CU Science Discovery is currently recruiting mentors for the newly developed High School Summer Research Fundamentals Course. This two-week program connects highly motivated high school students to STEM research opportunities at CU Boulder and the Anschutz Medical Campus, exposing them to the fundamentals of the scientific research process. 

Benefits to acting as a mentor include:

• Provides an opportunity for graduate students and other researchers to gain mentorship experience
• Allows faculty to address Broader Impacts requirements tied to grants
• Mentors will receive $500 in Academic Enrichment Funding 

The program will be conducted virtually July 12–23, 2021. 

Learn more and apply now.

We are seeking participation in the study “Impact of Pediatric to Adult Health Care Transition on Asthma Outcomes” (COMIRB Protocol #20-1172) through the University of Colorado and Children’s Hospital Colorado.

This study will help us learn more about health care transitions in patients with asthma. Pediatric to adult health care transition is the process of getting a teenage patient ready to see an adult doctor. We hope to learn more about how a person’s transition from seeing a pediatric to adult doctor may affect his/her current asthma management.

To qualify for this study you must:

• Be between the ages of 18-30
• Have been diagnosed with asthma by a doctor

If you are interested in participating, you will be asked to complete a 20-minute online survey.

Participation in this study is voluntary. Responses in the survey will remain anonymous and no identifying information will be collected.

If you have any additional questions prior to participating in this study, you can contact Dr. Suzanne Ngo at suzanne.ngo@childrenscolorado.org or 720-777-1369.

UROP (Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program) encourages CU Boulder undergraduates of all majors to connect with and engage the academic and creative life of the university—and welcomes your applications for student grants ($1,000 to $3,000). 

Apply by Friday, Feb. 12 for summer 2021 and/or academic year 2021–22 (fall and spring) funding. Get started today.

Black engineering students who are currently or were previously enrolled in engineering are invited to participate in a research study about Black engineering students’ experiences while studying engineering. This study aims to understand the practices, interactions and factors that influence Black engineering students’ decisions to persist/stay in their engineering major and the factors that influence their decisions to leave their engineering major. The study includes two 1-2 hour interviews designed to understand how students’ perceptions of interactions with peers, staff and faculty within the college of engineering influence Black students’ decisions to stay or switch out of engineering and two follow-up review sessions (one after each interview). The study seeks to account for students’ decisions to stay in their major or switch out of engineering, by understanding how their experience of different kinds of interactions shape their decisions. This study aims to learn about ways to improve the engineering environment to support the retention of Black engineering students. Research participants who switched to a major outside of engineering will be compensated with a $20 gift card. Thank you for considering my request for your participation. Please contact Tanya Ennis by emailing tanya.ennis@colorado.edu to participate.

We are seeking participants for a study of eye movements and brain activity during learning.

You are eligible to participate in this research study if you:

• Are a student
• Are at least 18 years of age
• Are fluent in English
• Have not previously taken part in a similar study with our lab (check if unsure)
• Are in good health
• Have no history of seizures
• Have normal or corrected-to-normal vision
• Are proficient with computers

What does my participation entail? The study requires one visit (2-3 hours) to the lab on East Campus (1777 Exposition Drive, Boulder, CO 80309), plus one 30-minute follow-up questionnaire to be completed online.

The first visit will involve having your eye movements, physiological responses (e.g. heart rate), video of your face/upper body, and brain activity non-invasively recorded while you complete a computer-based reading task and answer several questionnaires. It will take approximately 2-3 hours and you will be paid $20 per hour. About a week later, you will complete a 30-minute online survey; upon completion you will receive an additional $10.

We will take utmost care to ensure your safety for the duration of the visit, with stringent procedures approved by CU administration.

• We provide masks, handwashing stations and temperature checks on arrival.
• All occupants of the building are required to wear a mask at all times.
• All equipment is sterilized between uses with medical-grade disinfectant.
• You will be alone in the testing room for most of the study (a researcher will run the session from an adjacent room, instructing you via video conference).
• Only six people will be in the facility at a time (less than 50% occupancy).

Payment will be via an Amazon gift card. If you are interested in participating, please contact us at eyemindlink@gmail.com.
 

The Intermountain Neuorimaging Consortium (INC) is a brain imaging research facility in the Institute of Cognitive Science at CU Boulder. We use MRI scans to study how the brain works and how the brain changes across the lifespan. We currently have six to seven studies that are looking for participants from a range of ages across the Denver metro area. 

If you have always wanted to see what your brain looks like or would simply like to contribute to neuroscience research in Colorado, please see our website for more details on specific studies that are currently recruiting participants.

The Research on Affective Disorders and Development Lab is conducting research on wellness and stress coping in CU students. We want to understand what makes CU students resilient or vulnerable to stress, and explore how campus-based programs may foster wellness. 

The study includes a few different parts: 

• Everyone in the study will answer a set of electronic surveys and participate in two phone interviews over the course of one year.
• Some qualifying participants will have the option to complete an in-person research visit, which includes an interview about life experiences, a set of computer games and a neuroimaging scan. 

The study takes place over the course of a year, and you will be compensated for your participation (maximum of $130 to $332 for completing all parts of the study). 

If you’re interested in learning more, contact the RADD Lab at raddlab@colorado.edu, 303-735-8306, or complete our webscreen. 
 

The 2021–22 McNair Scholar application is now open to all eligible sophomores and juniors at CU Boulder. 

The McNair Scholars Program is a federal TRiO Program at 187 universities across the United States. The two-year program is designed to prepare undergraduates from underrepresented background with high academic potential who are committed to attending a graduate school to earn a PhD or EdD. We support first-generation, low-income and underrepresented juniors and seniors through research funding, professional development and graduate school preparation.

The deadline to apply is Sunday, Jan. 31, 2021.

Please visit the website for more information and to apply. If you have any questions, contact Program Coordinator Joanne Liu at mcnairscholars@colorado.edu.

This spring (2021), STEM Routes partners with several CU faculty members to bring you paid 8- and 16-week research opportunities intended to develop you as a scientist—that means you don’t need previous research or lab experience to apply.

STEM Routes Uplift has been designed with the intent of minimizing the barriers that underrepresented minorities face when engaging with research.

You can apply for a paid research position on up to five of the projects in our database. We encourage you to read through the current projects.  If you don’t see something that interests you now, check back later, as our project pool is being continually updated. 

Check out the website for details and send questions to the STEM Routes team at stem_routes@colorado.edu.

The Emotive Computing Lab at CU Boulder is looking for participants for a study of an educational video game called Physics Playground.

You are eligible to participant in this research study if you:

• Are 18–22 years old
• Are fluent in English
• Have access to the internet, a computer, a webcam and the Firefox browser

In this study you would first answer some questions about your pre-existing knowledge, then you would play the game Physics Playground for about an hour. After you are done playing the game, you would answer some more questions. 

In return for your participation, you would receive a $15 Amazon Gift Card

If you are interested in participating, please contact us at physicsplaygroundschoolstudy@gmail.com to schedule a time.
 

CU Boulder doctoral candidates who have been admitted to candidacy before November 2020 are invited to register for the Graduate School’s annual 3MT competition. 

Registrants have the opportunity throughout the fall semester to participate in a series of workshops, public speaking seminars and practice sessions to hone their three-minute pitches. A semi-final virtual competition will determine the 10 finalists to advance to the final virtual competition in early February 2021. Prize money in research dollars ($1,500 total) will be awarded to the winner, runner-up and the people’s choice winner. Register by Thursday, Oct. 26.

Enrolling work groups for study on team performance

CU Boulder is working with the University of California Irvine and the University of Notre Dame to understand what leads to effective, high-performing teams in the modern, digital age. 

Eligibility criteria

• You are a member of a team or work group with size between 2 and 5 people (by team, we refer to a group of work colleagues with whom you closely interact on a specific project, or set of projects). Can be a work group at CU but is not required.
• For teams or work groups with size of at least 3, the majority of your team (at least 3 members) must enroll.
• You spend at least 10 hours/week with your team.
• You have an iPhone running at least iOS 13 or an Android phone running at least v7.1.2.

What does participation entail?

• No in-person visits, everything is done remotely.
• Wear a fitness tracker (provided by us) as you go about your daily life that will measure your stress-related physiological responses.
• Place one small Bluetooth beacon near your work space and run a background app on your phone, which will be used to track whether or not you are at your workspace (it will not track your exact position). Both the wearable and the beacon will be mailed to you.
• Install a survey app and complete a 2–3 minute survey on the app each workday (Monday through Friday) for a 10-week period.
• Complete a 20–30 minute survey at the beginning and at the end of the study.
• Participate in a 15–30 minute interview during the study (conducted remotely) that will help us understand team success factors.

Earn $300 in total by completing the study (per person in the work group). Express your interest by completing this survey.
 

 

The Research on Affective Disorders and Development Lab is conducting research on wellness and stress-coping in CU students. We want to understand what makes CU students resilient or vulnerable to stress, and explore how campus-based programs may foster wellness.

The study includes a few different parts:

• Everyone in the study will answer a set of electronic surveys and participate in two phone interviews over the course of one year.
• Some qualifying participants will have the option to complete an in-person research visit, which includes an interview about life experiences, a set of computer games and a neuroimaging scan.

The study takes place over the course of a year, and you will be compensated for your participation (maximum of $130 to $332 for completing all parts of the study).

If you’re interested in learning more, contact the RADD Lab at raddlab@colorado.edu, 303-735-8306, or complete our web screen.

The Locomotion Lab of the Integrative Physiology Department at CU Boulder is recruiting participants for two research studies. 

Study on the effect of bicycle-rider geometry on cycling efficiency

These experiments are lab-based and involve a series of 5-minute cycling bouts on a level and inclined treadmill.

To be eligible for this study, you must be:

• At least 18 years old
• In good health
• Cycle (outdoors or indoors) at least 4 hours per week
• BYO clip-in pedals and shoes

The study consists of two 2-hour sessions. This experiment is completely non-invasive.

Participants will receive one $25 Amazon gift card per session.

Study on the effect of bicycle saddle tilt on sprint, endurance cycling performance

The sprint testing will involve a series of 50-meter uphill sprints, which will take place outdoors. The endurance testing will involve a series of 5-minute bouts of cycling on a treadmill, which will take place in the CU Locomotion Laboratory in Clare Small Building 111c.

To be eligible for this study, you must:

• Be between 18–49 years old
• Be between 5'6"–6'2" tall
• Be in good health (unexposed/free from coronavirus)
• Cycle (outdoors or indoors) at least 4 hours per week
• Have at least one year of road cycling experience
• Have your own clip-in pedals and shoes

The study consists of two 2-hour sessions held on separate days (~4 hours total). This experiment is completely non-invasive. 

You will receive a $25 Amazon Gift Card as compensation for completing each session.

If you are interested in participating in either of these studies, please contact culocomotionlab@gmail.com.

This study is about how sleep loss affects your ability to think and changes the helpful bacteria living in your gut. We are also testing how a prebiotic diet alters how you and the bacteria living in your gut respond to sleep loss and being awake at night. This research will help us to create treatments and strategies for people working long hours under stressful conditions at night (e.g., emergency workers and military personnel). We are looking for healthy men and women, aged 18-35, to participate in two laboratory visits of approximately 3.7 days each at the CU Boulder Sleep and Chronobiology Laboratory. Participants will be compensated up to $2,451. For study details, email sleep.study@colorado.edu and ask about the Navy study.