intern with us for at least two consecutive terms (fall, spring, summer). Coders need verbal skills, the ability to accept constructive feedback, and time management skills. The weekly time commitment is generally between 3-7 hours per week (not including training weeks). The internship is unpaid, however, many coders opt to obtain research credit for their coding experience with Dr. Abigail Gewirtz, the Principle Investigator for the ADAPT projects. In-Person Training Dates: Sept 20, 21, 27, 28 (2 intensive weekends). Please contact Coding Manager Kadie Ausherbauer at aushe001@umn.edu with questions or submit your application: Submit resume, cover letter, and transcript (unofficial is fine).

2. *Credit* Research Lab in Psychology

A laboratory at the Minneapolis VA Health Care System is conducting a randomized clinical trial to examine the efficacy of a psychotherapy intervention in the treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder. There is an opportunity for 2 undergraduate students to become involved with this project as a Research Lab in Psychology experience. The students will learn about the assessment of trauma and evidence-based approaches to treatment to reduce symptoms and improve functioning. Students will work as a part of a research team lead by a psychologist and will be involved with study recruitment activities, participant medical, psychiatric, and cognitive screening, preparation of study materials, scoring measures, and entering data. As part of the research experience, students will attend a weekly lab meeting in which topics related to the project are discussed. In addition, students will write an APA-style paper on a related topic. All research activities are conducted at the VA Health Care System. Students must be able to commute to the VA. Students will be asked to register for research credit and to commit an average of 10 hours each week. Students must become volunteers at the hospital to participate in this experience. Volunteers are required to be U.S. Citizens. For more information, please send a resume to Tasha Nienow, Ph.D. at Tasha.Nienow@va.gov.

3. *Credit or Volunteer* Social Interactions Lab

Dr. Jeff Simpson’s Social Interactions Lab is seeking enthusiastic, conscientious, and detail-oriented students for a wide variety of projects this Fall. We will be hiring research assistants (RAs) for projects about romantic relationships, parenting, health, and political attitudes. These projects will involve a variety of tasks including data collection, video coding, data management, and participant recruitment. Prospective research assistants should be able to commit approximately 9 hours of work per week over the summer. Preference will be given to students that are able to commit for more than one semester. RAs are also expected to attend bi-weekly lab meetings, where they will learn more about social psychological research and careers in psychology. Other expectations may vary by project and can be seen on our lab website. Apply today! If you have additional questions, please contact Jami Eller at eller091@umn.edu or visit our website.

4. *Credit* Undergraduate Research Opportunity at the Institute of Child Development

We are looking for responsible, enthusiastic, and detail-oriented students to work in Professor Glenn Roisman's Relationships Research Laboratory in the Fall of 2019 to help with data entry and transcription of interviews about participants' childhood experiences with their primary caregivers. Prospective undergraduate research assistants must be prepared to sign up for 3 credits (approximately 10 hours of work per week, including a flexible schedule and 1-2 weekly, hour-long lab meetings). Please contact Professor Roisman by email at roism001@umn.edu if you are interested and indicate your availability for an informal, 15-minute interview in Professor Roisman's office at the Institute of Child Development (104A Child Psych). Professor Roisman asks that you bring along to your appointment with him your resume and a brief writing sample (no more than 1-page excerpt) from a college paper.

5. *Credit or Volunteer* Study on Teenage Cannabis Use and Attitudes

I am looking for two undergraduate research assistants to work on an NIH-funded study aimed at developing and testing a multi-media resource for parents to address teenage cannabis use and attitudes. Specific activities involve the following: 1) conduct literature reviews and prepare summaries; 2) assist with summarizing focus group data collected from parents; 3) review drafts of components of the parent resource, and 4) actively participate in approximately 3-4 research meetings involving group discussions of assigned readings on youth cannabis use. Candidates must be pursuing a degree in Psychology or related field, and be willing to commit approximately 9 hours per week fall semester, 2019. This experience qualifies for 3 credits, PSY 4993. To apply, please send a cover letter and resume to Ken Winters at winte001@umn.edu.

6. *Credit* Family Cognitive Affective Neurodevelopment (Fam CAN) Lab Undergraduate Research Position

The Fam CAN lab is looking for Undergraduate Research Assistants to work on research projects run by Dr. Sylia Wilson in the Institute of Child Development and the Minnesota Center for Twin and Family Research. The purpose of this CPSY 4994 lab is to gain experience on research projects examining the different processes that lead to the development of psychopathology, particularly depression and substance abuse. UGRAs will become familiar with the research literature; assist in participant location and recruitment; conduct behavioral assessments with infants, children, and families; code, enter, and verify data; assist with collecting neuroimaging data with infants, children, and adults; and conduct quality assurance of infant, child, and adult neuroimaging data. Students register for 3 credits and are expected to spend 8 hours/week doing research activities, in addition to a 1-hour weekly Fam CAN lab meeting. Students also write a 5-page paper, due at the end of the term, that addresses how the Fam CAN research projects and data being collected can be used to answer an important scientific question (e.g., Do depression or substance use alter neurobehavioral development? How does having a parent with psychopathology affect neurobehavioral development in infancy and childhood? How is psychopathology transmitted from parent to child?). Interested applicants should send their unofficial transcript and resume to Dr. Sylia Wilson at syliaw@umn.edu. Preference is given to students who commit to two terms.

7. *Credit or Volunteer* Research Intern for PTSD Studies – Psychology/Mental Health Department at Minneapolis VAHCS

The research intern will assist research staff in Dr. Nicholas Davenport’s Clinical Studies Lab. Dr. Davenport has 2 different studies that are currently enrolling or will soon start enrollment. Intern responsibilities will include preparing study materials, verifying accuracy of study data, conducting patient record review, and phone screening patients. Additional responsibilities may include working with databases and assessing participants depending on the intern’s experience and ability. This research is being conducted at the Minneapolis Veterans Health Care System. We encourage students who are sophomores/juniors to apply for these positions! Qualified candidates must be highly motivated, able to work independently, extremely detail-oriented, and willing to develop new skills as the need arises. We encourage students who are sophomores/juniors to apply for these positions! Excellent communication (written and oral), organizational and interpersonal skills; comfortable using basic computer programs such as Microsoft Word, Excel, and web applications. Candidates must be pursuing a degree in Psychology or related field, and be willing to commit to 9-10 hours per week for 12 months (hours and days are flexible, but will be M-F during normal business hours). To apply, please send a cover letter and resume to Dr. Nicholas Davenport at Nicholas.davenport@va.gov and Mary Evans-Lindquist at Mary.Evans-Lindquist@va.gov. You may also call the Study Coordinator, Mary Evans-Lindquist at 612-467-4946

8. *Credit or Volunteer* Neuroimaging Research Opportunity

We invite undergraduate psychology sophomores/juniors to apply for a research assistant position to conduct neuroimaging/MRI research at the Department of Pediatrics in Dr. Igor Nestrasil’s lab (M.D., Ph.D.). We research neurodegeneration mostly in rare genetic diseases such as adrenoleukodystrophy, Gaucher disease, and mucopolysaccharidoses (MPS) but also in cytomegalovirus (CMV) encephalopathy in infants. We are looking for students with a strong aptitude for learning scientific concepts and technical computational skills for brain MRI analysis. This research opportunity may be used for PSY 4993 research credit. Participation in our lab is an excellent experience for those interested in pursuing a career in research, neuroscience and health profession. Individuals with a science GPA of 3.0 or better are strongly encouraged to apply. If you have extenuating circumstances that have caused your science GPA to be lower than a 3.0, please attach a letter of explanation. If you are interested in this opportunity, please send an email to Carol Nguyen at nguy1903@umn.edu with the following information: (1) a brief explanation of the reason for your interest and your background in a 1/2-1 page cover letter and 1 page CV/Resume, including your science GPA; and (2) a list of the courses in the fields of anatomy, physiology, neuroscience, or other related coursework.

9. *Volunteer or Credit* Elison Lab for Developmental Brain and Behavioral Research

The Elison Lab for Developmental Brain and Behavioral Research is currently searching for volunteer research assistants for the role of sibsitting in the lab. Your job would be to entertain siblings of participants (generally ranging from 0-5 years of age) in our playroom during visits (typically 1-2 hours in length). The ideal candidate would have previous experience working with kids and have one to two large chunks of time during the week in which they would be available to be scheduled (i.e. all day Friday, or Monday and Tuesday afternoons, etc.). During weeks without the need for sibsitters, we may have you assist with data entry and other tasks in the lab. Your hours may vary week to week, but we would expect around 4-5 hours per week. We will also consider students who would like to do this for credit but would prefer volunteers. If you are interested, please email Rachel Roisum (rroisum@umn.edu) with a brief description of why you are interested in this opportunity, and attach your resume to the email. Thank you for your consideration!

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