What is a typical day like?
StressWAVES conducts lab sessions anytime between 8AM and 7PM dependent on the study design. Hence, we seek research assistants to cover Monday thru Friday sessions. Some studies require community sample/working adult volunteers and visits may be held on weekends based on participant and lab staff availability.
Undergraduate (UG) research assistants check the phone & voicemail, email, and standard wet lab assistance (e.g., washing glassware, cleaning equipment, prepping supplies). StressWAVES is a hands-on learning environment for UGs who desire to investigate their interest in research as a career path. Thus, they also assist with study items including conducting visits, screening, and data management. UGs are encouraged but not required to ask questions of lab datasets with the goal to present data either locally or nationally at a research conference.
What does graduate training look like?
StressWAVES is a research “home” on campus where graduate students have access to a wide variety of physiological tools as well as undergraduate research assistants to aid in data collection and management. We utilize Psychological Science’s Biobehavioral Core (BBC) Lab located in Colvard. Teamwork is critical to how the lab functions; research is never done in isolation and everyone works as a cohesive group that supports one another to reach their goals. In addition, you will be part of an interdisciplinary team as StressWAVES collaborates with faculty outside of Psychology in Kinesiology, Nursing, Counseling, Biology, and Public Health as well as physicians at Atrium Health.
Past and on-going research projects have been driven by Dr. Bennett, collaborations with other faculty, or graduate students as well as post-bac research assistants. You might have noticed that stress (i.e., psychological, pharmacological, or emotional) is an underlying theme for all projects; yet, the primary researcher’s imprint can be seen on each study.
Given research training on study designs and primary data collection containing physical health outcomes can be difficult and time consuming, graduate students are expected to dedicate a minimum of 10 hours/week to the greater mission of the lab’s on-going research projects. These 10 hours in the lab will probably be over and above any (teaching or research) assistantship hours and might involve primary data collection, data management, bioassays, or training and managing undergraduate research assistants.
In addition to the biopsychosocial theoretical lens from Health Psychology, StressWAVES graduate students will develop one or more biopsychological or physiological skill(s) such as collection and analysis of heart rate variability, saliva, and serum/plasma, and/or the wet lab skills to conduct immune function assays or enzyme-linked immunosorbant assays (EIAs/ELISAs) to quantify biomarkers from samples collected. Exposure to acute stress study designs (e.g. Trier Social Stress Test) that calls repeated assessment statistical analyses (e.g., mixed linear modeling) will enhance the rigorous statistical and methodological development received through the program. Furthermore, graduate students can expect to develop management skills as well as mentoring UGs through the research process.
End Goal: PhD in Health Psychology
As a trainee completes their dissertation, they will approach their health research questions and/or applied clinical practice with a strong biopsychological background; yet appreciate the influential role of interpersonal relationships and social/cultural phenomena. All trainees will leave with at least one physiological tool that can be used to understand the relationships among biology, psychology, and behavior. If interested, some may leave able to manage their own wet lab in the future. In addition to research development, trainees will have the opportunity to (1) cultivate their research mentoring of UGs, (2) enhance their management skills, (3) master the art of writing clearly and succinctly for manuscripts as well as grants, (4) present research at local, regional, national, and/or international conferences, and (5) exhibit their teaching skills as a teaching assistant and/or primary course instructor. In other words, a PhD earning graduate student in my lab will have the opportunity to develop/strengthen all the skills necessary to be a well-rounded scholar. Newly minted PhDs will most likely complete a post-doctoral fellowship or they might enter an academic or industry-related job.