Cardiovascular and Applied Physiology Research

human subjects research, cardiovascular, health, physiology, exercise, respiratory, clinical trial

Research Mentor: Joseph Watso,
Department, College, Affiliation: Health, Nutrition, and Food Sciences, Education, Health, and Human Sciences
Contact Email: jwatso@fsu.edu
Research Assistant Supervisor (if different from mentor):
Research Assistant Supervisor Email:
Faculty Collaborators:
Faculty Collaborators Email:

Looking for Research Assistants: Yes
Number of Research Assistants: 2
Relevant Majors: Biology, Exercise physiology, Health sciences, Athletic training; will consider any major if student is on health tracks (pre-med, pre-PT, pre-PA, pre-OT, etc.)
Project Location: On FSU Main Campus
Research Assistant Transportation Required:
Remote or In-person: In-person
Approximate Weekly Hours: 5-10 hours a week, During business hours
Roundtable Times and Zoom Link: Not participating in the Roundtable

Project Description

Adults with higher body mass (e.g., obesity) can have trouble breathing during exercise, which could be due to high respiratory muscle workloads. These breathing muscles can require a lot of energy, which takes away energy from other (e.g., leg) muscles. Respiratory training is a promising new approach to strengthening these muscles and lower blood pressure. However, it has not yet been fully studied. Therefore, we will study whether this training can lower blood pressure and make exercising easier. We have several ongoing related projects that the student can gain experience with. For more information about what we do, check out https://caplaboratory.com/the-lab

Research Tasks: Help perform literature reviews, recruit research participants, help generate/manage recruitment approaches, schedule/coordinate with study participants, help with data collection, help with exercise testing and other research procedures, provide data management support, data analysis, assist with IRB and clinicaltrials.gov documentation, help with equipment maintenance, perform equipment calibration, and/or other study-related tasks.

Skills that research assistant(s) may need: Values: Diligence, ambition, curiosity, and integrity; Abilities: Effective and timely oral/written/etc. communication. Skills: Teamwork, professionalism.

Exploring COVID-19 Vaccine Hesitancy in Alzheimer's Patients

Alzheimer’s disease related dementias (ADRD); COVID-19 Vaccination; Vaccine Hesitancy

Research Mentor: Dr. Yijiong Yang,
Department, College, Affiliation: College of Nursing, Nursing
Contact Email: yy22f@fsu.edu
Research Assistant Supervisor (if different from mentor):
Research Assistant Supervisor Email:
Faculty Collaborators: Dr. Dr. Jing Wang, Dr. Kofi Sorkpor
Faculty Collaborators Email:

Looking for Research Assistants: Yes
Number of Research Assistants: 2
Relevant Majors: Open to all majors
Project Location: On FSU Main Campus
Research Assistant Transportation Required:
Remote or In-person: Partially Remote
Approximate Weekly Hours: 5-10 hours, Flexible schedule (Combination of business and outside of business. TBD between student and research mentor.)
Roundtable Times and Zoom Link: Not participating in the Roundtable

Project Description

Alzheimer's Disease (AD) presents unique challenges such as the COVID-19 pandemic. Individuals with AD often face cognitive impairments that can affect their decision-making processes and ability to comprehend health information, potentially influencing their attitudes towards vaccination. Additionally, social determinants of health such as access to healthcare, socioeconomic status, and cultural factors may further exacerbate vaccine hesitancy among this group. This project aims to investigate the factors contributing to COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy among individuals diagnosed with Alzheimer's Disease (AD), with the overarching goal of informing targeted interventions to improve vaccination acceptance in this vulnerable population.

Research Tasks: Literature review: Identify and review existing literature on COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy. Explore studies related to vaccine acceptance among individuals with Alzheimer's Disease.
Data analysis: Perform descriptive and/or statistical analysis on survey data. Discuss implications of findings for healthcare practice, policy development, and public health interventions. Prepare research presentations and academic publications to disseminate findings to relevant stakeholders and the scientific community.
Research assistants will have the opportunity to develop and refine their skills in literature review, data cleaning/management, and data analysis through hands-on experience. Additionally, they will earn co-authorship on published manuscripts based on their involvement and contributions to the research project.



Skills that research assistant(s) may need: Literature review: the ability to critically assess research findings, pinpointing areas where literature may be lacking, and skill in synthesizing information from published manuscripts are required.
Data analysis: familiar with at least one statistical or programming software, such as SPSS, SAS, STATA, JMP, Python, or R, are highly recommended.

PFAS Contamination and Transport

Environmental Engineering, PFAS, Instrumentation, Analytical Chemistry, Solid Waste

Research Mentor: Dr. Youneng Tang, He/him/his
Department, College, Affiliation: Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, FAMU-FSU College of Engineering
Contact Email: ytang@eng.famu.fsu.edu
Research Assistant Supervisor (if different from mentor): Mr. Mojtaba Nouri Goukeh He/him/his
Research Assistant Supervisor Email: mn20f@fsu.edu
Faculty Collaborators:
Faculty Collaborators Email:

Looking for Research Assistants: Yes
Number of Research Assistants: 1
Relevant Majors: Civil and Environmental Engineering, Chemical Engineering, Chemistry
Project Location: FAMU-FSU College of Engineering
Research Assistant Transportation Required: Yes
Remote or In-person: In-person
Approximate Weekly Hours: 6 hours/week, During business hours
Roundtable Times and Zoom Link: Not participating in the Roundtable

Project Description

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are a group of synthetic chemicals that have attracted significant public attention due to their toxicity, widespread use in commercial and consumer products, and recalcitrance to degradation in the environment. PFAS is ubiquitous in solid waste. To prevent solid waste in landfills contaminating groundwater and air, landfills are usually contained by bottom liners and covers. The objective of this project is to determine the PFAS transport characteristics through the bottom liners and covers such as the breakthrough time. We welcome one UROP scholar to participate in this research project. Professor Tang and his graduate student will supervise the UROP scholar. The graduate student will provide most of the direct supervision.

Research Tasks: The UROP scholar is expected to:
1) Complete a few lab safety training sessions.
2) Shadow the graduate student.
3) Review the literature to understand PFAS and their contamination.
4) Learn the method based on gas chromatography-mass spectrometry for measuring one type of PFAS.
5) Use the measurement method to determine the PFAS transport characteristics in diffusion cells.
6) Summarize and discuss the research results in a poster and a white paper.

After the UROP project is completed, there may be an opportunity for the UROP scholar to further develop and optimize the method for measuring more types of PFAS through undergraduate or graduate research assistantship.


Skills that research assistant(s) may need: None.

MLab AI project-based research

Machine learning, computer vision, commercialization

Research Mentor: Dr. Jonathan Adams, Dr.
Department, College, Affiliation: Florida State University, Communication and Information
Contact Email: jladams@fsu.edu
Research Assistant Supervisor (if different from mentor): Mr. Ben Ravuri
Research Assistant Supervisor Email: bravuri@fsu.edu
Faculty Collaborators: Mr. Odin Moja
Faculty Collaborators Email: omoja@fsu.edu

Looking for Research Assistants: Yes
Number of Research Assistants: 2
Relevant Majors: We prefer students who have an ability to code, interest in computer systems, artificial intelligence, or publishing basic research.
Project Location: On FSU Main Campus
Research Assistant Transportation Required: The MLab is located in WJB
Remote or In-person: In-person
Approximate Weekly Hours: 5-10, During business hours
Roundtable Times and Zoom Link: Not participating in the Roundtable

Project Description

The MLab research specializes in technical research about using synthetic media to train AI. Our research has explored various ways to use ‘deep-fakes’ of objects that are hard to photograph or more often, in cases where photos are not sufficient in number. We developed tools to generate the images, labeled and ready for training. This opens up a wide variety of opportunities to explore synthetic media, AI training, object, and anomaly detection.
Should you decide to apply, and ultimately participate, the lab hosts undergraduate alumni of the lab, graduate students and professors who can assist you with your chosen project. Interested students should understand that participating in the lab means you are a self-starter who works well in small groups of like-minded students.
Working knowledge of Python (or other language) programming language is preferred, but we do have projects intended to get newcomers up to speed. One of the primary functions of the lab is to encourage research related to the use of Artificial Intelligence agents, and supporting students who desire to publish their works. Since the beginning of 2020, we have produced 6 student-led research papers that have been accepted by international conferences.
Last year we focused our efforts on a Binaural Beat Box, which we proposed to use as a Palliative care tool. The Beat Box uses generated synthetic music, Art, and Animation for a tablet application. This summer we are focusing on whether AI apps are usable, and a study that compares results of synthetic media to authentic media.
In the fall, we will resume working on a synthetic media pipeline, computer vision, and the development of an air sea rescue platform.
We are interested in coders, CS, Engineering, Statistics, and 3D artists who can model different subjects.


Research Tasks: Every student has the opportunity to define a project. Each project we coordinate has different requirements. MLab teams have written literature reviews, conducted technical studies with AI algorithms, performance comparisons, and have sought to understand the relationship between AI tools and their impact on learning. We are looking for ideas as well, and are open to value-added ideas.

Skills that research assistant(s) may need: Required: Experience with computer languages, statistics, math, demonstrable ability to learn programming.
Recommended: Communication skills, analytic skills, willingness to take chances.

Parenting and Adolescent Development in Cultural Context

parenting, parent-child relationship, adolescent well-being/health/development, cultural differences

Research Mentor: Qinglan Feng, Lenka
Department, College, Affiliation: Department of Human Development and Family Sciences, Education, Health, and Human Sciences
Contact Email: qf20@fsu.edu
Research Assistant Supervisor (if different from mentor):
Research Assistant Supervisor Email:
Faculty Collaborators:
Faculty Collaborators Email:

Looking for Research Assistants: Yes
Number of Research Assistants: 2
Relevant Majors: Family studies, human development, psychology, developmental psychology, marriage and family therapy, sociology, or a related discipline.
Project Location: On FSU Main Campus
Research Assistant Transportation Required:
Remote or In-person: Fully Remote
Approximate Weekly Hours: 5-10 hours, Flexible schedule (Combination of business and outside of business. TBD between student and research mentor.)
Roundtable Times and Zoom Link: Not participating in the Roundtable

Project Description

This research project aims to investigate the phenomenon of indulgent parenting in China, examining its prevalence, characteristics, and cultural context. The study will validate existing parenting scales within the Chinese adolescent population, assess the relationship between indulgent parenting and adolescents' emotional and well-being issues, and explore the underlying mechanisms and cultural values that influence these associations. Additionally, the project will conduct a comparative analysis to understand how Chinese adolescents' experiences of indulgent parenting differ from those of American adolescents. Through a mixed-methods approach, this research will provide comprehensive insights into the impact of indulgent parenting on adolescent development in China and contribute to the development of culturally sensitive parenting interventions and educational strategies.

Research Tasks: This project is currently in the data analysis and paper publication stages. The ongoing research tasks include literature review, data analysis, and manuscripts preparation.

Skills that research assistant(s) may need: Literature Review Proficiency: basic ability to read and understand academic journal articles and studies (required); strong ability to search for, identify, and synthesize relevant academic articles and sources (recommended).
Writing and Manuscript Preparation: good academic writing skills and familiar with APA writing format (required). Familiarity with the structure and requirements of academic journals; and attention to detail and ability to adhere to publication guidelines (recommended).
Data Analysis Skills (recommended): Familiarity in statistical software (e.g., SPSS, AMOS) for data analysis.

Coaching Paraprofessionals in Evidence-Based Oral Language Practices

paraprofessionals, scaffolding, practice based coaching

Research Mentor: Mrs. Debbie Slik, she, her
Department, College, Affiliation: Florida State University, Education, Health, and Human Sciences
Contact Email: ds02@fsu.edu
Research Assistant Supervisor (if different from mentor): Dr. Lindsay Dennis she, her
Research Assistant Supervisor Email: lrdennis@fsu.edu
Faculty Collaborators:
Faculty Collaborators Email:

Looking for Research Assistants: Yes
Number of Research Assistants: 1
Relevant Majors: I am open to all majors, but elementary and special education majors would particularly enjoy working on this project.
Project Location: Taylor County Primary School, 1000 Howard Street, Perry FL
Research Assistant Transportation Required: No, the project is remote
Remote or In-person: Partially Remote
Approximate Weekly Hours: 5-10 hours, Flexible schedule (Combination of business and outside of business. TBD between student and research mentor.)
Roundtable Times and Zoom Link: Not participating in the Roundtable

Project Description

I am conducting a single-case, multi-probe study involving approximately four pairs of paraprofessionals (teachers’ aides) and students at a voluntary pre-kindergarten (VPK) preschool in Perry, Florida. The focus of my research is to train paraprofessionals to engage in meaningful conversations with students during book reading sessions.

In the baseline phase of the study, each paraprofessional will be voice-recorded while reading a book of their choice to a student who has at least one IEP goal for a speech and language impairment. Once a paraprofessional transitions to the intervention phase, which will be staggered, they will receive a one-time professional development session. This session will cover techniques for scaffolding conversations to extend student dialogue during shared book reading. Research indicates that longer conversations during book reading can enhance children's inferential knowledge, vocabulary, and later reading comprehension.

Following the professional development session, I will offer ongoing coaching support to the paraprofessionals via text messaging. Each paraprofessional will read the same book to their student three times a week and send me voice recordings of these sessions. I will review these recordings and provide feedback for them to incorporate in subsequent sessions. This process will continue for several weeks until a noticeable change in the trend of the reading sessions is observed, compared to the baseline.

Approximately one month after the study concludes, I will collect maintenance data by having the paraprofessionals read a book to their students again to determine if they are still applying the techniques learned during the intervention.

Research Tasks: The UROP student will have several key responsibilities in my study:

Coding Professional Development Implementation: The student will listen to the recordings of the professional development sessions and code them to ensure that the training was consistently and accurately implemented for each paraprofessional.

Coding Shared Book Reading Sessions: The student will code approximately one-third of the voice recordings of the shared book reading sessions to evaluate the use of scaffolding techniques. This will involve identifying and categorizing instances of scaffolding during the reading sessions.

Training in Coding Procedures: The student will receive thorough training in the coding procedures to ensure reliability and accuracy in their coding efforts.

Interrater Reliability: The student will work alongside other coders to assess interrater reliability, ensuring that the coding is consistent across different individuals.

Fidelity Checks: The student will assist in conducting fidelity checks to confirm that the intervention is being implemented as designed.

Data Analysis Assistance: If the student is interested, there may be opportunities to assist with data analysis, contributing to the interpretation and presentation of the study's findings.

Skills that research assistant(s) may need: It is recommended that the research assistant have the following skills:

Attention to Detail: The ability to meticulously code and analyze recordings, ensuring accuracy and consistency in the data collected.

Organizational Skills: Strong organizational abilities to manage multiple recordings, coding sheets, and data analysis tasks efficiently.

Technical Proficiency: Basic technical skills, including the use of audio recording software, data entry programs, and possibly statistical analysis software (Excel) if involved in data analysis.

Reliability and Commitment: A dependable and committed attitude towards the project, ensuring timely and consistent completion of tasks.

Critical Thinking: A willingness to learn basic tenets of research that involves critical thinking about the collection and interpretation of the data.

Confidentiality: Understanding the importance of maintaining confidentiality and ethical standards when handling sensitive data related to students and their educational progress.

Reading and Feeling with Japanese Literature

reading, feeling, literature, nature, imagery, Japan

Research Mentor: Prof. or Dr. Matthew Mewhinney,
Department, College, Affiliation: Modern Languages & Linguistics, Arts and Sciences
Contact Email: mmewhinney@fsu.edu
Research Assistant Supervisor (if different from mentor):
Research Assistant Supervisor Email:
Faculty Collaborators:
Faculty Collaborators Email:

Looking for Research Assistants: Yes
Number of Research Assistants: 6
Relevant Majors: Open to all majors
Project Location: On FSU Main Campus
Research Assistant Transportation Required:
Remote or In-person: Partially Remote
Approximate Weekly Hours: 5-10 hours, Flexible schedule (Combination of business and outside of business. TBD between student and research mentor.)
Roundtable Times and Zoom Link: Not participating in the Roundtable

Project Description

This research project explores the experience of reading works of Japanese literature in English translation. The goal is to locate and document passages in the narrative that invite the reader's sympathy/empathy. Such passages include descriptions of natural imagery (e.g., sky, sea, water, mountains), human loss (e.g., the death of a character), grieving/mourning, and forms of healing or renewal. The student will be assigned any number of Japanese titles (all novels or works of prose fiction that have been translated into English) to read over the course of one or more semesters. The number of titles will depend on the student's UROP work hours and how long it takes for the student to finish reading a novel. The student will keep a digital reading log, where he/she/they types out passages from the text. In the process the student will learn how to practice proper citation. The student will meet with the research mentor at least once a month to share the reading log and report on reading progress.

Research Tasks: literature review (reading Japanese fiction in English translation), data collection (typing quotes/passages onto a word document/spreadsheet)

Skills that research assistant(s) may need: Required: Being able to read English fluently
Required: Being able to use Microsoft Office (e.g., Microsoft Word and/or Microsoft Excel)
Recommended: Being interested in reading great works of literature (e.g., prose fiction, novels), especially those from a different cultural context (i.e., Japan).

Does Perceived Harm Depend on the Race of the Agent?

social psychology, race, harm, electric shock, perceptions, prejudice, stereotypes

Research Mentor: Dr. David March,
Department, College, Affiliation: Psychology, Arts and Sciences
Contact Email: march@psy.fsu.edu
Research Assistant Supervisor (if different from mentor): Tara Lesick she/her/hers
Research Assistant Supervisor Email: lesick@psy.fsu.edu
Faculty Collaborators:
Faculty Collaborators Email:

Looking for Research Assistants: Yes
Number of Research Assistants: 2
Relevant Majors: psychology, neuroscience, criminology/criminal justice
Project Location: On FSU Main Campus
Research Assistant Transportation Required:
Remote or In-person: In-person
Approximate Weekly Hours: 9, During business hours
Roundtable Times and Zoom Link: Not participating in the Roundtable

Project Description

The ongoing study questions whether the race of the agent (i.e., person doing them harm) impacts the perceptions of harm felt by the victim. This study involves the use of confederates (Black- and White-passing female and males) briefly meeting with participants and engaging in a reaction time “game” where the loser will be shocked presumably by the winner. In reality, the shock is already pre-programmed and standardized across all participants. Participants are asked about their harm perception when they “lose” and what shock intensity they would like to choose for the confederate to receive when they “win”.
In our lab, we consistently find an automatic Black-physical threat association, meaning people tend to associate Black compared to White males with physical threat. Thus, it is possible harm perception may be altered depending on the race (and most likely gender due to gender stereotypes) of the person participants believe are shocking them.


Research Tasks: The research assistant will be responsible for being the confederate, pulling the data once data collection concludes, help analyze and interpret the data, and help brainstorm future ideas based on the results. Research assistants may also conduct other studies performed in the lab and conduct literature review(s).

Skills that research assistant(s) may need: Time management
Drive to learn
Effective communication
Background in psychology (i.e., took general psychology)

Can Trade Liberalization Reduce the Size of the Informal Economy?

Trade, labor, international agreements, economics, human rights

Research Mentor: Chris Gahagan, he/him
Department, College, Affiliation: Political Science, Social Sciences and Public Policy
Contact Email: cgahagan@fsu.edu
Research Assistant Supervisor (if different from mentor):
Research Assistant Supervisor Email:
Faculty Collaborators:
Faculty Collaborators Email:

Looking for Research Assistants: Yes
Number of Research Assistants: 1
Relevant Majors: Prefer Political Science majors
Project Location: On FSU Main Campus
Research Assistant Transportation Required:
Remote or In-person: In-person
Approximate Weekly Hours: 5-10, Flexible schedule (Combination of business and outside of business. TBD between student and research mentor.)
Roundtable Times and Zoom Link: Not participating in the Roundtable

Project Description

This project investigates if trade agreements with labor protections reduces economic informality compared to trade agreements that do not have labor protections. Specifically, this project will include a time-series cross-sectional analysis of trade agreements on the size of the informal economy for a global sample of countries and free trade agreements.

The informal economy is surprisingly large, consisting of 61% of the global workforce and comprising over 2 billion individuals. Informal work often includes dangerous and low paying jobs, and is known to increase inequality and hurt sustainable development. Previously, trade agreements were thought to increase informal employment due to a lack of protections for workers, and a "race-to-the-bottom" approach that firms employed to stay competitive. However, starting with the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), labor protections started to be explicitly entered into trade agreements, with the goal of protecting worker's rights in both developed and developing countries. This project aims to see whether these new trade agreements have successfully protected labor rights, with the observable implication being a reduction in the size of the informal economy.

Research Tasks: Tasks include literature reviews as well as qualitative and quantitative data collection. Qualitative data collection includes investigating individual trade agreements to see what (if any) enforcement mechanisms are present to protect labor rights. Additionally, reading labor and trade agreement reports from IOs such as the International labor organization (ILO), and NGOs such as Human Rights Watch or Amnesty international will be necessary. Quantitative data collection will involve help creating a trade agreement dataset with and without labor protections, as well as data on the informal economy. If a student is comfortable, minor data analysis may be done, but not necessary.

Skills that research assistant(s) may need: required skills:
- able to read through complex agreements and pick out important facts and information
- use of search engines and google scholar to find academic articles and read reports from IOs and NGOs.
- basic data entry such as in Microsoft excel

Recommended skills:
- knowledge of the R programming software/language
- some background in international relations, political economy, economics, and human rights
- very minor data analysis

Exploring Early Childhood Teachers’ Experiences with Farm to a School Professional Development: A Case Study

early childhood, farm to school, school garden, professional development, teachers

Research Mentor: Ms. Camille Lewis, she/her
Department, College, Affiliation: Educational Psychology: Learning and Cognition, Education, Health, and Human Sciences
Contact Email: clewis5@fsu.edu
Research Assistant Supervisor (if different from mentor):
Research Assistant Supervisor Email:
Faculty Collaborators:
Faculty Collaborators Email:

Looking for Research Assistants: Yes
Number of Research Assistants: 2
Relevant Majors: teacher education, nutrition, early childhood education, education, psychology, family sciences, developmental psychology
Project Location: 459 Famu Wy, Tallahassee, FL 32307
Research Assistant Transportation Required: No, the project is remote
Remote or In-person: Partially Remote
Approximate Weekly Hours: 5-10, Flexible schedule (Combination of business and outside of business. TBD between student and research mentor.)
Roundtable Times and Zoom Link: Not participating in the Roundtable

Project Description

This qualitative case study aims to explore how targeted professional development influences early childhood educators’ self-efficacy and foundational beliefs within a farm-to-school setting. The research specifically examines the impact of the training on educators' abilities to teach gardening, nutrition, and healthy eating.

Research Tasks: As a Research Assistant for this project, you will be involved in various key tasks essential to the research process. Your responsibilities will include:

Data Transcription:
Accurately transcribe audio recordings of interviews, focus groups, and other data collection sessions.
Ensure high-quality, error-free transcriptions that are ready for analysis.

Data Coding:
Assist in coding qualitative data using established frameworks and software.
Collaborate with the research team to identify themes, patterns, and significant insights from the data.

Report Creation:
Contribute to the development of comprehensive reports summarizing research findings.
Ensure reports are well-organized, clear, and adhere to APA 7 formatting guidelines.

Dissemination Materials:
Help create materials for sharing research findings with various stakeholders, including presentations, brochures, and summaries.
Ensure dissemination materials are engaging, informative, and accessible to a broad audience.

Dialogue and Discussion:
Participate in discussions and meetings to interpret findings and refine research questions.
Engage with the research team in reflective dialogue to enhance understanding and application of the research

Skills that research assistant(s) may need: Required Skills:

Strong attention to detail and commitment to producing high-quality work.
Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
Experience with qualitative research methods and data analysis software (e.g., NVivo, Atlas.ti) is preferred.
Ability to work collaboratively in a team-oriented environment.
Familiarity with APA 7 formatting guidelines.
Basic understanding of educational psychology and agriculture education is advantageous.