Application of Technical Skills to Research in Neuroscience of Aging
The Seattle Longitudinal Study, a study of normal human aging that has been ongoing since 1956, is seeking undergraduate research assistants. Our current research uses structural and functional MRI to examine the relationship between changes in brain structure and function and cognition that occurs with normal aging in midlife and in old age. Opportunities exist for dedicated undergraduates to gain exposure to novel neuroimaging analysis techniques (e.g. cortical thickness analysis, resting state network analysis, and graph theoretical measures). A technical background and a desire to understand the neuroscience of aging are required. Desirable skills include programming (in some language, ideally C/C++/Java and or scripting languages such as Python or R), familiarity with UNIX tools, and some background in statistics (e.g., linear regression). Students would be working with us to develop neuroimaging pipelines to process structural and functional data and conducting neuroimaging analyses using these pipelines and software developed by others.We plan to involve at least two undergraduates in research in Summer, 2011, with anticipation of continuing involvement in academic year. We are most interested in students who can work with us for at least two years, so students who are in their first or second years are especially encouraged to contact us. Options are available for hourly wage or student credit, depending on the commitment of students and their fit/expertise with our project.
Interested students should contact by email to:
Dr. Sherry Willis (oldage@u.washington.edu) and
Dr. Tara Madhyastha (tara.madhyastha@gmail.com). Please provide a cv (resume) and a statement of relevant prior experience or coursework.
