Las Vegas Flashcards
**How did you get interested in the field of psychology/ Why do I want to be in this Lab
(Summarized)?
Before College:
A child with autism/epilepsy who had significant mental and physical health challenges. I saw firsthand how interconnected these two factors were to one another.
I often spent weeks at the hospital supporting my client.
Her family was from a very low SES. And felt they had a significant lack of resources.
I became very passionate about finding methods to help improve mental and physical wellbeing for my client.
Additionally, I became very passionate about disseminating resources to clinical populations, that truly benefit from such work, like my client.
Throughout my undergraduate degree, and post bacc research experience, I had research, academic, and clinical experiences where over time I developed an interest in examining interventions, including sleep based interventions that target stress reduction strategies for individuals who have faced health-related challenges, in the hope of reducing stress and promoting overall wellbeing.
Clinical opportunities: to work with individuals from underserved communities And had several opportunities to share resources with these clinical communities that benefited
Family to Family:
I was able to conduct a literature review there and examine the impact opioid bans have on those with chronic pain and cancer.
My mentor, Shauna, set up a panel of Doctors and nurses for me to present my literature review to (many of which worked closely with clients addicted to opioids).
I also had the opportunity to facilitate a discussion about the need for non-addictive methods for pain management.
This experience really developed my intrest in research examining pain and investigating non-addictive interventions that could be used to improve the quality of life/promote well-being for individuals in pain and health related challenges.
ACE: Studied the impact adverse childhood experiences have on college students
-Analyzed data using SPSS by conducting a reliability analysis and bivariate correlation
-Students with higher ACEs have a negative correlation to college satisfaction and quality of life
-Students with higher ACEs have a positive correlation to anxiety and depression.
From this study, I realized research was something I’m very passionate about and wanted to pursue in graduate school.
For my post bacc, I sought out intervention research work, with the hope of improving well-being for various clinical populations,
It got me very interested in examining intervention-based research work, and looking at interventions that may support individuals who have experienced significant adversities.
I joined SHAID lab as a research coordinator and developed excellent project management skills. I Had the opportunity to work on several projects but primarily worked on the SITY and Daily Sleep in Student Athletes. In SITY: we
investigate sleep health before, during, and after the initiation of gender-affirming hormone therapy. This experience ignited my passion for working with underserved and marginalized communities that are often overlooked in research.
In Daily Sleep in Student Athletes: This study acquainted me with the struggles student-athletes may encounter while balancing academic, athletic, and personal responsibilities. It led me to realize the significant stressors athletes experience, which can have a significant impact on their daily livelihood. This drove my interest in utilizing sleep (and sport specific interventions) interventions to help improve the well-being of athletes.
(lit review)
Due to this interest, Dr. Dietch
connected me with Dr. Casement at OSL.
At OSL- I helped launch 2 NIH-funded projects, that will be going on for the next 5 years. Now my time is primarily spent running participants through all of our various procedures.
We have two studies:
examined if implementing an earlier bedtime and increasing sleep duration could lead to the reduction of anhedonia and depression symptoms in adolescents or reduce risky alcohol use in young adults. Clinical assessment experience: insomnia
Personal Injury and experience with injured climbers.
In graduate school I would like to examine the influence of stress and sleep on the well-being of athletes. Additionally, I aspire to investigate how sport-specific interventions, like TOPPS, can mitigate the risk of psychopathology, particularly for athletes struggling with an injury. Afterward, I desire to examine methods, to disseminate these findings in an easily accessible manner.
My mentors often ask me to reflect on your “why” for conducting research. Especially when you get into the thick/weeds of a challenging project.
I am very enthusiastic about your lab because it directly aligns with my research interests and my “why”.
What appeals to you about this program?// Why are you interested in working with me?
I feel that The University of Nevada Las Vegas would be a great place to live (due to my interest in climbing) I also feel it has great resources.
Graduate Research Certification
grant writing courses
emphasis and support on research and conferences opportunities for (sponsorships) to attend conferences
emphasis on training students in teaching (classes, expo)
commitment to
training clinical psychologists to focus on critical thinking, high ethical standards, and providing
culturally appropriate care
Most importantly:
I could learn a lot /excited about the work conducted in Dr. Bradley Donohue’s lab, as it directly aligns with my drive. I’m really excited about learning about The Optimum Performance Program in Sports (TOPPS).
And your future grant using sports to engage underserved communities (low SES)/ improve mental health, boys and girls club 8-18 community-based grant, incorporate parents/ coaches (dissemination) target engagement
graduate students are more times than not expected to work on research grants, usually as performance coaches and/or administrators up to 20 hours a week
What’s a recent paper you read that you found interesting?
- Chorpita Paper.
- Daily reactivity to stress and sleep disturbances: unique risk factors for insomnia:
Paper looking at sleep and stress reactivity in nurses. Examined daily assessments for 2 weeks. Found Baseline stress reactivity and sleep reactivity independently as well as jointly predict greater insomnia symptoms 11 months later. The findings delineate processes underlying the stress-diathesis model of insomnia and highlight the utility of longitudinal and naturalistic measures of sleep and stress reactivity.
Technology skills.
Social skills.
Presentation skills.
Data Management and Analysis skills.
Networking skills.
Contribution to diversity at TOPP.
Handshake firm and extended with a smile.
Positive affect.
Spontaneously asked appropriate questions throughout.
Complimented others throughout.
Spontaneously demonstrated passion for TOPPS initiatives.
Goodness of fit and ability to assist the development of TOPPS.
What’s a recent paper you read that you found interesting?
(Lab focused)
Lit review/ Arizona research idea.
Athletes, Sleep, & Mental Health:
__________________________________
Athletes commonly experience disturbed sleep, and this is linked to poorer mental health. Worse sleep is associated with increased depression, anxiety, and stress symptoms.
Athletes face unique challenges such as competition pressures and travel demands that may exacerbate their sleep disorders and symptoms.
Sleep disorders and symptoms in athletes are not only linked to burnout and mood disturbances but also to specific issues like suicidal ideation, stress, and burnout. The need for more research is emphasized, particularly with a focus on precise measurement of diverse sleep facets.
Sleep is crucial for various aspects of athletes’ well-being, including musculoskeletal recovery, skill acquisition, and emotional regulation. Insufficient sleep has detrimental effects on athletic performance and increases the risk of injury. Athletes, due to factors like inflexible schedules, stress, travel, and competition timing, commonly face poor and insufficient sleep, impacting both academic and athletic performance, as well as physical and mental health.
Despite the significant impact of sleep on athletes, there remains a limited understanding of the relationship between sleep problems and the risk for mental health issues in college student athletes. This highlights the need for further exploration and awareness in this specific population.
__________________________________
Sleep and stress reactivity:
__________________________________
Daily reactivity to stress and sleep disturbances: unique risk factors for insomnia:
Paper looking at sleep and stress reactivity in nurses. Examined daily assessments for 2 weeks. Found Baseline stress reactivity and sleep reactivity independently as well as jointly predict greater insomnia symptoms 11 months later. The findings delineate processes underlying the stress-diathesis model of insomnia and highlight the utility of longitudinal and naturalistic measures of sleep and stress reactivity.
Dr. Taylor works with stress/ sleep reactivity
__________________________________
Pain and sleep:
__________________________________
There is a reciprocal relationship where pain during the day affects the quality of that night’s sleep and poor quality sleep increases pain levels the next day1.
__________________________________
10 years in combination with short sleep were at an especially high risk of experiencing recurrent spinal pain, and improvement in insomnia symptoms was associated with a favorable prognosis
Sleep/Stress:
Pain/stress:
______
Dr. Taylor and I have a joint interest in athletes ( I worked on student athlete project: that examined the daily sleep of athletes in the pac-12).
___
I’d be interested in examining athletes who experience pain due to injury or health challenges that may lead to pain And have difficulty falling or staying asleep.
Baseline:
Do SCISD-R to get better idea of sleep (inclusion criteria)??
qualitative interview survey to get a better idea of how they perceive their personal relationships between
stress/ pain/ sleep.
14 days: Baseline daily surveys: examine daily sleep diaries (sleep quality, duration, onset sleep latency) wear actiwatch
Daily pain diaries
Daily stress diaries
Intervention: improve sleep duration via tele-cognitive-behavioral therapy for insomnia
Followed by 14 more days of daily assessments?? (See full paper)!!
At home assessments: look at their sleep motives compared to actiwatch data? (how well they think they will sleep while in pain compared to how well they actually sleep?)
Performance Triangle
Behaviors, thoughts, and feelings reciprocally interact to influence performance. Because feelings are often difficult to control, a major focus at TOPPS is to achieve optimum performance through cognitive and behavioral skill development.
Athletes are trained to recognize behaviors and thoughts that are consistent with optimal performance in the following goal domains, and they are subsequently challenged to optimize them.
Optimal Sport/Physical Health Performance
Participation in sport/exercise, nutrition, fluids, sleep/rest.
Optimal Relationship Performance
Helping others, expressing gratitude, being a leader, acting with kindness, respecting others, and participating in social events.
Optimal School/Work Performance
Homework, reading, studying, doing research.
Optimal Creativity/ Artistic Performance
Dance, choir, music, comedy, drawing, painting, computer programming, graphic design, and writing/poetry.
Optimal Mental strength & Stability/Mental Wellness Performance
Objective thinking (just the facts), positive perspective (thinking about what’s good about things), and flexible thinking (brainstorming the possibilities).
Paper of mine yoi read
