**Wanted**

Undergraduate Research Assistant

Help us understand the role of the brain in biological, psychological, and social functioning at all stages of adult life

What Is MIDUS?

Midlife in the United States, a National Study of Health & Well-Being, is at the forefront of research linking life outlooks, life experiences, and biological health.  We are interested in how biology, personal characteristics, life experiences, and health are related. Our part of Midlife in the U.S. (MIDUS) II is conducted by the Laboratory for Affective Neuroscience at the University of Wisconsin – Madison, under the direction of Dr. Richard J. Davidson, Ph.D.  This project studies the brain regions involved in emotional experience and resilience using Electroencephalography (EEG) and Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI), among other measures.  

This project will investigate how certain brain regions are involved in our emotions, as we experience them in everyday life.  Our research questions include:

• How does activity in different areas of the brain predict emotion in daily life?
• How do our emotions affect the way our brains respond to positive or negative events?
• How are the Biomarker Study measures, like stress hormone levels and immune function, related to brain function measured in Project 5?
• How has a person’s life experiences shaped the way the brain and body react to new experiences?
• Is there a difference in how men and women respond to positive and negative events?

Who Works on MIDUS?

There are three main experimenters that you would be working with on the MIDUS project, Nikki, David, and Regina. 

	Nikki is an Associate Research Specialist. She recently graduated from UW Madison with a Bachelors Degree in Psychology and a certificate in Criminal Justice.  Her main interests deal with Juvenile delinquents and Adolescent depression.  She has been a part of the Laboratory for Affective Neuroscience for 2 years as an undergrad.  She plans on going back to graduate school in a couple of years for a Joint degree in Psychology and Law.  In MIDUS, Nikki is responsible for recruiting participants, running experimental sessions, processing some data, and overseeing undergraduates in the lab.
	David is an Associate Research Specialist. Currently he is involved in running experimental sessions and data processing for MIDUS.
	Regina is also an Associate Research Specialist. She is originally from Brazil.  Her research interest lies in the possibility of reforming the description, assessment and therefore the treatment of various manifestations and disturbances along the spectrum of mental processes. She is attracted to affective neuroscience due to its utilization of a psychophysiological approach to mental disorders as an alternative to an exclusively phenomenological one. Such perspective brings direct implications to the conceptualization and appraisal of health in a broad dimension. She is especially interested in affective chronometry and its pertinence to the experience of chronic pain. Currently, she is working on data acquisition and processing for the MIDUS study.

What Sets You Apart from Other Research Groups I Might Work For?

• We're arguably more fun;
• We exploit a wider range of techniques;
• We're interested in both cognition and emotion;
• Students have the opportunity to potentially work for $$ after 1 year as a student hourly/credit;
• Our laboratory has an excellent record of assisting undergraduates get into graduate and medical school;
• A number of undergrads in the lab have been co-authors on publications and conference presentations;
• If you don't enjoy working for us, there are opportunities to switch supervisors and work on a variety of other projects, including work with children, geriatric populations, nonhuman primates, and various psychiatric populations;
• Our lab is committed to undergrad's learning experience: undergrads have an opportunity to interact with Dr. Davidson and there is a monthly talk (with pizza!) expressly for undergrads.

Qualifications

You must either have work study funding or be eligible for research credit in order to qualify for this position. We are looking for someone possessing a good work ethic, initiative, and who can make a commitment to stay for at least two semesters (@ ~10 hours/week). Computer experience and knowledge of statistics is helpful but not necessary. Students majoring in psychology, neuroscience, the physical or biological sciences, mathematics, engineering, and/or computer science are especially encouraged to apply.  Availability between 12pm and 4pm during the week is preferred.  Also, some weekend hours might be required.

Responsibilities

• Collection of behavioral, self-report, and physiological data;
• Archiving, entry, and processing of data;
• Literature searches and library work;
• And everything else that research entails…including the thrill of discovery.

Start date

The time is now.

Interested?

Contact Nikki to schedule an interview. I’ll happily talk to you about your talents and interests and how they would fit into our plans. We're also glad to frankly discuss the relative advantages/disadvantages of our lab relative to others in the department.
Nicole Rute
Laboratory for Affective Neuroscience | Waisman Laboratory for Brain Imaging & Behavior
1202 West Johnson Street Rm. 377
Madison, Wisconsin 53706
PH: (608) 265-4318
FAX: (608) 265-2875
EMAIL: