Psi Chi and UPO Research Night - Department of Psychology



Psi Chi and UPO Research Night 9/1/2010 4 PM

Current or Forthcoming Research Opportunities

Name: Brian Armenta

Program/Agency/Lab: Social-Personality program

Email Address: berikarmenta@

Office/Lab Location: 206 Benton Hall

Phone Number: 626-242-3801

Web Page: NA

Description of position (research topic, URA duties, etc): I am in need of 1 or 2 research assistants to (1) collect laboratory data and (2) summarize information from research articles (requires identifying measures used in various studies) for studies focusing on ethnic and gender identification.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________

Name: Leroy Scott

Program/Agency/Lab: Dr. Eve Brank’s Lab

Email Address: lscott@huskers.unl.edu

Office/Lab Location: Room 12, Burnett Hall

Phone Number: 402-909-1615

Web Page:

Description of position (research topic, URA duties, etc): Several undergraduate research assistants are needed to provide general assistance with various research projects. Duties will include conducting literature searches, running study participants, and entering data. Research assistants will be encouraged to attend bi-weekly lab meetings and participate in discussions related to research and other lab business. RAs can sign up for course credit or volunteer. The general topics that are being researched in this lab include:

• Blaming Parents for the wrongs of their children: Empirical investigation of parental involvement laws.

• Knowing when to care: Rights, duties, and obligations associated with being the caregiver for an older adult.

• Governmental invasion of privacy: An investigation of people’s reasonable expectation of privacy.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________

Name: Mike Dodd

Program/Agency/Lab: The VAMP (vision, attention, memory, perception) lab at UNL

Email Address: mdodd2@unl.edu

Office/Lab Location: 222 Burnett Hall

Phone Number: 472-0547

Web Page: or research projects can be found at

Description of position (research topic, URA duties, etc): Most of my RAs are responsible for signing up participants via experimetrix and running participants through experiments. It is good practical hands-on experience for those looking to gain some laboratory experience or learn more about cognition.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________

Name: Dr. Robert Polewan/Dr. Rick Bevins

Program/Agency/Lab: Dr. Bevins’ Behavioral Neuropharmacology Lab

Email Address: Dr. Polewan: rpolewan@ or Dr. Bevins: rbevins1@unl.edu

Office/Lab Location: 55 Burnett (Dr. Polewan)

Phone Number: Dr. Polewan: 402-617-2374 or Dr. Bevins: 402-472-1189

Web Page:

Description of position (research topic, URA duties, etc): Our research program bridges areas of neuroscience, pharmacology, psychology, immunology, and animal learning and cognition. With the motivated effort of exceptional graduate and undergraduate students and the consistent support of the Psychology Department, the School of Biological Sciences, the College of Arts and Sciences, Office of Research, and extramural funding agencies such as NIH, we have made great progress in answering important questions related to drug abuse. In this research effort, we use preclinical animal models to understand factors involved in the development and maintenance of drug abuse. This research includes assessment of factors affecting the ability of drug cues to acquire new meaning and hence control over behavior. Other research effort focuses on novelty and sensation seeking, learned associations between environmental cues and abused drugs (source of cravings), and immunotherapy (vaccine) techniques against drug addiction.

General undergraduate RA duties include:

Handling and injecting animals.

Assisting graduate students in research.

Collecting and analyzing data.

Assisting in manuscript preparation.

Please note that Dr Bevins screens all interested applicants and that the type of research conducted in the lab does not allow us to have individuals only interested in 1 semester of research experience.

RAs can receive research credits for either psychology or biology.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________

Name: Krista Highland

Program/Agency/Lab: Clinical Psychology/ UNL / Health Addictions and Vulnerabilities Lab (Dennis McChargue, Ph. D.)

Email Address: kristahighland@

Office/Lab Location: 37 and 53 in Burnett

Phone Number: 472-3197

Web Page: unl.edu/psycpage/havlab/index.shtml

Description of position (research topic, URA duties, etc): Alcohol Skills Training Program (ASTP): RA duties include data management, e-mailing participants regarding ASTP processes, and making feedback packets based on the responses that participants report on a battery of questionnaires. Provided the RA demonstrates good work ethic and performance, opportunities to participate in research posters and publications are made available.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________

Name: Libier Isas

Program/Agency/Lab: Dr. Cynthia Willis-Esqueda’s Lab

Email Address: lisas@huskers.unl.edu

Office/Lab Location: Burnett 42

Phone Number: 562-832-8238

Web Page:

Description of position (research topic, URA duties, etc): The RA will mainly help with data collection and literature searches related to gender and race stereotypes, prejudice and discrimination.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________

Name: Tori Smith

Program/Agency/Lab: Pediatric Health Lab (Supervised by Dr. Tim Nelson)

Email Address: unlpediatrichealthlab@ or tsmith18@huskers.unl.edu

Office/Lab Location: Burnett 43 & 44

Phone Number: (208) 290-4014 (Tori Smith- prefer contact by email)

Web Page: NA

Description of position (research topic, URA duties, etc):

We are currently looking for URAs to help recruit participants and collect data for the studies described below. In the near future there will also be positions for URAs to help with data entry.

LMEP Stress Study: This is an ongoing data collection project being conducted at a local family medicine practice in Lincoln. We are collecting data from children (ages 8-11) and parents on a wide range of constructs with a focus on psychosocial stressors (e.g., economic, academic, family, peer), health behaviors (e.g., physical activity, sleep) and various health outcomes. In addition to child- and parent-report questionnaire data (both complete a battery that takes 30-45 minutes), we are also getting permission to access the child's medical records so we can look at various objective indicators of physical health (like BMI, medical diagnoses, medications, medical costs, etc.).

Physical Activity and Pediatric Asthma Study: This project has 2 components: (1) a one-time lab-based study; and (2) a short-term longitudinal study. The lab study will involve bringing kids with asthma into the lab, giving them and their parents a brief battery of questionnaires and having the child do some basic fitness testing (step test, some tests from the President's Challenge, and a task on the Nintendo Wii). This study will be focused on identifying predictors of physical activity among children with asthma. The longitudinal study will involve the child wearing a pedometer for 14 consecutive days and completing an online daily diary each day. The goal of this study is to identify day-to-day factors that influence daily physical activity (e.g., asthma symptoms, psychosocial stressors, etc.).

*Note- There is a brief application process that needs to be completed in order to be considered for a URA position in our lab. We generally only take students with a minimum GPA of 3.0. If you are interested in working with us please email one of the above addresses and we will send you an application. Thanks!

_____________________________________________________________________________________________

Name: Lisa PytlikZillig and Alan Tomkins

Program/Agency/Lab: The Public Policy Center – Public Engagement Research

Email Address: lpytlikz@nebraska.edu

Office/Lab Location: 215 Centennial Mall South, Suite 401

Phone Number: 402.472.5678

Web Page: , see especially:

Description of position (research topic, URA duties, etc):

Title: Developing a Social-Cognitive, Multilevel, Empirically-Based Model of Public Engagement for the Shaping of Science and Innovation Policy

Public engagement refers to engaging public audiences in the discussion of or decisions about public policy. Public engagements are held for many purposes: to educate the public about social issues, to get the public’s input on policies that should govern social issues, to enhance communication between policy makers and the public, and so on. While there are many types of public engagement (e.g., surveys, town hall meetings, voting, and deliberative discussion), little research has focused on “what types of public engagements work for what purposes and why?” Our project focuses on this question by applying theories from social, personality, political, and educational psychology.

Undergraduates interested in serving as a research assistant for this project can expect to have opportunities to assist with all aspects of the study including study design, execution, and depending on performance and skills, analyses and write-ups. Duties will include literature review, measure development, data entry, attendance at meetings, and so on. We would like to find an undergraduate who can commit approximately 10 hours/week to assisting with the project. This is an unpaid position; however, a student can work on the project for independent study credit or potentially as a UCARE project. In addition, given the breadth of the project, some of the data could be used for other purposes such as a required class project or honors thesis.

To apply for the URA position, please send a statement of interest, a CV or resume, a transcript (unofficial is fine), and a writing sample to Jenn Klein at jklein2@nebraska.edu. _____________________________________________________________________________________________

Name: Dr. Dennis Molfese

Program/Agency/Lab: Developmental Neuroscience Laboratory

Email Address: Contact graduate student Caitlin Hudac (caitlin.hudac@huskers.unl.edu)

Office/Lab Location: TBD

Phone Number: TBD

Web Page:

Description of position (research topic, URA duties, etc): The Developmental Neuroscience Laboratory investigates questions related to the brain and its involvement in cognitive processes (e.g., learning, language) across the lifespan, electrophysiological predictors of cognitive and linguistic development from early infancy into adulthood, the impact of minor amounts of sleep loss on child and adult processing, lateralization of language and cognitive functions, the effects of microgravity on brain and cognitive functioning, cognitive processes in head injured adults, and related issues. The research from the Developmental Neuroscience Laboratory uses neuroimaging techniques (including EEG, MRI, and NIRS) to explore the development of cognitive mechanisms in early infancy and childhood. Because Dr. Molfese will not arrive until October, opportunities will not be available within the lab until late Fall 2010 or Spring 2011. If you are interested in a position or would like to learn more about the lab, please contact Caitlin Hudac.

................
................

In order to avoid copyright disputes, this page is only a partial summary.

Google Online Preview   Download