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@gmail.com
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: http://psych.unl.edu/mdodd/VAMP/ or research projects can be found at
http://psych.unl.edu/mdodd/VAMP/research.htm
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.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
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Name: Dr. Robert Polewan/Dr. Rick Bevins
Program/Agency/Lab: Dr. Bevins’ Behavioral Neuropharmacology Lab
Email Address: Dr. Polewan: rpolewan@hotmail.com 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: http://www.unl.edu/psychoneuropharm/
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@gmail.com
Office/Lab Location: 37 and 53 in Burnett
Phone Number: 472-3197
Web Page: www.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.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
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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@gmail.com 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!
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
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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: http://ppc.unl.edu/priority/publicparticipation , see especially:
http://ppc.unl.edu/project/SocialCognitiveMultilevelEmpiricallyBasedModelPublicEngagementShapingScienceandI
nnovationPolicy
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: http://homepage.mac.com/dlmolfese/about_us.html
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.
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