Research Mentor Information
---------------------------
Primary Research Mentor Name: Jessica Ridgway Clayton
Research Mentor Preferred Pronouns: She/Her
When potential research assistants are reaching out via email, what is your preferred honorific?: Dr. 
Contact Email (FSU Email if affiliated): jridgway@fsu.edu
Position Title: Faculty
FSU College (if applicable): Jim Moran College of Entrepreneurship
FSU Department or Non-FSU Organization Affiliation: Retail Entrepreneurship
Headshot (optional): https://cre.fsu.edu/system/files/webform/urop_project_proposal_portal/8116/JLRC%20Headshot.jpg

Additional Research Mentor(s)
-----------------------------
Research Assistant Supervisor (if different from above): {Empty}
Research Assistant Supervisor Preferred Pronouns: {Empty}
Research Assistant Supervisor Preferred Honorific?: {Empty}
Contact Email (FSU Email if affiliated): {Empty}
Name of Other Faculty/Collaborator(s) (if applicable): {Empty}
Other Faculty/Collaborator(s) Preferred Pronouns: {Empty}
Other Faculty/Collaborator(s) Preferred Honorific?: {Empty}
Contact Email (FSU Email if affiliated): {Empty}

Overall Project Details
-----------------------
Title of the Project: Exploring Apparel Options for NICU Mothers: Development of a Nursing and Kangaroo Care Garment System	 
Project Keywords: Apparel Design, NICU, Breastfeeding
Are you currently looking for research assistants?: No
Number of Research Assistants Needed : 2
Relevant Research Assistant Major(s):
Open to all majors.

Project Location:: On FSU Main Campus
If the project location is off campus, does the research assistant(s) need to provide their own transportation?: {Empty}
Please select the choice that most accurately describes your expectations for the research assistant(s):: Partially Remote
Approximately how many hours a week would the research assistant(s) need to work?: 5-10 hrs
Roughly what time frame do you expect research assistant(s) to work?: Flexible schedule (Combination of business and outside of business. TBD between student and research mentor.)
Overall Research Project Description:
Approximately 360,000 premature babies are born in the US each year, which means 1 in 10 babies are born before the 37th week of the 40-week gestational period (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 2022). This pre-term birth rate is among the worst of high-resource nations (March of Dimes 2021 Report Card, 2021). Moreover, premature delivery often results in the baby requiring time in a hospital’s Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU). The NICU provides premature babies with crucial medical assistance that is necessary for the baby’s health and survival. However, the NICU also creates many barriers for mothers to participate in essential activities including breastfeeding and kangaroo care. Kangaroo care is a method of holding a baby that involves skin-to-skin contact. This activity has been shown to promote breastfeeding and increase breastmilk supply, which in the NICU may be inhibited by biological and environmental barriers. Research has shown that mothers who give birth prematurely are less likely to initiate breastfeeding and the duration in which they breastfeed is shorter compared to mothers who give birth to full-term babies. Thus, the goal of this project is to address this problem by creating a series of garments that would help to facilitate kangaroo care in the NICU. As a result, the garments would help to promote breastfeeding (and milk expression) for mothers and their premature babies in the NICU environment. 

Research Tasks:
Tasks will include data collection, conducting interviews, prototype development, and interview transcription/coding. 

Skills that research assistant(s) may need::
Required: ability to multitask, good communication skills.
Recommended: ability to sew to create prototypes, working knowledge of photoshop and illustrator to create sketches. 

Mentoring Philosophy:
I believe that mentorship is a true partnership between faculty and students. I enjoy helping to facilitate the mentees' goals and help them to build output that would help them gain employment in the future. Respect is at the core of any great mentoring relationship and I always encourage open and honest communication. 

Please provide a link to your publications, a video clip, or a website for your research project (if applicable):: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xPMvaSPADHk
Please add any additional information here (if applicable)::
{Empty}


UROP Program Elements
---------------------
Mentor Handbook, FAQs, and Communication: Yes
UROP Performance Evaluation: Yes
Materials Grant: Yes
UROP Poster Presentation: Yes

{Empty}
Year: 2023
update url: https://cre.fsu.edu/urop-research-mentor-project-submission-portal?element_parents=elements/research_mentor_information/headshot_optional_&ajax_form=1&_wrapper_format=drupal_ajax&token=FWX-fHfheAVM_9ZwzlpaOqQHoyTjIQBtgLeqNb6LffA