*RESEARCH ASSISTANTS NEEDED FOR A STUDY EXAMINING THE EFFECTS OF STRESS AND EMOTION ON COGNITIVE FUNCTIONING IN SCHIZOPHRENIA*

The Laboratory for Clinical Affective Psychophysiology (LCAP) is looking for dedicated undergraduate research assistants to help in their project investigating the influence of emotion and stress on cognitive functioning in patients across the prodromal, recent-onset and chronic phases of schizophrenia. In order to examine such research questions, this project will rely on a broad array of psychophysiological measures, including 128 channels of EEG activity, heart rate, electrodermal activity and cortisol, in order to delineate abnormal psychological and neurobiological processes in schizophrenia.

Research assistants will be primarily involved in psychophysiological data collection with schizophrenia patients and healthy individuals.

Tasks will include: administering behavioral experiments (e.g., computerized tasks, questionnaires) while physiological data is collected, data entry and processing.

Requirements:
1. 2-3 hour block of time needed to conduct experiments

2. Multiple quarter commitment is strongly preferred (course credit is available)

3. Must be available during Summer 2012

How to Apply: Please send a resume (or curriculum vitae) as well as a copy of your grades (an unofficial transcript or copy of your Degree Progress Report from ursa.ucla.edu is totally fine) to Kelsi Umekubo: kelsiumekubo@gmail.com

UCLA Families and Health Study

Dr. Theodore Robles & Dr. Rena Repetti

Project Description:

This study investigates how family characteristics and psychological stress encountered in daily life impact physiology, immune functioning and susceptibility to Upper Respiratory Infections (URIs) among families who have at least one child between the ages of 9 and 13. Families first complete baseline measures and interviews during a visit at their home or in our laboratory assessing stressful life events, emotion processing, family conflict, supportive behaviors, and family structure. Parents and children then complete online daily diary questionnaires for 8 weeks assessing daily experiences and activities. Family members also provide multiple saliva samples assessing specific aspects of neuroendocrine and immune function. The specific aims of this project are to: 1) Determine whether children growing up in risky family environments experience more frequent URIs; 2) Examine how short-term trends in risky family behaviors are linked to URI frequency and severity over time; and 3) Investigate the biological and behavioral pathways that mediate associations between risky family environments and URIs.

RA Responsibilities:

Students will assist in all aspects of the project, including but not limited to: working with families in their homes, conducting structured clinical interviews with adults and children, preparing materials for family visits, working with children during a laboratory performance task, data management (entry, management, and coding), and office duties. We offer Psych 196 and/or SRP credit for students who work 4-8 hours per week. As part of those hours, students must be available to be on-call for family visits at least one evening per week, and approximately one weekend afternoon per month. We require a three-quarter commitment.

Working in our laboratory is excellent preparation for students interested in clinical, social, and health psychology, and who are interested in psychology graduate programs, medical school, or other allied medical professions!

How to Apply:

If you’re interested, please fill out an online application through the following link:

https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/rhlapplication

Hi Psi Chi members!

Today we had our first general meeting for Spring ’12 on April 11th at 5PM in Franz 3534.

We started off with an ice breaker (hum the theme song of the show you received to meet others with the same show).

We then proceeded to general announcements.

-There WILL be a meeting NEXT week. We usually only have meetings on even weeks, but next week will be an exception. We will be discussing initiation procedures (what you have to bring, fill out, etc.). The time will be 5PM and location TBA.

-Those who want to run for officer elections, please let board know so we can put you in the running. Candidates have to prepare a short speech as to why they are fit for the position.

Officers discussed each position’s duties, experiences, and tips for next year.

President, Vice President, Social Chair, Treasurer, Fundraising Chair, and Webmaster were present to discuss responsibilities.

Here are short descriptions that were mentioned:

President: oversee things that have to be completed, delegate tasks to other staff.

VP: help the president and other staff with responsibilities.

Social Chair: plan social events.

Treasurer: deal with the finances.

Fundraising Chair: come up with new ways to fundraise, organize bake sales, help other staff.

Webmaster: handle website, Facebook, and emails.

Secretary: deal with point cards collection and distribution.

*All officers need pretty flexible schedules in order to incorporate both general- and staff- meetings.

Meeting concluded with questions from members.

RESEARCH PROJECT DESCRIPTION

This research study is designed to study the effects of a yogic breath based meditation intervention study on cognitive functioning in undergraduate students. For 6-weeks, participants will attend weekly meditation classes primarily focused on yogic breathing, held by the primary investigator, Patricia Voege, M.A. We will assess cognitive functioning as well as relevant biological and physiological markers before and after the intervention and examine whether the intervention had an effect on any of these outcome measures.

RA RESPONSIBILITIES

RAs’ responsibility will include assisting in the set up and administration of the weekly meditation classes. Further responsibilities will include assessing physiological and biological variables before and after the intervention as well as data entry. All RAs are required to attend weekly lab meetings and participate in one training session. In order to receive 196A credit, RAs are required to dedicate 8 hours per week to the project. This breaks down to attending the weekly lab meeting (1 hour), running research participants (app. 3-5 hours), and some light data management tasks (app. 1-2 hours). This break down may vary depending on the current stage of the study.

WHO SHOULD APPLY

1. I am looking for motivated and dedicated students who are interested in learning about health psychology and the feasibility of meditation practices to promote cognitive functioning and general well-being. While prior research experience is a plus, it is not necessary. Students will receive thorough training.

2. You must be able to commit to Winter 2012 and Spring 2012 in order to become an RA for this study. Being able to commit for June and July 2012 is a plus!

3. You may receive research units OR volunteer as an RA.

HOW TO APPLY

If you are interested, please email Patricia Voege, M.A., at patriciavoege[at]ucla.edu, for an application.

The UCLA Anderson School of Management Behavioral Lab is recruiting a research assistant who has a work-study award for the 2011-2012 academic year. The position is available for both Winter and Spring quarters (5-10 hours per week). They will work with your schedule and can be flexible whenever you need more time to study for classes. As an RA, you will run lab studies, collect and enter data, conduct literature reviews, assist in designing study materials, and facilitate research in other ways.  They are looking for dependable students, who have previous research experience and computer skills. Training will be provided for all software to be used and for each lab study. This is an amazing chance to work in a lab that is involved in diverse research projects conduced by a dozen of Anderson’s Behavioral faculty. If you are interested in applying, please email mariam.hambarchyan[at]anderson.ucla.edu for an application.

$11 an hour.