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Donna Maney. NBB/Psychology.
Phone: office: 7-7470
Email: dmaney@emory.edu
Institution: Emory
Location: On Campus (Emory main campus)
Availability: Spring,Fall
Lab Positions: 2
Project Description: Study #1: We are interested in the neurogenomics of social behavior, and are currently working with a model in which variation in aggression and parenting behavior segregates with a structural rearrangement of chromosome 2. In collaboration with researchers in Human Genetics, we are in the process of mapping this rearrangement and identifying candidate genes we believe contribute toward aggression and parenting behavior. This project involves quantitative real-time PCR and in situ hybridization to quantify expression of candidate genes.
Additional Project Information: Study #2: We are interested behavioral neuroendocrinology, particularly how hormones mediate plasticity in the brain. One of the best ways to study brain plasticity is to look at seasonal animals, such as hamsters or songbirds, which change their behavior and brain morphology dramatically according to season and hormone levels. In the spring, when estrogen levels are high, females respond to male courtship cues by initiating courtship--but when estrogen levels are low in the fall, they don't. We are interested in how estrogen acts in the brain to cause such a big change in behavior. We are working with female songbirds that are treated with either estrogen or placebo and quantifying their behavioral and neuronal responses to auditory cues.
Student Requirements: If doing a wet lab project, completion of a chemistry lab is required (knowledge of pH, molarity, experience with balances and glasswashing). If doing image analysis only, then experience with programs such as Excel and Photoshop is helpful.
Accepts 1st year students? Y
Accepts 2nd year students? Y
Suggested Reading (References):
(1) Maney, D. L. (2008). Endocrine and genomic architecture of life history trade-offs in an avian model of social behavior. General and Comparative Endocrinology, 157, 275-282.
(2) Maney, D. L., Goode, C. T., Lake, J. I., Lange, H. L., and OBrien, S. (2007). Rapid neuroendocrine responses to auditory courtship signals. Endocrinology 148: 5614-5623.
(3) LeBlanc, M. M., Goode, C. T., MacDougall-Shackleton, E. A., and Maney, D. L. (2007). Estradiol modulates brainstem catecholaminergic cell groups and projections to the auditory forebrain in a female songbird. Brain Research 1171: 93-103.
(4) Maney, D. L., Cho, E., and Goode, C. T. (2006). Estrogen dependent selectivity of genomic responses to birdsong. European Journal of Neuroscience 23:1523-1529.
(5) Maney, D. L., Erwin, K. L., and Goode, C. T. (2005). Neuroendocrine correlates of behavioral polymorphism in white-throated sparrows. Hormones & Behavior 48:196-206.
Techniques used in this lab: Immunohistochemistry, in situ hybridization, autoradiography, real-time PCR, image analysis, behavioral quantification.
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Katherine Boss-Williams. Psychiatry.
Phone: 404 712-9771
Email: kwilli4@emory.edu
Institution: Emory
Location: Off-campus (but accessible via shuttle, e.g., Grady or VA Hospitals)
Availability: Spring,Summer,Fall
Lab Positions: 0
Project Description: A student will may perform but is not limited to, stereotaxic surgery, perfusion, immunohistochemistry, histology, drug administration and implantation of minipumps. Also, may conduct behavioral and/or pharmacological experiments using small rodents as subjects. These may include, but are not limited to, testing rats on the Morris Water Maze, the Elevated Plus Maze, monitoring ambulation via a computer-assisted program. The operation of electrical equipment, PCs experimental apparatus, animal handling, testing of subjects, recording of results, and graphing and analyzing data.
Student Requirements: Extremely well organized is a must
Accepts 1st year students? Y
Accepts 2nd year students? Y
Techniques used in this lab: stereotaxic surgery, perfusion, immunohistochemistry, histology, drug administration and implantation of minipumps, testing rats on the Morris Water Maze, the Elevated Plus Maze, monitoring ambulation via a computer-assisted program, animal handling, recording of results, graphing and analyzing data.
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Timothy Johnson. Urology.
Phone: 404-217-6419
Email: tvjohn2@emory.edu
Institution: Emory University SOM
Location: On Campus (Emory main campus)
Availability: Spring,Summer,Fall
Lab Positions: 4
Project Description: Literacy has become a prerequisite for patient care due to the increased utilization of written screening tools in response to decreased time devoted to personal interaction between patients and doctors. However, low literacy plagues about 90 million Americans. As many as 21% of Americans are estimated to be illiterate and another 27% have impaired literacy skills, an impediment that greatly affects patients health care. Patients with decreased literacy particularly experience difficulty with written screening tools, since the majority are written at the 10th reading level or higher while the average American reads at an 8th or 9th grade level.
Urology and other medical specialties utilize screening tools and symptom scores to identify at-risk patients, provide counseling about invasive treatments, and chart symptom progression for many diseases. In the treatment of Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia (BPH), the most commonly used screening tool is the International Prostate Symptom Score (IPSS). The IPSS, designed to be self-administered by patients, is so relied upon that the American Urological Association places the IPSS in its management algorithm for BPH behind only history and physical.
However, our initial research suggests that at most only one-third of patients properly understand the IPSS. This misunderstanding is driven by patients education level, reading level, and even depression state. Our most recent study suggests that depressed patients report significantly higher IPSS scores than non-depressed patients. However, it is unclear from this initial study whether depressed patients have truly more severe BPH symptoms, or misrepresent symptoms similar to nondepressed patients. Undergraduates will participate in a crucial follow-up study to discern these possibilities. Students will interview patients, administer the IPSS and depression surveys, test patients objective BPH symptoms, and follow patient management throughout the summer.
Additional Project Information: Literacy has become a prerequisite for patient care due to the increased utilization of written screening tools in response to decreased time devoted to personal interaction between patients and doctors. However, low literacy plagues about 90 million Americans. As many as 21% of Americans are estimated to be illiterate and another 27% have impaired literacy skills, an impediment that greatly affects patients health care. Patients with decreased literacy particularly experience difficulty with written screening tools, since the majority are written at the 10th reading level or higher while the average American reads at an 8th or 9th grade level.
Urology and other medical specialties utilize screening tools and symptom scores to identify at-risk patients, provide counseling about invasive treatments, and chart symptom progression for many diseases. In the treatment of Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia (BPH), the most commonly used screening tool is the International Prostate Symptom Score (IPSS). The IPSS, designed to be self-administered by patients, is so relied upon that the American Urological Association places the IPSS in its management algorithm for BPH behind only history and physical.
However, our initial research suggests that at most only one-third of patients properly understand the IPSS. This misunderstanding is driven by patients education level and reading level. We recently designed a novel electronic version of the IPSS. Preliminary data suggest that this computerized version eliminates patient misunderstanding of the IPSS, eliminating potential problems in patient care associated with patient education and reading level. Undergraduate students will help patients use the electronic-IPSS in a larger, broader student intended for publication in a major urological journal.
Student Requirements: None. Students of all levels are welcome.
Accepts 1st year students? Y
Accepts 2nd year students? Y
Suggested Reading (References):
(1) Johnson TV, Goodman M, Master VA (2007) The efficacy of written screening tools in inner-city hospitals: Literacy-based limitations on patient access to appropriate care. J Urol. 178: 623-9.
(2) Johnson TV, Abbasi AA, Ehrlich SS, Kleris SS, Chirumamilla SL, Schoenberg ED, Owen-Smith A, Goodman M, Master VA (2007) The impact of misunderstanding individual questions of the IPSS. J Urol. In press.
(3) Johnson TV, Abbasi AA, Ehrlich SS, Kleris SS, Chirumamilla SL, Schoenberg ED, Owen-Smith A, Raison CL, Master VA (2007) The impact of depression on the perception of voiding symptoms. Eur Urol. [submitted]
(4) Johnson TV, Abbasi AA, Ehrlich SS, Kleris SS, Chirumamilla SL, Schoenberg ED, Owen-Smith A, Raison CL, Master VA (2007) CAN WE COUNT ON WRITTEN SYMPTOM SCORES? THE IMPACT OF NUMERACY ON THE IPSS.J Urol. [submitted]
(5) Johnson TV, Abbasi AA, Ehrlich SS, Kleris SS, Chirumamilla SL, Schoenberg ED, Owen-Smith A, Raison CL, Master VA (2007) A novel electronic version of the International Prostate Symptom Score. J Urol. [submitted]
Techniques used in this lab: Students will learn the most important skill in medicine: the art of taking a history. Students will also gain confidence in patient interaction while learn common and important urological measurements of BPH. Finally, students will be allowed to scrub into surgery where they will observe surgical techniques.
Additional Comments: Our research aims to address problems of critical importance through simple solutions. While cloning a gene may be exciting, equally important is mitigating the impact of depression or literacy on patient care. This research also happens to be 'soft-fail' research, meaning that even unintended results tend to be publishable. Students will have the opportunity to learn not only clinical techniques, but also the art of publishing scientific data during their summer.
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Sherryl Goodman. Psychology.
Phone: 404 727 4134
Email: psysg@emory.edu
Institution: Emory
Location: On Campus (Emory main campus)
Availability: Summer
Lab Positions: 2
Project Description: The lab includes several studies related to risk for the development of psychopathology in children of depressed mothers, including studies of pregnant women at risk for perinatal depression, prevention of perinatal depression, infants of depressed mothers, vulnerabilities for the development of depression in children beyond infancy, etc.
Student Requirements: stats, Lab methods and child development or infancy courses are desirable. experience with infants and young children is needed.
Suggested Reading (References):
(1) Goodman, S.H. & Tully, E. (2008). Children of depressed mothers: Implications for the etiology, treatment, and prevention of depression in children and adolescents. In J.R.Z. Abela & B.L. Hankin (Eds.), Handbook of Child and Adolescent Depression. Guilford Press
(2) Goodman, S.H., Broth, M.R., Hall, C.M., & Stowe, Z.N. (2008). Treatment of postpartum depression in mothers: Secondary benefits to the infants. Infant Mental Health Journal: Special Issue on Perinatal Mood Disorders and Mother-Infant Relationships, Roseanne Clark, editor, 29 (5), 492-513.
(3) Goodman, S.H. & Brand, S. (in press). Maternal depression and infant mental health. In C. Zeanah (Ed.), Handbook of Infant Mental Health, Third Edition. Guilford.
(4) Goodman, S.H. & Brand, S.R. (2009). Early experiences and depression. In I.H. Gotlib and C.L. Hammen (Eds.), Handbook of Depression and Its Treatment, 2nd edition (pp. 249-274). Guilford.
(5) Goodman, S.H. & Tully, E. (in press). Recurrence of Depression during Pregnancy:
Psychosocial and Personal Functioning Correlates. Depression & Anxiety.
Techniques used in this lab: We collect data on psychopathology, psychosocial functioning, heart rate variability, EEG, cortisol (stress reactivity), and others. We use interviews, questionnaires, lab based methods, and experimental procedures.
Additional Comments: thanks for all you do
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Gretchen Neigh. Psychiatry & Behav Sci.
Phone: 404-727-9022
Email: gmccand@emory.edu
Institution: Emory
Location: On Campus (Emory main campus)
Availability: Spring,Summer,Fall
Lab Positions: 1
Project Description: Approximately 20% of the geriatric population manifests a neurobehavioral syndrome that is believed to be of vascular origin and consists of mild cognitive impairment, depression and anxiety. One possible cause for this syndrome is multiple minute strokes throughout the brain. Because of the inherent limitations of human research, my lab is using a rat model to determine if experimentally-induced multiple minute ischemic lesions produce behavioral changes similar to those documented in the geriatric human population. Data to date have demonstrated that induction of these lesions produces anxiety-like and depressive-like behaviors in young adult rats. The available project involves comparing behavioral outcomes between young adult and aged adult rats. In addition, the student would begin to analyze the differences in brain damage that occur from these lesions in a young versus an aged rat.
Student Requirements: The student should be familiar with working in a laboratory and have experience working with animals.
Accepts 1st year students? Y
Accepts 2nd year students? Y
Suggested Reading (References):
(1) Neigh, G.N., Kofler, J., Meyers, J.L., Traystman, R.J., Bergdall, V., La Perle, K., DeVries, A.C.
(2004) Cardiac arrest/cardiopulmonary resuscitation increases anxiety-like behavior and
decreases social interaction. Journal of Cerebral Blood Flow and Metabolism 24:372-382.
Neigh, G.N., Kofler, J., Meyers, J.L., Traystman, R.J., Bergdall, V., La Perle, K., DeVries, A.C.
(2004) Cardiac arrest/cardiopulmonary resuscitation increases anxiety-like behavior and
decreases social interaction. Journal of Cerebral Blood Flow and Metabolism 24:372-382.
(2) Neigh, G.N., Glasper, E., Kofler, J., Traystman, R.J., Mervis, R., Bachstatter, A.,
DeVries, A.C. (2004) Cardiac arrest/cardiopulmonary resuscitation selectively
alters formation of spatial memory and abates dendritic spines of CA1 pyramidal cells.
European Journal of Neuroscience 20:1865-1872.
(3) Neigh, G.N., Glasper, E.R., Zhang, N., Plotsky, P.M., Nemeroff, C.B., DeVries, A.C. (In prep)
Cardiac arrest and cardiopulmonary resuscitation increases CRF R1 receptor binding and alter
HPA axis responsivity.
Techniques used in this lab: behavioral testing - elevated plus maze, anhedonia, open field
histology - tissue preparation, cutting, staining
stereology - systematic assessment of tissue damage
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Sandra Dunbar. Nursing.
Phone: 404 727-6939
Email: sbdunba@emory.edu
Institution: Emory
Location: On Campus (Emory main campus)
Availability: Summer
Lab Positions: 2
Project Description: We have a number of current studies with cardiovascular patients and family members, and the student project would be determined based on their interest, experience and skills. One example would be to examine the difficulties patients with multiple comorbidities have managing complex self care regimens which include medication and diet behaviors. An example would be to interview patients who have heart failure and diabetes regarding the competing and conflicting aspects of implementing a low sodium and diabetic diet, or the complexity of the medications they are taking and issues encountered. There is a medication complexity instrument that would be used to guide the collection of data. Our heart failure patients also have family members participating in the study, and the student could look at the caregiver burden data and instrument.
Additional Project Information: Another ongoing project is with people who have metabolic syndrome and risk factors for heart disease (hypertension, obesity, elevated, cholesterol, and characterizing some of their health behaviors related to physical activity and nutrition. Depending on the experience of the student with data management and statistics, we have several databases from heart failure and implantable cardioverter defibrillator studies. An example of a project that could be done with these databases includes looking at problems related to sleep or pain or depression and related factors. For all projects, once IRB clearance is received, students could have clinical experiences with patients as well as work with data for an outcome of the poster or publication.
Student Requirements: Interest in human health and interacting with people who have chronic health problem; basic research or science coursework related to scientific methods;
Accepts 1st year students? Y
Accepts 2nd year students? Y
Suggested Reading (References):
(1) Smith G. Dunbar, SB, Valderrama A, Viswanathan, B (2006) Gender differences in symptoms and indicator of physical and psychosocial status at time of implantable cardioverter defibrillator insertion. Progress in Cardiovascular Nursing. 21(2):76-82, 2006
(2) Funk M, Wood K, Valderrama A, Dunbar, SB, Supraventricular Arrhythmias: Nursing Research to Improve Health Outcomes, JCVN in press
(3) Valderrama, A. Dunbar, SB, Mensah, GH Atrial Fibrillation: Public Health Burden and Policy Implications, American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 29(5, Supplement 1): 75-80.
(4) OBrien, MC, Langberg J. Valerrama, AL, Kirkendoll, K, Romeiko, N, Dunbar SB, (2005) ICD Storm: Nursing Care Issues for Patients and Families Critical Care Nursing Clinics of N America, 17:9-16
Techniques used in this lab: Data collection from human subjects using biobehavioral methods; obtaining informed consent; data entry and analysis; clinical research methods
Additional Comments: this is a dynamic set of studies with an excellent team of research nurses to learn from
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