Psi Chi and UPO Research Night 9/9/2013 4 PM Current Opportunities
Name: Katlyn Farnum and Richard Wiener
Program/Agency/Lab: Legal Decision Making Lab
Email Address: [email protected]
Office/Lab Location: Burnett Hall rm 21
Phone Number:
Web Page: http://psychology.unl.edu/legaldecisionmakinglab/home
Description of position (research topic, URA duties, etc):
Are you interested in gaining research experience or getting more hands-on experience related to social and law psychology? We are currently seeking motivated undergraduates to become involved in a high impact research project this fall investigating discrimination at work. Some evening availability is needed. You will be eligible to receive independent course credit for your participation (e.g., PSYC 299 or 499). If you would like to be considered for a research assistant position, please email Katlyn Farnum ([email protected]) to schedule an interview.
Name: Ena Brnjic
Program/Agency/Lab: Dr. Wiener & Sarah Gervais
Email Address: [email protected]
Office/Lab Location: Burnett Hall Room 21
Phone Number: (440) 391-0505
Web Page: N/A
Description of position (research topic, URA duties, etc):
Are you interested in gaining research experience or getting more hands-on experience related to social and law psychology? Our project concerns objectification and its legal implications as a form of discrimination. Dr. Rich Wiener and Dr. Sarah Gervais are currently seeking motivated male undergraduates to become involved in a research project this semester and next semester. Some evening availability is needed. You will be eligible to receive independent course credit for your participation (e.g., Psy 499). If you would like to be considered for a research assistant position, please email Katlyn Farnum ([email protected]) to schedule an interview.
1 Name: Alyssa Lundahl
Program/Agency/Lab: Pediatric Health Lab
Email Address: [email protected]
Office/Lab Location: Burnett 44
Phone Number:
Web Page: http://psychology.unl.edu/pediatrichealthlab/
Description of position (research topic, URA duties, etc):
The Pediatric Health Lab is recruiting undergraduate research assistants for the Growing Great Beginnings Research Project, in collaboration with the Early Head Start program in Lancaster county. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of a nutritional education program implemented in the homes of Early Head Start families (with children 0-3 years olds). URA duties will include direct recruitment of participants (i.e., attending home visits with family educators), data collection (i.e., obtaining informed consent and providing assessment packets), and data management tasks. A 5-10 hour per week commitment is requested.
Name: Tori Van Dyk
Program/Agency/Lab: Pediatric Health Lab
Email Address: [email protected]
Office/Lab Location: Burnett 44
Phone Number:
Web Page: http://psychology.unl.edu/pediatrichealthlab/
Description of position (research topic, URA duties, etc):
The Pediatric Health Lab is recruiting undergraduate research assistants to assist with the Pediatric Sleep and Psychopathology Study. This study aims to investigate the bidirectional relationship between sleep and emotional and behavioral problems in youth. URA duties will include direct recruitment of participants from a parenting psychoeducation group, data collection and administration of study procedures with participants, and data management tasks. A 5-10 hour per week commitment is requested.
2 Name: Juan F. Duque & Jeffrey R. Stevens
Program/Agency/Lab: Avian Cognition Lab & Adaptive Decision Making Lab
Email Address: [email protected]
Office/Lab Location: Manter 13 (basement: pictures of birds on door)
Phone Number: N/A
Web Page: decisionlab.org http://biosci-labs.unl.edu/avcog/index.html
Description of position (research topic, URA duties, etc): Looking for 2-3 undergraduate students interested in animal behavior/cognition! Several possible projects, all involving aspects of avian cognition, including
running behavioral experiments (food sharing/prosociality),
operant box experiments,
video coding of behaviors,
video analysis/audio extraction,
and more.
Name: Anne Schutte
Program/Agency/Lab: Spatial Memory and Cognition Lab
Email Address: [email protected]
Office/Lab Location: Burnett 58
Phone Number: 472-3798
Web Page: http://psychology.unl.edu/smclab/
3 Description of position (research topic, URA duties, etc): The project is examining differences between recall and recognition in spatial memory. The duties will include data collection and analysis. RAs will also help with presentations and writing up the results for publication.
Name: Gregory DeGirolamo
Program/Agency/Lab: Spatial Memory and Cognition Lab
Email Address: [email protected] ( Dr. Schutte: [email protected])
Office/Lab Location: Office: Burnett 12, Lab: Burnett 58
Phone Number: (440) 391-4372
Web Page: http://psychology.unl.edu/smclab/
Description of position (research topic, URA duties, etc): Help collect data for spatial memory experiment examining the impact of puberty on spatial memory. We are collecting data from young adults (18-22 year olds) and young teens (12-14 year olds). The experiment involves showing participants videos of different layouts and having the participants re-create maps of the environment
Name: Heidi Fleharty
Program/Agency/Lab: Spatial Memory and Cognition Laboratory
Email Address: [email protected]
Office/Lab Location: Burnett Room 58 and 59
Phone Number: (402)-472-7503
Web Page: http://psychology.unl.edu/smclab/people
Description of position (research topic, URA duties, etc):
I am looking for an undergraduate research assistant to help me with my dissertation study that will examine the effects of yoga on young children’s (preschool aged children) attention. The research assistant will aid me with recruiting participants, running research sessions, and possibly video taping the children’s yoga classes.
4 Name: Cindy Chou & Natashia Swalve
Program/Agency/Lab: Neuroscience & behavior, Dr. Ming Li
Email Address: [email protected]
Office/Lab Location: Burnett 50 (office), Manter 11 (lab)
Phone Number: 206-227-5817
Web Page: http://psychology.unl.edu/biopsy
Description of position (research topic, URA duties, etc): Senior thesis, UCARE project, student researcher. Projects involve rat handling, antipsychotic and other drug treatments, and animal behavioral testing. There will be an initial period of training involved, so a year to two years commitment is preferable. Students will have the opportunity for authorship on publications and poster presentations.
Name: Chandra Chappell
Program/Agency/Lab: Dr. Hope’s anxiety lab
Email Address: [email protected]
Office/Lab Location: 324c
Phone Number: 870-654-2712
Web Page: psychology.unl.edu/hope-lab
Description of position (research topic, URA duties, etc): I am looking for undergraduate research assistants to help with my social anxiety study. This will be a very hands-on study for RAs, who will get to assist in every step of the research process. This includes protocol development, data collection (experimenter and confederate roles), data coding, data entry, and presentation of the results. We typically ask that RAs commit to 6-9 hours per week for 3 hours of course credit. Please feel free to email me if you have any questions or if you are interested in helping out with my study!
5 Name: Eve Brank’s lab
Program/Agency/Lab: Law and Policy Lab
Email Address: [email protected] (contact Lindsey Wylie)
Office/Lab Location: Burnett 333
Phone Number:
Web Page: http://psychology.unl.edu/ebrank/research
Description of position (research topic, URA duties, etc): In this lab, research assistants will get to work on several projects all related to law and policy. The largest project involves the 4th Amendment and individual’s expectations of privacy. We will also have additional projects that involve issues in employment law, obesity and the law, older adults, juvenile issues, and plea bargaining. Research assistants will help with project planning, data collection, and data management. In addition to research duties, there will be opportunities for professional development and, of course, having fun! If interested, please go to the website (http://psychology.unl.edu/ebrank/research) complete the application form and email it to [email protected].
Name: Michelle Haikalis
Program/Agency/Lab: Trauma Violence & Abuse Lab (Dr. David DiLillo)
Email Address: [email protected]
Office/Lab Location: Burnett Hall & 501 Building
Web Page: http://psychology.unl.edu/tvalab/home
Description of position (research topic, URA duties, etc):
We are currently recruiting undergraduate research assistants to become a part of the Trauma Violence and Abuse lab. Our lab focuses on research in the areas of family/interpersonal violence including sexual violence, intimate partner violence, and long-term effects of childhood maltreatment. As a new research assistant, you will have an opportunity to get on the ground floor of a project integrating the areas of alcohol use, sexual objectification, and sexual violence (this project is in collaboration with Dr. Sarah Gervais - Subtle Prejudice Lab).
This research position will provide an opportunity to learn about experimental research, work directly with participants, and become familiar with eye-tracking equipment and alcohol administration
6 procedures. Participation in this lab will also include professional development and mentoring for those interested in/or with questions about graduate school.
A 6-8 hour minimum time commitment per week is required.
Please direct questions to [email protected].
Name: Dr. Lisa Crockett
Program/Agency/Lab: The Latino Youth Care Project
Email Address: [email protected]
Office/Lab Location: 315 Burnett Hall
Phone Number: 402-472-0584
Web Page: psychology.unl.edu/lycp
Description of Project & Position:
The Latino Youth Care Project (LYCP) aims to examine the experiences of Latino teenagers in the Midwest with the goal of understanding the individual, family, peer, and community factors that foster their success. Findings will extend our knowledge of these youth and provide information that can be used to strengthen community programs to support Latino youth and their families.
We are seeking motivated students who are interested in expanding their psychology education and gaining research experience, and who can devote sufficient time to the project. Students should be able to commit to the project for at least one semester. Responsibilities would include recruiting participants, collecting data (conducting interviews with teens and parents), and occasional help with data entry and management. Fluency in Spanish is helpful but not required.
Recruiting: might include explaining the project to potential participants, posting project flyers in local businesses and community centers, or passing out flyers at community events or door-to-door.
Data Collection: includes interviewing teens and their parents at the family’s home or another location in the community (e.g., on campus, at a public library). Interviewers work in pairs (one interviews the youth; one interviews the parent). Interviews take 1.5 to 2 hours.
Data entry: includes entering data from interview forms into an SPSS file, managing data files.
All URAs are welcome to attend project meetings to gain perspective on the project as a whole.
What’s in it for you?
Great experience to add to your resume/curriculum vitae
Opportunities to be involved in/co-author presentations at research conferences
Mentoring from graduate students and faculty regarding applying to graduate school
7 Opportunities to interact with Latino families (an experience most undergraduates don’t get!)
An opportunity to build knowledge to better support and serve the Latino community
8 Name: Steven Edwards
Program/Agency/Lab: Comorbid Addiction and Mental Illness Laboratory (McChargue lab – Clinical Psychology)
Email Address: [email protected]
Office/Lab Location: Burnett basement
Phone Number: 937-367-2388
Web Page: http://psychology.unl.edu/cami
Description of position (research topic, URA duties, etc):
Dr. Dennis McChargue’s Comorbid Addiction and Mental Illness (CAMI) laboratory studies a broad range of areas related to addiction and mental illness. Specific areas of interest include, but are not limited to, anxiety, depression and trauma among college binge drinkers and marijuana users as well as among individuals recovering from substance dependence. Other factors of interest include perpetration and sexual abuse risk among substance using populations, neurobiological mechanisms that explain co- occurring risk and socio-environmental factors that impede treatment success among those with co- occurring disorders. Motivated research assistants will have the opportunity to gain valuable research experience in one or more of these areas.
Research assistants are a vital cog in maintaining our research productivity. Many have received UCARE funding for their efforts (see website) as well as have been co-authors on publications and presentations. Furthermore, a number of undergraduates have gone on to graduate level training. We operate on a junior colleague model where graduate students and advanced undergraduate students have the opportunity to supervise the work of other undergraduates. As undergraduate students progress within the lab, they also have the opportunity to add responsibilities, at times functionally acting as a project coordinator for one of the major studies. Project Coordinators also target UCARE funding to increase the benefits associated with the added responsibility.
1-2 RAs are needed for a study examining the efficacy of a brief text-message intervention for hazardous drinking during college football home game weekends. RA tasks could include data entry/cleaning, study management, and administering experimental protocol. RAs are also encouraged to attend and participate in biweekly lab meetings. No prior research experience is required but RAs must be organized, detail oriented, punctual, and responsible. This is an excellent opportunity to gain first hand research experience and is especially valuable for students considering graduate school in psychology.
9 Name: Dr. Dennis Molfese Program/Agency/Lab: Developmental Brain Laboratory Email Address: Lab Email: [email protected] Graduate student: Cathryn Cortesa ([email protected]) Graduate student: Kathleen Kelsey ([email protected]) Graduate student: Caitlin Hudac ([email protected]) Graduate student: Patrick Ledwidge ([email protected]) Graduate student: Allison Skinner ([email protected]) Office/Lab Location: Nebraska Hall, Suite 527 – Room 526A Phone Number: 402-472-3720 Web Page: www.unl.edu/dbrainlab
Description of position (research topic, URA duties, etc):
Dr. Molfese is the director of the Developmental Brain Laboratory. The lab currently consists of 5 graduate students, and 15 undergraduate research assistants. Our research investigates questions related to the brain and its involvement in cognitive processes (e.g., learning, language) across the lifespan, and how head injury affects these processes. We use neuroimaging techniques (including EEG, MRI, and NIRS) to explore the development of cognitive mechanisms in early infancy, childhood, and across the lifespan. Testing takes place at our laboratory in Nebraska Hall, as well as at newborn testing at Saint Elizabeth Regional Medical Center. Dr. Molfese also directs the brand-new interdisciplinary research Center for Brain, Biology, and Behavior (CB3) so the Developmental Brain Laboratory plays a large role in supporting those initiatives.
In the spring semester, the dBrain lab will be looking for undergraduate research assistants (UGRA’s) who are able to make a 2-year commitment, including summers. During the first year, UGRA’s will be trained in neuroimaging data collection and work directly with senior UGRA’s and graduate students to assist research. During the second semester and subsequent year, UGRA’s will be assigned to a specific project given their interests and the needs of the lab. We are look for 4-6 dedicated students. UGRAs also attend weekly lab meetings. This is a volunteer position.
Application process: Applications will be made available in December or early next semester and will be distributed on the Psych listserv.
10 Name: [email protected]
Program/Agency/Lab: Psychology of Race and Ethnicity Lab
Email Address: [email protected] or [email protected]
Office/Lab Location: 336 Burnett or 42 Burnett
Phone Number: 402-472-3740
Web Page: http://psychology.unl.edu/race-ethnicity-lab
Description of position (research topic, URA duties, etc):
The lab is focused on theoretical understanding of the influence of contextual (e.g., social environment, minority or majority group status) and individual factors (attitudes, socio-economic status, ethnic identity) that contribute to behavior based on perceived “race” or phenotype and ethnic issues. For example, past research with undergraduate student RA’s has focused on the contribution of ethnic identification to life satisfaction and hope, biases concerning Latino defendants, patriotism and the influence on perceived threat and immigration preferences, and perceptions of child labor and its appropriateness. We are currently developing studies on health and wellness of Latino populations and also on biases based on immigration status and minor legal infractions, among others.
Name: Dr. Jennifer Mize Nelson
Program/Agency/Lab: Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience (DCN) Laboratory
Email Address: Lab Student Manager: Cassandra Olson ([email protected])
Office/Lab Location: 501 Building, Room 102
Phone Number: 402-472-1029
Web Page: http://research.unl.edu/dcn/
Description of position (research topic, URA duties, etc):
Research conducted in the DCN Lab centers around the investigation of cognitive development (executive control, learning, memory, and attention) from birth into the school years using developmental cognitive neuroscience paradigms. Our studies examine how differences in the development of cognitive skills affect children’s emotion regulation, behavior, social relationships, and later academic skills. Additionally, studies consider both normative development and medical and environmental risk factors for sub-optimal cognitive development.
We will be looking to recruit a number of undergraduate research assistants for the Spring 2014 semester. We will primarily be looking for undergraduates to assist with data collection sessions with elementary school aged children and their parents, during which undergraduates will partner with our
11 full-time research staff to film sessions. Undergraduates will also have opportunities to enter, score, and code data after sessions, and to assist staff in contacting participant families and children’s teachers about data collection. Please contact us sometime during the Fall 2013 semester to express an interest in volunteering or taking course credit for Spring 2014! We typically aim to fill our Spring research assistant positions before the Winter Break.
Name: Edward Daly, Ph.D., BCBA-D
Program/Agency/Lab: School Psychology program, Educational Psychology Department, College of Education and Human Sciences
Email Address: [email protected]
Office/Lab Location: 33 Teachers College
Phone Number: (402) 472-5923
Web Page:
Description of position (research topic, URA duties, etc): Dr. Daly, Professor of Educational (School) Psychology, conducts applied behavior-analytic research in the area of developing functional assessment methods for academic performance problems and in the measurement and evaluation of academic and behavioral interventions. My research team does studies to identify effective academic interventions for elementary-aged students with learning difficulties.
Brief Overview of Activities: Research is conducted in local elementary schools during the school day. Research assistants will learn to conduct assessments and intervention strategies while working directly with children in the schools. Research assistants are welcome to join the research group where studies are designed and monitored.
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