Summer Internship Opportunity - March 1st deadline!!  Contact Susie Hoffman hoffmans@union.edu for the application!

Summer Clinical Research Internship in  Developmental & Behavioral Pediatrics

Description: An 8-10-week program in clinical research related to developmental and behavioral disorders in children and adolescents is offered by Cohen Children’s Medical Center of New York (formerly Schneider Children’s Hospital) – part of the North Shore-Long Island Jewish Health System. 

The Summer Research Internship offers 2-3 accomplished students the opportunity to work closely with a faculty mentor on one or more research projects related to normal or abnormal child development. Students will assist the faculty member in an ongoing research project and/or work collaboratively with the mentor in designing a new project of mutual interest.  Although the internship is primarily focused on clinical research, there is also an opportunity to co-author a review article for immediate publication in a peer-reviewed pediatric journal. (See details below.)

While participating in the program, students will be expected to attend some introductory clinical lectures about child development and developmental disorders.  Students will also be encouraged to attend other lectures of interest available through the Department of Pediatrics at the Children’s Hospital.

The internship is open to students who have completed at least one year of study from any U.S. college or university.  The ideal candidate is a student with a strong academic record, an interest in child psychology, child neurology, child psychiatry, or developmental pediatrics, and aspires to attend a doctoral program in medicine or psychology.

Research Abstracts/Publications: It is anticipated that students will be included as co-investigators on two or more research abstracts submitted to national research meetings.  Students who are able to successfully write a manuscript for journal submission of their research findings will be identified as the first or second author of any paper submitted for publication.

Review Article: There is an opportunity for a well-qualified student to be the first author on a review article for a peer-reviewed medical journal.  This review article will need to be completed by August 1^st since it is scheduled to be published in the December, 2012 issue of this pediatric journal. (A faculty member has already been invited to submit a review article on a topic related to developmental disorders; if interested, a student with strong academic credentials and writing skills may be given the opportunity to write the first draft of this article and be identified as first author of this review article.)

Summer Program Dates: Start and completion dates for the summer internship are somewhat flexible. Although priority will be given to applicants prepared to make at least a full-time 8 week commitment or longer, other time schedule arrangements will be considered.

Stipend:  Summer research interns will be paid a weekly stipend of $200 for a minimum of six weeks or maximum of ten weeks. Payment will be made upon completion of their internship.

For Further Information:  Please contact Dr. Andrew Adesman, the Director of the Summer Internship Program in the Division of Developmental & Behavioral Pediatrics, at: AAdesman@nshs.edu or you may call his assistant, Christine, at 516 802-6101.

To Apply: You must submit a completed application  and provide all requested support materials. Materials may be sent electronically using the subject line "Summer Research Internship 2012" to Dr. Andrew Adesman at: AAdesman@nshs.edu, or they may be mailed to: Ms. Christine Peck

Developmental & Behavioral Pediatrics, Cohen Children’s Medical Center of NY, 1983 Marcus Avenue, Suite 130, Lake Success, NY 11042

Prf. Cay Anderson Hanley receives national press attention for her newly published research on dementia.

Virtual reality-enhanced exercise, or “exergames,” combining physical exercise with computer-simulated environments and interactive videogame features, can yield a greater cognitive benefit for older adults than traditional exercise alone, according to a new study published by Professor Anderson-Hanley, collaborators, and Union alums (Nimon ‘07, Westen ‘09 and Merz ‘10) in the February issue of the American Journal of Preventive Medicine. Research shows that exercise may prevent or delay dementia and improve cognitive functioning in normal aging.  However, only 14% of adults aged 65-74 years old, and only 7% of those over 75 report regular exercise.  Exergames have the potential to increase exercise by shifting attention from aversive aspects toward motivating features such as competition and three-dimensional scenery. Cybercycle participants experienced 3D tours and raced against a “ghost rider,” an avatar based on their last best ride.  63 adults completed the study, averaging three rides per week for three months. The cybercycle riders had significantly better executive function than those who rode a traditional stationary bike, and cybercyclists experienced a 23% reduction in progression to MCI compared to traditional exercisers. The implication of our study is that older adults who choose exergaming with interactive physical and cognitive exercise over traditional exercise may garner added cognitive benefit, and perhaps prevent decline, all for the same exercise effort. The two-year study was funded by a Health Games Research grant from the Pioneer Portfolio of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation to explore how interactive digital gaming can improve the health behaviors and outcomes for people age 50 and older.

The article is “Exergaming and Older Adult Cognition: A Cluster Randomized Clinical Trial,” by C. Anderson-Hanley, P.J. Arciero, A.M. Brickman, J.P. Nimon, N. Okuma, S.C. Westen, M.E. Merz, B.D. Pence, J.A. Woods, A.F. Kramer, and E.A. Zimmerman (doi: 10.1016/j.amepre.2011.10.016). The article appears in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, Volume 42, Issue 2 (February 2012), published by Elsevier.

 http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/older-people-seem-to-benefit-by-combining-exercise-with-virtual-reality-activity/2012/01/19/gIQAwRGcLQ_story.html

http://healthland.time.com/2012/01/17/virtual-exercise-games-help-elderly-remain-mentally-sharp/

http://thechart.blogs.cnn.com/2012/01/16/study-exergames-boost-brain-function-among-seniors/?hpt=he_c2

 

Psychology Department Speaker Series 2011-2012 Schedule
All talks will be held at 12:45 unless otherwise noted; please check the campus calendar for location information or contact Susie Hoffman at hoffmans@union.edu for more information.