For a step-by-step guide on getting involved in CHS Undergraduate Research, click the link "How Students Get Involved" and read the instructions.
- Please scroll down to see which opportunities are compatible with your major, field of interest, or future career objectives, then contact Dr. Andreatta to request an interview for the project you are interested in pursuing.
- Opportunities below are open to all UK undergraduate majors, not just those in CHS!
- Research opportunities offered through the College of Health Sciences Undergraduate Research Program are only available for academic credit.
**NEW OPPORTUNITIES AVAILABLE as of 8-7-24**
Title of Opportunity: Exploring Peer Relationships and Academic Success in Student Learning Communities (OPEN)
Contact: Dr. Richard Andreatta (richard.andreatta@uky.edu)
Faculty Mentor Name: Leslie Woltenberg, PhD
Faculty Email: leslie.woltenberg@uky.edu
Department and Affiliation: Physician Assistant Studies
Position Type: Academic Credit
Position Availability: Fall 2024 and Spring 2025
Description: OPEN TO ALL MAJORS – This research project examines how students' roles within peer networks in a residential learning community influence their academic achievement and personal satisfaction during their 1st year of college. Using social network analysis, the study will explore the connections between individual student engagement, the development of friendships, and the overall impact on academic and social outcomes. Early findings reveal that while peer popularity and ties to staff were not strong predictors of GPA, the close-knit nature of the community fosters meaningful relationships, self-authorship, and collaborative learning among students.
Selected students will contribute to a literature review and assist in manuscript revisions for publication. This hands-on research experience offers the opportunity for co-authorship in a peer-reviewed journal and will develop skills in academic research, literature synthesis, and manuscript editing.
Prerequisites
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Must have at least a 3.0 cumulative GPA
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Open to students across disciplines (e.g., psychology, education, sociology, communication, public health, etc.)
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Have access to a computer/laptop and stable internet
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Be available for regular research check-in meetings (time TBD)
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Must be detail-oriented, organized, and able to work both independently and collaboratively
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Willing to take direction and contribute to a research team
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General experience with Microsoft Office applications (i.e., Word)
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No prior research experience is required
Posted: 9/12/24
Title of Opportunity: Identifying Key Journals and Conferences in Health Sciences (OPEN)
Contact: Dr. Richard Andreatta (richard.andreatta@uky.edu)
Faculty Mentor Name: Leslie Woltenberg, PhD
Faculty Email: leslie.woltenberg@uky.edu
Department and Affiliation: Physician Assistant Studies
Position Type: Academic Credit
Position Availability: Fall 2024 and Spring 2025
Description: OPEN TO ALL MAJORS – This research project involves identifying academic journals and professional conferences that are relevant to the health sciences. The selected student will conduct a literature search to identify publications and events that align with the research interests and expertise of faculty within the College of Health Sciences. The student will work collaboratively with our research team, including a medical center librarian, to compile these findings into a resource library to distribute to CHS personnel. The role requires 2-4 hours of work per week and provides an excellent opportunity to gain research and organizational skills while contributing to an impactful project.
Selected student(s) will gain experience in academic research, journal and conference identification, and collaboration with research and library professionals.
Prerequisites
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Must have at least a 3.0 cumulative GPA
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Open to students across disciplines (e.g., psychology, education, sociology, communication, public health, etc.)
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Have access to a computer/laptop and stable internet
-
Be available for regular research check-in meetings (time TBD)
-
Must be detail-oriented, organized, and able to work both independently and collaboratively
-
Willing to take direction and contribute to a research team
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General experience with Microsoft Office applications (i.e., Word)
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No prior research experience is required
Posted: 9/12/24
Title of Opportunity: Muscle and functional recovery after critical illness (OPEN)
Contact: Dr. Richard Andreatta (richard.andreatta@uky.edu)
Faculty Mentor Name: Dr. Kirby Mayer
Faculty Email: kpmaye2@uky.edu
Graduate Student Mentor Name: Felipe Gonzalez
Department and Affiliation: Physical Therapy
Position Type: Academic Credit
Position Availability: Fall 2024
Description: We are in search of 1-2 undergraduate students to help with our research and join our established research team. Our research focuses on understanding the recovery and care trajectory following hospital discharge. We are actively enrolling survivors of critical illness, including Spanish-speakers, and conducting assessments at hospital discharge, as well as at 3, 6, and 12 months after. As part of our work, we measure muscle strength, record muscle ultrasound, assess muscle power, conduct physical function tests, and administer questionnaires to evaluate sleep quality, frailty, fatigue, quality of life, physical activity level, optimism/resilience, and disability state. In select cases, we also perform muscle biopsies and analyze blood samples.
Our REBOUND lab has multiple ongoing research projects that students will have the opportunity to be involved with. We are seeking undergraduate students to assist with data collection, contacting subjects, organizing and extracting data, and receiving brief training for REDcap (Research Electronic Data Capture) and EPIC (local electronic medical record system). In addition, we need help with storing and organizing muscle ultrasound images of critical illness survivors.
Participating students will gain insight and contribute to the clinical research process, including interacting with patients, analyzing data, and helping create manuscripts. Each student's time commitment will be at least 3-5 hours per week.
Prerequisites
• Minimum GPA 3.25
• Sophomore or Junior preferred
• Prefer that students engage in our lab for at least 2 semesters
• Reliable, responsible, and responsive to emails
• Organized and motivated with an excellent work ethic
• Familiarity with basic Microsoft Excel (needed for entering data)
• Prefer students with a health sciences or health profession background
Posted: 9-10-24
Title of Opportunity: Biomechanical and neurocognitive assessments for patients with chronic ankle instability (OPEN)
Contact: Dr. Richard Andreatta (richard.andreatta@uky.edu)
Faculty Mentor: Matthew Hoch, PhD, ATC; Amelia Leicht, PhD
Department: Athletic Training and Clinical Nutrition
Position Type: Academic credit
Position Availability: Fall 2024 and Spring 2025
Description: The UK Sports Medicine Research Institute (SMRI) has a mission to conduct interdisciplinary research to optimize the prevention, treatment, and rehabilitation of injuries and performance. Our research focuses on (1) identifying deficits in physical, cognitive, and emotional features that predispose individuals to injury, (2) improving strategies to prevent and treat musculoskeletal injuries and optimize performance, and (3) implementing interventions to enhance long-term health and wellness.
As an undergraduate research student, you would help assist during data collection sessions (e.g., help set up/break down of equipment and lab space, utilize motion capture systems, instruct patients during testing, etc.), aid in managing data after collection (e.g., data entry, exporting, and processing), and help our recruiting efforts. You will also gain skills in research dissemination through interpreting and presenting our findings through lab meetings and conferences.
Prerequisites:
- Motivated individual with an interest in musculoskeletal injury assessment
- Hardworking, detail-oriented, organized, and reliable
- Friendly and able to work as part of an interactive team
- Minimum GPA of 3.0
- Preference given to students who can commit to 2-3 credits per semester over several semesters
Posted: 8/27/24
Title of Opportunity: Telehealth Education: Have We Moved the Needle? (OPEN)
Contact: Dr. Richard Andreatta (richard.andreatta@uky.edu)
Faculty Mentor: Joneen Lowman, PhD, CCC-SLP, ASHA-F
Department: Communication Sciences and Disorders
Position Type: Academic credit
Position Availability: Fall 2024 and Spring 2025
Description: OPEN TO ALL MAJORS - The Center for Telehealth Education, Research, and Outreach (CTERO) seeks to improve patients’ access to healthcare across the lifespan and settings through telehealth. CTERO believes that e-health is only as strong as the quality of the providers, the evidence supporting the telehealth services, and the relationship with the patient and community. Clients and speech-language pathologists cite the need for training in telehealth. The COVID-19 pandemic exposed the lack of formal telehealth education at the university level.
The current project seeks to determine the current state of telehealth education in departments of Communication Sciences and Disorders across the U.S. Selected students will contribute to the development, deployment, and analyses of the survey. It is anticipated that the survey will be developed in the fall of 2024 and distributed in the spring of 2025. No prior experience in research is required.
Prerequisites:
- Must have at least 3.2 cumulative GPA
- Open to students across disciplines (e.g., healthcare, learning design, technology, engineering, communication, public health, education, etc.)
- Have access to a computer/laptop and stable Internet
- Be available Wednesdays from 2 – 4 pm for lab meetings in fall 2024. Spring 2025 lab meeting time may change.
- Must be responsive to emails
- Thrive on details, thinking outside the box, and embraces revision, revision, revision
- Willing to take specific direction and work as part of a research team
- Highly responsible and keenly aware of patient privacy issues
- Experience with Microsoft Office applications such as Word
- Very detail-oriented, organized, reliable, and careful
Posted: 8-14-24
Title of Opportunity: Research at the Center for Telehealth Education, Research, and Outreach (OPEN)
Contact: Dr. Richard Andreatta (richard.andreatta@uky.edu)
Faculty Mentor: Joneen Lowman, PhD, CCC-SLP, ASHA-F
Department: Communication Sciences and Disorders
Position Type: Academic credit
Position Availability: Fall 2024 and Spring 2025
Description: OPEN TO ALL MAJORS - The Center for Telehealth Education, Research, and Outreach (CTERO) seeks to improve patients’ access to healthcare across the lifespan and settings through telehealth. CTERO believes that e-health is only as strong as the quality of the providers, the evidence supporting the telehealth services, and the relationship with the patient and community.
CTERO seeks to add energetic, forward-thinking, and creative student researchers to our team. Selected students will be assigned to projects that match their interests and skill sets. Examples of potential projects include but are not limited to:
- Use of ChatGPT and AI in education and clinical practice
- How is telehealth increasing access to therapy services
- Assessing students' skills in using videoconferencing platforms and troubleshooting technology problems that arise
- How disabilities are being accommodated in telehealth sessions by different provider groups
- Conducting oral mechanism exams via telehealth
Selected students must be team-oriented, open to learning, think creatively, and be self-motivated. Students will have the opportunity to increase their general knowledge of telehealth and gain experience with various research methodologies including the use of various technologies. Selected students may assist with
• Participant recruitment
• Development of online training
• Organizing and managing data
• Transcribing and analyzing interviews and videos
• Conducting literature searches
• Managing outreach activities
No prior experience is required; however, general comfort in using and learning about technology is preferred. Training will be provided.
Prerequisites:
- Must have at least 3.2 cumulative GPA
- Open to students across disciplines (e.g., healthcare, learning design, technology, engineering, communication, public health, etc.)
- Have access to a computer/laptop and stable Internet
- Be available Wednesdays from 2 – 4 pm for lab meetings
- Must be responsive to emails
- Thrive on the details and enjoy finding patterns
- Willing to take specific direction and work as part of a research team
- Highly responsible and keenly aware of patient privacy issues
- Experience with Microsoft Office applications such as Word
- Very detail-oriented, organized, reliable, and careful
Posted: 8/14/24
Title of Opportunity: Innovative Technologies for Advancing Speech-Language Services and Education (OPEN)
Contact: Dr. Richard Andreatta (richard.andreatta@uky.edu)
Faculty Mentor: Joneen Lowman, PhD, CCC-SLP, ASHA-F
Department: Communication Sciences and Disorders
Position Type: Academic credit
Position Availability: Fall 2024 and Spring 2025
Description: OPEN TO ALL MAJORS - The Center for Telehealth Education, Research, and Outreach (CTERO) seeks to improve patients’ access to healthcare across the lifespan and in various clinical settings through telehealth. CTERO believes that e-health is only as strong as the quality of the providers, the evidence supporting the telehealth services, and the relationship with the patient and community. This current project seeks to investigate innovative uses for two pieces of technology related to virtual engagement.
- Holographic communication amps up the videoconferencing experience by turning 2-dimensional video meetings into a 3-dimensional immersive experience.
- To see an example: https://youtu.be/_TnNSkRUPLw?si=8lkf-9nZfPuv0Yid
- ClassVR provides a safe and secure way for users to explore virtual and augmentative realities in the classroom.
- To see an example: https://www.classvr.com/us/
Selected students will be on the ground floor setting up and writing protocols for using the equipment, identifying possible clinical and educational uses, and providing demonstrations of the technologies’ uses. Selected students must be team-oriented, open to learning, think creatively, and be self-motivated. No prior experience is required; however, being a self-starter/manager and general comfort in thinking creatively while challenging yourself is required.
Prerequisites:
- Must have at least 3.2 cumulative GPA
- Open to students across disciplines (e.g., healthcare, learning design, technology, communication, engineering, public health, education, etc.)
- Have access to a computer/laptop and stable Internet
- Be available Wednesdays from 2 – 4 pm for lab meetings; have additional time to work with the technologies in the lab
- Must be responsive to emails
- Thrive on details, thinking outside the box, and embraces revision, revision, revision
- Willing to take specific direction and work as part of a research team
- Highly responsible and keenly aware of patient privacy issues
- Experience with Microsoft Office applications such as Word
- Very detail-oriented, organized, reliable, and careful
Posted: 8/13/24
Title of Opportunity: Promoting the Health of the Equestrian Athlete Initiative (OPEN)
Contact: Dr. Richard Andreatta (richard.andreatta@uky.edu)
Faculty Mentor: Kimberly Tumlin, PhD
Department: Athletic Training and Clinical Nutrition
Position Type: Academic credit
Position Availability: Fall 2024 and Spring 2025
Description: The Equestrian Athlete Initiative in the UK Sports Medicine Research Institute (SMRI) has a mission to optimize health and wellness, and performance of equestrian athletes across their lifespan through research and community engagement. Our research focuses on (1) establishing performance profiles for various disciplines in equestrian sports, (2) enhancing quality of life and longevity in equestrian participation through evidence-based approaches, and (3) supporting the equestrian community through education and outreach. As an undergraduate research student, you would help conduct surveys, performance testing, and interviews in both field and lab-based venues. You will also gain skills in creating and presenting information from research to various communities. For any field experiences, you must have your own means of transportation to the off-campus location.
Prerequisites:
- Motivated individual with an interest in equestrian sport and learning more about equestrians
- Hardworking, detail-oriented, organized, and reliable
- Friendly and able to work as part of an interactive team
- Minimum GPA of 3.0
- Availability for weekly journal club during Fall semester on Tuesday's 2:00-3:15 pm
- Preference given to students who can commit to 2-3 credits per semester over several semesters
Posted: 8/5/24
Title of Opportunity: DASH-ing to Heart Health: Research in Health Equity (OPEN)
Contact: Dr. Richard Andreatta (richard.andreatta@uky.edu)
Faculty Mentor: Brandi White, PhD, MPH
Departments: Health and Clinical Sciences (HHS, MLS, CLM)
Position Type: Academic credit only
Position Availability: Fall 2024 & Spring 2025, Fall 2025 & Spring 2026, and Fall 2026
Description: Although the DASH diet (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension) has been shown to significantly reduce the risk of hypertension and other cardiovascular disease risk factors, there is a lack of available health information on how to follow a feasible DASH diet for low-income Black American women who may be at the most at risk for hypertension because of poor social determinants of health. The goal of this community-engaged research project is to create a cookbook that increases awareness/knowledge of hypertension and improves the ease of following a DASH diet by providing culturally relevant and low-cost DASH recipes that low-income Black women can use when making heart-healthy food choices.
The project’s aims are to: (1) evaluate how currently available DASH recipes perform in terms of cultural relevance and economic feasibility; (2) describe what factors influence adherence to the DASH diet through qualitative interviews; and (3) determine how effective a culturally tailored cookbook is at increasing DASH knowledge and the likelihood of using DASH recipes. Students who work with our research team will gain experience collaborating with local stakeholders and community members, qualitative and quantitative data collection, qualitative and quantitative analysis, and disseminating research findings.
Prerequisites:
- Minimum 3.0 GPA
- Interest in health equity research and/or community engagement
- Students must feel comfortable and willing to work as part of an interactive team
- Students must have strong organizational and communication skills, and be responsive to email
- General knowledge and basic experience in Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint are needed.
- Prefer given to students who can commit to 2-3 credits per semester over several semesters
- Friendly and able to work as part of an interactive and collaborative team.
Posted: 7-24-24
Title of Opportunity: Assessing skeletal muscle dysfunction after severe burn trauma (OPEN)
Contact: Dr. Richard Andreatta (richard.andreatta@uky.edu)
Faulty Mentor: Dr. Allison Owen
Department/College: Physical Therapy
Position Type: Academic Credit
Position Availability: Fall 2024 and Spring 2025
Description: Survivors of critical illness often experience loss of muscle mass (i.e., atrophy) and/or strength, which is not restored by current rehabilitation treatments. The changes to a patient’s muscles persist for years following hospital discharge and contribute to poor quality of life among survivors.
Our lab is interested in what goes wrong in skeletal muscle during and after critical illness so that we can identify new treatments aimed at improving muscle function and strength among survivors. Our lab specifically studies patients with burn injuries because these individuals develop a specific condition known as fibrosis, a situation that is known to impair muscle function. Fibrosis is an accumulation of non-contractile elements of muscle collectively referred to as the extracellular matrix (ECM). Our lab is interested in investigating how burn injury triggers cellular and molecular changes in the ECM that contribute to muscle fibrosis, weakness, and dysfunction.
Students accepted into our lab will learn to perform various immunohistochemical staining methods on muscle biopsies from burn-injured patients. They will also conduct analyses on animal tissues using various biochemical tests to assess muscle tissue changes after an experimental injury that may contribute to poor muscle health. Depending on the level of involvement, students will have the opportunity to co-author a peer-reviewed research article and participate as part of the lab team on poster presentations at scientific meetings.
Prerequisites:
- Minimum GPA of 3.5
- Preference given to students who can commit to multiple/consecutive semesters
- Detail-oriented, organized, reliable, and responsible
- Strong work ethic, a fast learner, and flexible
- Students must be receptive to direction and instruction
- Students must feel comfortable and willing to work as part of an interactive team
Posted: 7-19-24
Title of Opportunity: Patient-Centered Outcomes in the ICU Recovery Clinic (OPEN)
Contact: Dr. Richard Andreatta (richard.andreatta@uky.edu)
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Kirby Mayer
Department: Physical Therapy
Position Type: Academic credit
Position Availability: Fall 2024
Description: We are looking for 1-2 undergraduate students to assist with our research initiatives and become an integral part of our research team. The ICU Recovery Clinic at the University of Kentucky Clinic provides care to ICU survivors through an interdisciplinary approach. Students entering any health profession will encounter patients with complex needs and who are ICU and COVID-19 survivors. Our research will allow the undergraduate students to better understand recovery and trajectory of care after hospital discharge. Our lab, REBOUND, has many ongoing research projects that students will have the opportunity to be involved with. We are creating a large data base of all the patients we serve in the clinic for current and future research initiatives.
Participating students will have the opportunity to understand and help with the process of retrospective studies, data analysis, and manuscript creation. We are looking for undergraduate students to assist with data organization and extraction through our electronic medical record system called EPIC. The time requirement for each student will be 3-5 hours per week minimum.
Prerequisites:
- Minimum GPA 3.25
- Sophomore or Junior preferred
- Prefer that students engage in our lab for at least 2 semesters
- Reliable, responsible, and responsive to emails
- Organized and motivated with an excellent work ethic
- Familiarity with basic Microsoft Excel (needed for entering data)
- Prefer students with a health sciences or health profession background
- Current electronic medical record access is a bonus but is NOT required for participation
Posted: 8/7/24
Title of Opportunity: Recovery of skeletal muscle following ACL injury (OPEN)
Contact person: Dr. Richard Andreatta (richard.andreatta@uky.edu)
Faulty Mentor: Dr. Christopher Fry
Department: Athletic Training and Clinical Nutrition
Position Type: Academic credit
Position Availability: Fall 2024
Description: Our lab is interested in promoting skeletal muscle health and strength. Anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injuries result in significant weakness that is not restored with traditional rehabilitation strategies. This weakness prevents a return to sports/activity, increases re-injury rates, and promotes overall poor health outcomes. We have recently shown that ACL injury up-regulates myostatin signaling in quadriceps muscle, which promotes muscle fiber atrophy along with dysregulated activity of other cells residing within muscle (muscle stem cells) to reduce muscle quality through fibrosis. These changes likely promote weakness after ACL injury, and our lab is interested in preventing these molecular changes to improve functional recovery after injury. We have collected clinical muscle samples from patients with ACL tears, and the student will have the opportunity to perform immunohistochemical laboratory techniques on muscle fibers from these human samples to assess molecular and cellular changes to skeletal muscle and how different types of physical therapy may impact muscle health after the injury. We have also developed a mouse model to simulate the clinical condition in which we will probe the mechanistic role of myostatin on muscle adaptations after ACL transection. We will be utilizing multiple transgenic mouse models along with a pharmacological inhibitor or myostatin, and the student will have the opportunity to be involved in immunohistochemical, biochemical, and/or in vivo functional strength experiments using mouse skeletal muscle. Additionally, the student will have the valuable opportunity to be a co-author on a peer reviewed research article.
Prerequisites:
- Minimum GPA of 3.5
- Enthusiastic about science and learning
- Preference given to students who can commit to multiple/consecutive semesters
- Detail-oriented, organized, reliable/responsible
Posted: 8-7-24
Title of Opportunity: Voice and Speech Rehabilitation Research Lab [VSRR] Projects (OPEN)
Contact: Dr. Richard Andreatta (richard.andreatta@uky.edu)
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Keiko Ishikawa
Department: Communication Sciences & Disorders
Position Type: Academic credit
Position Availability: Fall 2024
Description: The Voice and Speech Rehabilitation Research Lab (VSRR) is in search of highly motivated undergraduate students who wish to participate and be a part of an exciting new opportunity in voice and voice therapy. The VSRR lab is looking for research assistants who are CSD students and who have a strong interest in voice production. Strong preference will be given to students who are rising Juniors.
The VSRR Lab will study how real-world environments can affect a person’s ability to maintain learned voice and speech therapy techniques to ensure positive treatment outcomes. Since this is a new lab, the first group of students selected to participate will be specifically helping Dr. Ishikawa develop her new lab at UK, so flexibility and an interest in helping to set up the new lab are required. In general, students are needed to help in the following VSRR lab activities:
Participant recruitment
- Assist with in-person and online data collection
- Running acoustic analyses on sound recordings
- Editing sound and video files
- Data organization using spreadsheets
- Assist with protocol development and manuscript preparation
Selected students will have the opportunity to participate in the development of conference presentations and journal publications. No prior experience is needed to participate in this research opportunity. Training will be provided for you.
Prerequisites:
- Minimum 3.2 GPA
- Students must be CSD or Pre-CSD majors with strong interest in voice production, voice treatment, and/or the physiology of speech.
- Students who have done well in basic science courses, speech A&P, and speech science are especially encouraged to participate.
- General knowledge and experience in Microsoft Word, Excel, and Powerpoint are expected and necessary.
- Students must have strong organizational and communication skills, and strong problem solving skills too.
- Students must be willing to learn new things and be receptive to direction and instruction
- Students must be willing and feel comfortable working as part of an interactive team in the lab
Posted: 3/26/24
Title of Opportunity: Understanding the Pathogenesis of Periodontal Disease (OPEN)
Contact: Dr. Richard Andreatta (richard.andreatta@uky.edu)
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Octavio Gonzalez
Department/College: College of Dentistry
Position Type: Academic credit ONLY
Position Availability: Fall 2024
Description: Our group is interested in identifying the mechanisms involved in the pathogenesis of periodontal disease, particularly associated with: (1) the role of host-bacteria interactions and (2) the effects of aging on the gingival innate immune responses. These studies seek to identify new molecular pathways that will provide the foundation to prevent and treat periodontal disease, which is still affecting 50% of the US adult population. For this, we use in vitro (cell cultures) and animal models combined with several molecular techniques. Previous undergraduate students have had very productive experiences in our group with the opportunity to present the main findings at local scientific meetings as well as co-authoring publications in top dental and immunological journals.
Prerequisites:
- GPA 3.5 or better
- Availability for lab work at least 6 - 8h/week for at least 1-2 years
- Complete UK web safety training (4 courses) for working in the lab
- Preference will be given to students with excellent academic performance, interested in pursuing dental education and involved in the research certificate program from the UK College of Health Sciences
Posted: 7-15-24
Title of Opportunity: UK Rehab MakerSpace: Joint rehab project between "All About Communication” (AAC) - Research Lab and The Kentucky Appalachian Rural Rehabilitation Network (KARRN) (Currently ON HOLD)
Contact: Dr. Richard Andreatta (richard.andreatta@uky.edu)
Faculty Mentors: Drs. Mary Jo Cooley Hidecker, Janine Schmedding-Bartley, Judith L. Page from CSD and Dr. Patrick Kitzman from PT.
Departments: Communication Sciences & Disorders and Physical Therapy
Position Type: Academic credit for Fall
Position Availability: Summer 2024 (some volunteer opportunities) and Fall 2024 (for credit only)
Description: The All About Communication Research Lab (AAC) (https://www.uky.edu/chs/aac-lab) and the Kentucky Appalachian Rural Rehabilitation Network (KARRN) (https://www.uky.edu/chs/karrn) have created a “makerspace” to experiment and create useful rehabilitation/habilitation aids for individuals with a variety of different disorders that affect their quality of life. By sharing ideas, tools, and knowledge, we can improve their participation in life and foster better and greater interaction with their surroundings. Our "makerspace" is an inclusive place to create, build, collaborate, explore, and learn together.
We are looking for students who like to physically create things with their hands and are willing and not afraid to dive in and learn some technical skills including basic electronics, programming, using craft tools, 3-D printing, and learning how real-world signals are converted for use by digital equipment (computers, iPhones, iPads), to name a few. No prior experience is needed to participate in this research opportunity. Training by one of the faculty will be provided for you...or we'll work to together to figure out how to do something!
All participating students must be available on Wednesdays between 3 and 4 pm for in-person and/or on-line Zoom meetings among lab participants. Current makerspace tools and technology include:
- 3D printer (QIDI X-MAX)
- Soldering station
- Laminating station
- Electronics
- Computer/software
- Crafts/hardware supplies
- Sewing supplies
- Tools
Our UK Rehab Makerspace is in search of student research aides to participate in several ongoing as well as developing new projects including:
- 3D printing of augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) and assistive technology (AT) tools,
- rehabbing donated AT and durable medical equipment (DME),
- adapting toys and books for inclusive play,
- creating AT switches,
- evaluating our makerspace impact, and
- developing your new ideas to help someone do something they couldn't do before.
Prerequisites:
- Minimum GPA of 3.0
- Availability Wednesdays 3 to 4 pm in-person or via Zoom.
- Any major is welcome including CSD, HHS, PT, OT, AT, rehab and biomedical engineering, and those with similar interests
- Student must be detail-oriented, very organized, reliable, and responsive to email.
- Student must be willing to take direction and instruction and not afraid of making mistakes.
- Friendly and able to work as part of an interactive team and collaborative team.
Posted: 2-23-24
Title of Opportunity: "All About Communication” - Research Lab Projects (Currently ON HOLD)
Contact: Dr. Richard Andreatta (richard.andreatta@uky.edu)
Faculty Mentor: Drs. Mary Jo Cooley Hidecker, Janine Schmedding-Bartley, & Judith L. Page
Department: Communication Sciences and Disorders
Position Type: Academic credit
Position Availability: Summar 2024 (some volunteer opportunities) and Fall 2024 (for credit only)
Description: The All About Communication Research Lab (AAC) is comprised of 3 faculty members in the Dept of Communication Sciences & Disorders (Drs. Cooley-Hidecker, Schmedding-Bartley, & Page) who together investigate communication assessments and various treatments for children and adults with complex communication needs.
The AAC Research Lab faculty are in search of several student research aides to assist with the overall work of the lab in several ongoing projects. The undergraduate positions offered by the AAC Lab will provide an opportunity for students to become actively involved in one or more ongoing projects with different combinations of faculty and doctoral students. All students will have an opportunity to assist with a variety of tasks including: application preparation for human subjects approval, transcription of client data, data entry, data cleaning, data coding, data management and library research, research poster preparation and presentation, and lastly material preparation for use in assessments and interventions.
No prior experience is needed to participate in this research opportunity. Training will be provided for you. All participating students must be available on Wednesdays between 2 and 4 pm for on-line Zoom meetings among lab participants.
Prerequisites:
- Minimum GPA of 3.0
- Availability Wednesdays 2 to 4 pm
- Any major is welcome, but CSD students are preferred
- Opportunity is open to 2nd semester Freshman through Seniors
- Student must be detail-oriented, very organized, reliable, and responsive to email
- Friendly and able to work as part of an interactive team
Posted: 2-23-24
Research Opportunities listed as FULL
Title of Opportunity: Mobile Health System to Support Cancer Navigation and Rehab (FULL)
Contact: Dr. Richard Andreatta (richard.andreatta@uky.edu)
Faculty Mentor: Ming-Yuan Chih, PhD
Department: Health and Clinical Sciences
Associated Center: Markey Cancer Center
Position Type: Academic credit
Position Availability: TBA
Description: Dr. Ming-Yuan Chih’s mHealth research lab is working to develop and evaluate several mobile technology-based interventions to enhance patient health and improve care. Students who are interested in joining his mHealth research lab will have the opportunity to work on a project designed to improve cancer care navigation and rehab services via mobile technologies (e.g., smartphones or wearables) for underserved patient populations, including those from the Appalachian region of Kentucky. The primary responsibility of the student researcher is to assist Dr. Chih and his team in preparing and executing research activities. Students will assist with patient education, technical support, data collection, and analysis. Students will have exposure to mHealth research and acquire skills in patient communication, research methods, and data management. The student researcher will work with Dr. Chih to define the scope of work and the learning objectives for the research experience.
Prerequisites:
- Minimum GPA of 3.0 or above
- Have interest in mobile technology, rural health, and/or cancer service research
- Prefer students from Appalachian Kentucky, or with prior experience with the Appalachian region and/or rural healthcare
- Strong work ethic, a fast learner, and flexible
- Detail-oriented, organized, and reliable
- Friendly and able to work as part of an interactive team
Posted: TBA***
Title of Opportunity: University of Kentucky Aphasia Lab Research Projects (FULL)
Contact: Dr. Richard Andreatta (richard.andreatta@uky.edu)
Faculty Mentor: Christen Page, PhD, CCC-SLP
Department: Communication Sciences & Disorders
Position Type: Academic credit
Position Availability: TBA
Description: The purpose of this study is to identify the effect of functional strategies and support services on life participation (how individuals participate in previously enjoyed activities). Using the life participation approach to aphasia (LPAA Project Group, 2001), the University of Kentucky Aphasia Lab aims to provide long-term functional support services for individuals with chronic aphasia and their caregivers (participants). The support services within the Aphasia Lab will provide mechanisms to increase communication opportunities and confidence for individuals with aphasia (communication deficits following a stroke) and awareness of communication competence by their caregivers/co-survivors. With these services, participants will re-engage as active members of a communicating society. Support services will include:
Strategies to facilitate participation in vocational, social, or educational activities;
- Caregiver/co-survivor education to reduce burdens and reveal communication competence for individuals with aphasia;
- Group interaction to increase confidence and communication opportunities for individuals with aphasia.
Students who are chosen to participate in this undergraduate research experience will learn research skills through the following tasks:
- Critically appraise research articles.
- Assist with manuscript preparation/revisions.
- Manage data collected from assessments given to persons with aphasia and caregivers.
Dr. Page has multiple years of experience mentoring undergraduate students as they complete research projects. She provides clear instructions with examples/resources and is available and happy to answer any questions that may arise. While this project may require multiple semesters to complete, students could potentially present findings at a state or national conference.
Prerequisites:
- Familiarity with conducting literature searches is preferred but not required
- Dependable and punctual and responds to email in a timely manner
- Minimum 3.0 GPA
- General knowledge and basic experience in Microsoft Word, Excel, and Powerpoint are needed.
- Students must have strong organizational and communication skills.
- Students must be willing to learn new things and be receptive to direction and instruction
- Students must be willing and feel comfortable working as part of an interactive team in the lab
Posted: TBA***
Title of Opportunity: Increasing Clinical Rotation Supply through Churn Analysis (FULL)
Contact: Dr. Richard Andreatta (richard.andreatta@uky.edu)
Faculty Mentor: Shelley Irving, MSPAS, PA-C
Departments: Physician Assistant Studies
Position Type: Academic credit only
Position Availability: TBA
Description: Graduate programs in medically-related professions (e.g., physicians, nurses, and physician assistants) require clinical training in clinical settings (e.g., physician offices, hospitals, clinics). Given the growth of programs in medicine, nursing, physician assistants, etc., the demand for these clinical placements is growing substantially. At the same time, medical providers are expected to be more productive (see more patients). Thus providers may not have time to be clinical supervisors for students in training. These trends make finding clinical placements more difficult. We are applying a business data manipulation technique known as "churn analysis" to our past rotation schedule data to discover trends that can inform us as to how we can improve our ability to maximize obtaining clinical rotation sites.
Our goal is to better understand supervisor behavior to see which types of clinical sites are more likely to take more students more often, and conversely to see why sites drop out or take fewer students. This project is important because it will help with understanding where our program needs to invest its effort to increase opportunities for clinical placements, and conversely to avoid seeking placements at sites more likely to drop out.
Student researchers will be expected to perform the following activities:
- Taking extracted placement data and formatting it to be able to calculate churn statistics.
- Apply logic statements (in Microsoft Excel) to classify all placement changes.
- Summarize the types of placement changes.
- Calculate several types of churn statistics.
- Write up findings and observations.
- Review current literature.
While performing these activities, students will learn about basic research skills, data manipulation using Excel, learning how to use Excel logic and other formulas, computation and presentation of statistics, and lastly, develop experience in scientific writing. Students will have publication opportunities as part of this research work. Students will work with project staff in Lexington and they will meet with the faculty director of the project during her weekly office hours in Lexington.
Prerequisites:
- Minimum 3.0 GPA
- Must have Excel or Google Sheets experience with formula and charting use.
- Must have data manipulation experience.
- Interested in improving skills in analysis.
- Prefer students with experience in searching and summarizing research and business literature.
- Student must be detail-oriented, very organized, reliable, and responsive to email.
- Student must be willing to take direction and instruction and not afraid of making mistakes.
- Friendly and able to work as part of an interactive and collaborative team.
Posted: TBA***
Title of Opportunity: Discovering Mechanisms of Injury and Recovery in the Lower Extremity (FULL)
Contact: Dr. Richard Andreatta (richard.andreatta@uky.edu)
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Brian Noehren
Department: Physical Therapy
Position Type: Academic Credit
Position Availability: TBA
Description: Our lab is focused on understanding the underlying mechanisms of several common injuries that occur in the lower extremity. We use a variety of methods to answer our research questions, including:
- 3D motion capture,
- Advanced muscle strength assessment,
- Magnetic resonance imaging, and
- Clinical behavioral measurements and the
- Use and development of computer code to process and analyze the data we collect.
Students working in our lab serve in a variety of capacities, such as observing clinical evaluations, assisting in data collection, and processing data. The undergraduate students working in our lab gain an understanding of anatomy, common clinical assessment techniques, and joint mechanics. Students also have an opportunity to assist physical therapists in research treatment studies ongoing in the laboratory. Students that work in the laboratory for an extended period of time also have the opportunity to present research at national conferences. Leadership opportunities also exist for students who return for a second semester to help train and supervise newer students.
We are looking for 2 students to join our lab who have excellent attention to detail, a strong work ethic, are interested in a future career in the medical field, and enjoy working in a collaborative team environment.
Prerequisites:
- Prefer a current Freshman or Sophomore but will also consider a Junior for the position
- Must commit to a minimum of 8-10 hours per week (fall/spring) on the project, which is equivalent to 3 credits of coursework.
- Must be interested in working in a lab over multiple semesters
- Minimum 3.4 GPA
- Preference will be given to Pre-PT students and Pre-Med
Posted: TBA***
Title of Opportunity: mHealth Technology and Invisible Chronic Illness (FULL)
Contact: Dr. Richard Andreatta (richard.andreatta@uky.edu)
Faculty Mentor: Jami Warren, PhD
Department: Health and Clinical Sciences (HHS, MLS, CLM)
Position Type: Academic credit
Position Availability: TBA
Description: Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome (POTS) is an invisible chronic illness that affects between 500,000 and 3,000,000 people in the United States annually. Individuals with POTS often experience delays to diagnosis as well as misdiagnosis because symptoms often overlap with other conditions. Recently, POTS has gained press coverage because symptoms of POTS are being noted among patients who have had COVID-19. In our recent research with POTS patients, mobile and connected health technology (e.g., smartphones wearable sensors) were mentioned as a potential way to help patients decrease their time to diagnosis by providing them with a means to record objective data to give to their physicians. Mobile Health (mHealth)—the use of mobile information and communication technology in improving health--can provide key health information to physicians throughout a patient’s diagnostic journey.
In this phase of our study, we will be utilizing focus group feedback from our previous work to develop and test a mobile health app in a small clinical trial with diagnosis-seeking POTS patients. Our lab needs additional students to begin in January 2024. The student will help with study-related tasks such as communicating with participants, managing online surveys, compiling, and possibly helping to analyze data.
Students selected to participate in this research project will gain experience conducting focus group interviews, transcribing and analyzing qualitative data, working as part of a research team, and potentially gaining valuable publication and presentation experience as well.
Prerequisites:
- Prefer HHS students interested in patient-provider communication.
- Must have at least 3.5 cumulative GPA
- Possess a basic understanding of the research process
- Willing to take specific direction and work as part of a research team
- Highly responsible and keenly aware of patient privacy issues
- Experience with Microsoft Office applications such as Word and Excel.
- Very detail-oriented, organized, reliable, and careful
Posted: TBA***
Title of Opportunity: Sports Medicine and Rehabilitation Institute: Firefighter Health Research Initiative (FULL)
Contact: Dr. Richard Andreatta (richard.andreatta@uky.edu)
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Nick Heebner
Graduate Student Mentors:
Department: Athletic Training and Clinical Nutrition
Position Type: Academic credit
Position Availability: TBA
Description: This opportunity will be supporting injury and health research with the Lexington Fire Department. We work with firefighters to improve thier health and wellness throughout their career and conduct research studies to learn more about how we can improve their well-being and reduce the risk of injury and chronic pain. Most of the work will be assisting with data input, data collection, and data processing. The hours will be flexible but a minimum of 5 hours a week is requested. This opportunity is posted for the Spring semester but can be extended longer if the student and research team are interested. Our lab group is looking for at least 2 students to join our team.
Prerequisites:
- Successful student applications will have a strong interest in clinical research
- Experience with Microsoft Excel and Word
- Motivated and very detail oriented with a strong ability to work as part of a team
- Prefer student in the allied health professions
- Prefer student with interest in pursuing the undergraduate research certificate
Posted: TBA***
Title of Opportunity: Emerging Practices in Quality, Safety, and Patient Experience (FULL)
Contact: Dr. Richard Andreatta (richard.andreatta@uky.edu)
Faculty Mentor: Karen Clancy, PhD
Department: Health and Clinical Sciences
Position Type: Academic credit
Position Availability: TBA
Description:
Recent legislative changes have highlighted the need to understand how quality, safety, and patient experiences fit into the mainstream of healthcare management strategies. These factors, combined with the global pandemic response to COVID-19, are influencing the re-design of health delivery organizational frameworks and many healthcare practices. Our research group is seeking student assistance to help us further our research work in these areas.
We are seeking student help to prepare a comprehensive literature review on emerging trends and practices in health care related to quality, safety, and patient experience. Student help in preparation of this review will be invaluable for developing publications and grants that will help further extend the research work performed by our group. Selected students may also have additional opportunities helping support associated faculty and graduate student research as well. Selected students can expect to learn about the research process, the use of research databases, writing skills associated with creating annotated bibliographies, and learn how to produce a literature review. All of these skills are easily translatable to the student’s own academic and clinical work.
Prerequisites:
- Minimum GPA of 3.3
- Strong basic writing skills
- Experience with writing annotated bibliographies and literature reviews is preferred
- Experience with Word and Excel, or similar types of software.
- Very detail-oriented, organized, reliable, and careful
Posted: TBA***
Title of Opportunity: Study of the link between oral/dental diseases and systemic diseases. (FULL)
Contact: Dr. Richard Andreatta (richard.andreatta@uky.edu)
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Oelisoa Mireille Andriankaja
College/Department: College of Dentistry
Position Type: Academic credit only
Position Availability: TBA
Description: This research project is entitled "Lipid lowering agents use in periodontitis and diabetes Study (LLIPDS)". This project was originally conducted at the University of Puerto Rico from 2017 to 2020. The study assesses mechanisms that may explain the link between diabetes and gum disease (or periodontal disease) by investigating the relationship between typical cholesterol lowering medications (e.g., statins) and inflammation. Cholesterol-lowering medication use may be associated with reduced occurrence of gum disease among diabetic patients. Findings from this study will be highly relevant for public health given the high prevalence of gum disease among diabetic patients, and would be informative for developing new strategies and treatments to prevent gum disease as well as to help develop new local delivery of the medication to treat the disease in the future.
Students who are selected to participate in this project will contribute to the study and will learn to conduct a literature review, present (poster or oral) his/her work, learn to write and publish a manuscript, and learn to write a new research project. These are important skills for students to develop for future academic and clinical work.
Prerequisites:
- Minimum 3.0 GPA
- Students must be responsible and committed to the project
- Students must be willing to learn new things and receptive to direction and instruction
- Students must be willing to work as part of a team
- Students must be available to work at least once a week
- Basic knowledge of health sciences, biology, statistics, and public health topics is preferred but not required
Posted: TBA***
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