Summer/Fall Research Opportunity in the DSCN Lab at UMD

The Developmental, Social, Cognitive Neuroscience (DSCN) lab (directed by Dr. Elizabeth Redcay) is looking for bright, detail-oriented undergraduate students to assist with multiple behavioral and 
fMRI studies investigating social cognition in children and adults this summer and/or Fall. RAs in the DSCN lab will gain hands-on experience with neuroimaging, behavioral, and developmental 
methods, which can increase the value of one's graduate school application as well as provide an 
opportunity to earn a strong letter of recommendation. Class credit will also be made available to those interested and qualified. 

Responsibilities
- Stimuli creation: preparing stimulus materials (i.e., creating and editing videos)
- Data collection: setting-up and running behavioral studies; assisting with the acquisition of fMRI data at the Maryland Neuroimaging Center (located a couple blocks off the College Park campus)
- Data entry: entering experimental data into Microsoft Excel and SPSS
- Data coding: coding participant questionnaires, standardized assessments, and participant videos
- Participant recruitment: calling and scheduling participants over the phone and via e-mail
- Playing with young children
- Data organization: compiling and filing datasets; day-to-day lab maintenance
- Opportunity to perform data analysis (i.e., on fMRI, DTI, and behavioral data)
- Participating in weekly lab meetings

Required skills 
- Academic background in psychology, neuroscience, or computer science 
- Minimum GPA of 3.3
- Experience working with children
- Strong communication skills
- Moderate to strong technical/computer skills**
- Must have experience working with AND a willingness to learn new technology programs 
- Experience with iMovie, MATLAB, & SPSS is a strong PLUS
- Moderate comfort level working with Mac computers and their applications

In addition to these skills, the ideal applicant should also be...
- Detail-oriented
- A great problem-solver
- Keenly interested in social development and developmental neuroscience
- Able to work independently
- A motivated and self-directed learner 
- Child friendly!

Commitment Length
- Minimum of at least 9 hours/week in the summer
- Minimum of two semesters 
***Availability during the summer is considered a PLUS***

How to Apply
If interested, please e-mail the following to dscn.umd@gmail.com

1) A copy of your resume/CV
2) Your unofficial transcript
3) A short email describing your interest(s) and relevant experience(s)
 
More information about the lab is available online at our website: http://www.dscn.umd.edu/.