Author: Rodriguez, Atziri

[COGDEVSOC] Research Coordinator Opportunities in Connecticut

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Research Coordinator, Connecticut Project

 

The TMW Center for Early Learning + Public Health (TMW Center) develops science-based interventions, tools, and technologies to help parents and caregivers interact with young children in ways that maximize brain development. A rich language environment is critical to healthy brain development, however few tools exist to measure the quality or quantity of these environments. Access to this type of data allows caregivers to enhance interactions in real-time and gives policy-makers insight in how to best build policies that have a population-level impact.

Job Summary

The Research Coordinator will report to the Senior Project Manager and shall provide on-the-ground coordination, implementation, and research support. The Research Coordinator will work closely with Connecticut-based infant and toddler childcare providers and TMW Center research and curriculum staff. The Research Coordinator shall be responsible for recruiting and consenting study participants, providing regular implementation and technical support to study participants, data collection, and operational and logistical coordination of various study activities.

As a primary on-the-ground point of contact for study participants, the Research Coordinator shall build positive relationships with childcare centers, classroom teachers, families and OEC staff to ensure strong communication and a successful research partnership with the TMW Center.

Responsibilities

Participant Outreach, Recruitment & Data Collection:

  • Serves as a primary point of contact for current and future research study participants.
  • At the direction of TMW staff, conducts targeted outreach and recruitment to study participants (child care sites, early educators, parents, etc.). Organizes and coordinates recruitment activities, in collaboration with TMW staff.
  • Obtains and maintains consents for all program participants in accordance with IRB protocol and TMW research standards.
  • Ensures ongoing and new research subjects are on-boarded properly.
  • Regularly reports updates on participant recruitment, study progress, and study completion to relevant parties.
  • Partners with TMW Center staff members and other stakeholders to ensure current and upcoming studies have adequate amounts of participants.
  • Collaborates actively with TMW Center staff members and external stakeholders to strategize approaches for pursuing new participants and partners. 
  • Maintains regular contact with study participants, updating them on study progress and ensuring that their contact information is updated on a routine basis. Maintains records of all communication efforts with participants.
  • Implements data collection at the direction of TMW Center staff. Ensures quality of data collection and adherence to best practices. 
  • Supports TMW Center researchers with other aspects of outreach, recruitment, consent, data collection and support as requested.

Implementation & Participant Support:

  • Under the direction of TMW staff, implements the TMW Center’s ECE professional development strategy and novel technology within study sites (childcare and early education classroom settings) and provides ongoing support for implementing teachers and site leadership.
  • In coordination with and under the direction of TMW staff, provides implementation support, coaching, and training to study participants, ensuring that study activities are delivered with fidelity and that technical support is available promptly. This includes but is not limited to: regularly visiting study sites across Connecticut for routine in-person check-ins; providing technical assistance, troubleshooting and on-call technical and implementation support to study participants (including outside of business hours, as needed); ensuring proper implementation and delivery of TMW program in accordance with study protocol; tracking data related to these processes and other aspects of implementation; supporting TMW Manager of Training and other TMW staff by coordinating and/or facilitating training sessions and regular meetings for implementing staff.

Research Support:

  • With other TMW teams, helps coordinate and implement formative testing, early pilots and research studies in partner sites.
  • With other TMW teams, engages with study participants and other partners to collect data and gather user feedback to inform device optimization, program refinement, professional development model and implementation model.
  • Supports implementing staff within study sites (childcare and early education classroom settings).
  • Facilitates and coordinates video recording, data collection and other classroom-based research activities, as needed, under the direction of TMW’s Research team.
  • Issues payments and other incentives to study participants.  Ensures all payments are issued correctly and tracked with fidelity. Ensures full compliance with all University and funder obligations related to human subject payments and recordkeeping.
  • Distributes technology and assists with inventory management, coordination and delivery logistics for technological devices and other materials provided to study sites.

Partnership Building:

  • Builds and nurtures relationships with child care centers, classroom teachers, families, OEC staff and other stakeholders to ensure strong communication and ultimate success between the TMW Center and these individuals and groups.
  • Helps identify additional childcare providers or organizations that could serve as future research partners. 
  • Serves as an ambassador of the TMW Center’s mission and resources to partners, families/caregivers, and the public.

Project Support:

  • Provides technical, administrative and logistical support to the Connecticut early childhood research project team.
  • Participates in meetings and planning sessions with TMW staff to share implementation observations and provide updates to inform program and process improvement. 

Other Responsibilities:

  • Maintains technical and administrative support for a research project.
  • Installs, sets up and performs experiments; interacting with students and other laboratory staff under the direction of the principal investigator.
  • Maintains recruiting and scheduling research subjects; assisting with developing or amending study protocols; assisting with developing data collection tools; assisting with building databases; and providing general administrative support. Has general awareness in research techniques or methods, regulatory policies and procedures, and relevant scientific field.
  • Performs other related work as needed

LangFest 2023

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We are excited to announce that Language Fest is making an in-person return for 2023, and invite you to join us on the afternoon of Wednesday, April 26th (event times TBD).

 

Language Fest is a University-wide research conference that welcomes the full cross-disciplinary community of language researchers at UConn for a day of sharing results, ideas, methodologies, and fostering future interdisciplinary collaborations. Researchers from all disciplines of the language sciences and at all career stages are welcome and encouraged to submit their work.  

 

Further details about submissions and registration will be provided in early-March 2023.

 

For any questions about Language Fest, please e-mail: langfest@uconn.edu and visit our website https://languagefest.uconn.edu/. 

  

We look forward to your attendance and participation!

IBACS Summer 2023 Call for Seed Grant Applications

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IBACS Summer 2023 Undergraduate Research Grant Program 

The application period for the summer research grant program opens TODAY, Monday February 20th, and the deadline for applications will be 11:59 pm on March 13th, 2023. It is expected that applicants will be conducting research with IBACS faculty members, focusing on any research area associated with the IBACS mission.  Faculty sponsors will need to supply a letter of recommendation. Once the applicant lists the faculty advisor of the project in the form, an email will be sent to the faculty member with directions for how to submit the letter. Applicants must fill out the online application, submit a relatively short research plan and a budget that explains in detail how the funds will be spent.

The budget should be constructed in the following manner:  The total award will be for up to $5,000. $3,500 should go to providing the student with a summer stipend, and it is expected that the student will spend at least 10 weeks of the summer working on this project at UConn.  Up to $1,500 can be allocated for any supplies or materials that contribute to the research, including software, participant costs and any animal expenses. 

Students who received a Fall 2022/Spring 2023 IBACS grant are eligible for the summer award. However, students cannot take the summer IBACS award in combination with any other major summer award (e.g. SURF). Thus, a student can apply for multiple awards, but can only accept one. The results of the grant review will be given to the student awardees in time for them to make a decision about which grant they will accept, in case they receive more than one. 

The IBACS undergraduate award applications are reviewed based on the following criteria:

  • The project description is well written and clearly explains the project.
  • The project clearly focuses on a research area associated with the IBACS mission.
  • The budget is itemized, appropriate to the project described, and reports the total cost of the project (even if it exceeds the funding requested).
  • The advisor is familiar with the student’s project and rates the student’s work to date highly. 
  • Where project applications are equally meritorious, the reviewers will take note of how the student’s project will contribute to the advisor’s research goals.
  • The student and his/her project meet the eligibility criteria.
  • The student has secured research compliance approval(s) if necessary for the project. No award will be issued until documentation of approval(s) is received.
 

Call for IBRAiN Applications

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The Institute for the Brain and Cognitive Sciences (IBACS) is inviting graduate students to apply for theIBACS-BIRC Research Assistantships in Neuroimaging (IBRAiN) Program. These graduate assistantships are for 10 hours per week during the Fall (2023) and Spring (2024) semesters at the Brain Imaging Research Center (BIRC). During the first year, assistants will be trained in neuroimaging methods, data science, and reproducibility. Assistants will spend the remaining allocated hours at BIRC, supporting users of BIRC facilities. This could involve helping design and implement experimental procedures for fMRI, EEG, TMS etc., recruitment and prepping of participants, data analysis, or overseeing use of equipment by others. Applicants will be expected to commit to the full duration of the assistantship (Fall & Spring). Funds may be available during Summer 2024 to enable IBRAiN students to pursue their own research at BIRC. IBRAiN students also receive an allocation of 20 hours of resource time to be used at BIRC during the course of the fellowship. 

Up to three students will be supported in the 2023-2024 cycle. Students will participate in common training activities, but will primarily specialize in one of three roles at BIRC. Applicants should indicate which role(s) they wish to be considered for. 

1. Research software engineer. This role assists researchers in data analysis, particularly functional MRI, using existing software, and engineering and implementing new analytic tools when needed. Qualified candidates will have demonstrated proficiency in Python, MATLAB, or Julia, and Unix like computing environments. 

2. User support. This role assists researchers in using BIRC facilities, including experimental design and setup, equipment training, data management, and maintaining documentation resources. Qualified candidates will have prior experience in designing and running in-person experiments. Familiarity with Python or MATLAB is preferred. 

3. MR Operator. This role assists researchers in obtaining functional and structural MRI data by learning how to operate the Siemens Prisma 3T MRI Scanner to perform brain research studies. Qualified candidates will have demonstrated an understanding of MRI safety, a high level of reliability, and the ability to work with participants across the lifespan.

The deadline for receipt of applications will be midnight on Friday, February 24, 2023

Subject to funding constraints, these assistantships could be renewed for a further year. Please refer to the full details and access the application on our IBRAiN webpage. 

If you have any questions, please contact the Institute Coordinator, Crystal Mills at crystal.mills@uconn.edu. 

COGS Colloquium: Dr. Naselaris on 2/24

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The Cognitive Science Program invites you to a talk on 2/24

 

Speaker: Dr. Thomas Naselaris, an Associate Professor from Department of Neuroscience at the University of Minnesota.

Time & Location: 4PM, Friday February 24th, 2023, in Oak Hall Room 117. Light refreshments will be provided. 

RSVP Form 

Talk Title: “Why Do We Have Mental Images?”

 

Abstract: Everyone who experiences mental imagery is the world expert on the contents of their own mental images. We argue that this privileged perspective on one’s own mental images provides very limited understanding about the function of mental imagery, which can only be understood by proposing and testing hypotheses about the computational work that mental images do. We propose that mental imagery functions as a useful form of inference that is conditioned on visual beliefs. We implement this form of inference in a simple generative model of natural scenes, and show that it makes testable predictions about differences in tuning to seen and imagined features. We confirm these predictions with a large-scale fMRI experiment in which human brain activity was sampled while subjects generated hundreds of mental images. We speculate that ongoing mental imagery may impact the structure of noise correlations in the visual system, and present a preliminary analysis of the Natural Scenes Dataset that appears to be consistent with these speculations. 

Bio: Thomas is an Associate Professor in the Department of Neuroscience at the University of Minnesota, and a member of the Medical Discovery Team on Optical Imaging and Brain Science at the Center for Magnetic Resonance Research. He is co-founder and currently Executive Chair of the Conference on Cognitive Computational Neuroscience.

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COGS & SLAC Talk on 12/16: Jonathan Peelle

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The Cognitive Science and SLAC programs invite you to a talk on 12/16!

 

Speaker: Dr. Jonathan Peelle, an Associate Professor from the Center for Cognitive and Brain Health at Northeastern University.

Time & Location: 4PM, Friday December 16th, 2022, in the Dodd Center Konover Auditorium. Light refreshments will be provided. Please RSVP so we can order accordingly.

Talk Title: “Cognitive consequences of acoustic challenge during spoken communication”

Abstract: Everyday communication is full of acoustic challenges, including background noise, competing talkers, or assistive devices. How do listeners understand speech in the midst of this noise? Evidence from multiple sources is consistent with a shared resource framework of speech comprehension in which domain-general cognitive processes supported by discrete regions of frontal cortex are required for successfully understanding speech. These increased cognitive demands can be captured using behavior, pupillometry, and functional brain imaging. Although frequently studied in the context of hearing loss, these principles have broader implications for our understanding of how auditory and cognitive factors interact during spoken language comprehension.

 Bio: Jonathan is a cognitive neuroscientist who studies the neuroscience of human communication, aging, and hearing impairment at the Center for Cognitive and Brain Health at Northeastern University. He also has two podcasts: “The Brain Made Plain” where he interviews cognitive neuroscientists about their work, and “The Juice and the Squeeze” in which he and a co-host talk about different aspects of being in academia.

Meetings: If you are interested in meeting with Dr. Peelle during the day on Friday or joining the dinner, please email: crystal.mills@uconn.edu. 

Reminder: IBACS Summer Grad Fellowship Applications Due 12/2

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The Connecticut Institute for the Brain and Cognitive Sciences (CT IBACS) is inviting applications to its Graduate Fellowship Program.

These summer fellowships are intended for graduate students working on topics with relevance (broadly construed) to the Brain and Cognitive Sciences. IBACS Graduate Fellows attend a short grant-writing workshop and will be expected to submit an application to the NSF GRFP, NRSA (pre- or post-doctoral fellowship), or equivalent.

Deadline for receipt of applications is Friday, December 2nd, 2022.

Graduate students who are not US citizens are eligible to apply and are expected to work with their advisor to develop an external research proposal if they are not eligible for graduate fellowships. Students who were fellows in summer 2021 may apply if they submitted the external grant proposal they developed last year and it was not funded, with the expectation that they will revise their previous grant or develop a new one.

Please refer to the full details here before you apply. If you have any questions, please contact Crystal Mills at crystal.mills@uconn.edu. 

NEUROSCIENCE at STORRS: CALL FOR PARTICIPATION

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Dear Colleagues,

You are cordially invited to the 25th annual Neuroscience at Storrs event, which will be held on Tuesday November 8th and Wednesday November 9th 2022.  This event is hosted by the Interdisciplinary Program in Neuroscience, and it is the oldest cross-discipline neuroscience event on campus.  Please forward this message to any interested people.

DAY I. Tuesday November 8th 4:00 pm, Dodd Center Konover Auditorium  

Amanda Lauer Ph.D., Associate Professor of Otolaryngology, Johns Hopkins University  

Title: “Role of the auditory brain-to-ear efferent feedback system in hearing across the lifespan”  

  

DAY II. Wednesday November 9th

Dodd Center Konover Auditorium  

3:00-3:45 Grad Student/Postdoc Data Blitz  

3:45-4:30 Trainee Career Panel  

4:30-5:30 Amy Newman Ph.D., Scientific Director, NIDA Intramural Research Program  

Title: “Novel and atypical dopamine transport inhibitors for the treatment of psychostimulant use disorders”  

Bousfield PSYC Atrium   

6:00-8:30 Poster Session and Reception  

 

CALL FOR POSTERS AND DATA BLITZ PRESENTATIONS: 

We will be hosting short-format podium presentations (data blitz) from grad students and postdocs (up to 8 possible 5-minute talks), and a poster session from grad students, postdocs, and undergrads. Students and postdoctoral fellows FROM ALL AREAS OF NEUROSCIENCE are enthusiastically encouraged to participate in the poster or data blitz presentations. Please sign up at: 

https://nam10.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fneuroscience.uconn.edu%2Fneuroscience-at-storrs-rsvp%2F&data=05%7C01%7C%7Cb19e263ac50f4cca8f1d08dab2cfbde1%7C17f1a87e2a254eaab9df9d439034b080%7C0%7C0%7C638018902554103725%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C%7C&sdata=j4Ucn2eD7ATqzQqAvmXY%2FxOWom9k1OzmJJhN177dFDk%3D&reserved=0

INSTRUCTIONS: 

The website lists information about the event, and below that there are menus for entering information if you are either a) attending only b) presenting a poster, and c) presenting at the data blitz (limited numbers only). Please follow the link, scroll through the menu and enter the relevant information by Thursday November 3rd.

Oct 21/22: Workshop “Conditional Thought and Talk”

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Dear all:

We are pleased to announce our workshop

Conditional Thought and Talk: Semantic, Pragmatic, and Cross-linguistic Perspectives

held at the Heritage Room (Homer Babbidge Library, Room 4118) on Friday, October 21 and Saturday, October 22.

organized by Mitch Green (Philosophy) and Magdalena and Stefan Kaufmann (Linguistics) as part of theSuppositional Thought and Talk project. The project explores conditional sentences and related expressions from different perspectives at the intersection between Linguistics, Philosophy and Psychology: their form and meaning across languages, their logical properties, and the reasoning behind their use and interpretation. We have assembled a group of top international experts on these topics for what we expect will be two stimulating days of presentations and discussions. For details on the program, as well as more background on the project, please check the workshop webpage, and keep checking back for updates.

The workshop will be in-person and open to all (subject to seating availability). Do drop us a line if you plan to attend. Let us know if you have any questions.

We gratefully acknowledge support for this event from UConn College of Liberal Arts and Sciences; the UConn Humanities Institute; the UConn Cognitive Science Program; and the National Science Foundation.

Best regards,

Stefan, Magda, and Mitch

Reminder: IBACS Publication Awards Available

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A reminder that The Connecticut Institute for the Brain and Cognitive Sciences (IBACS) launched the new IBACS Publication Award this Fall for faculty, graduate students, and post-docs. This award will provide a lump-sum payment up to $1.5K to cover all publication costs, or, up to 50% of the costs with a $3K cap on IBACS contribution. 
 
We are aware that publication costs are sometimes very high and are only increasing. Our goal is to help get work published into journals that the PI would otherwise not be able to publish in. The Institute’s ability to offer these awards is not guaranteed and will be reviewed on an annual basis. Any costs over the award are the responsibility of the recipient. 
 

The application process is rolling and will close once funds are exhausted. Please visit our award page for more information, including eligibility requirements and the form to apply!