EMU SEED Lab

Who We Are:

The SEED Lab is headed by Drs. Jamie Lawler and Angela Staples. Dr. Lawler is a clinical and developmental psychologist with expertise in early adversity, self-regulation, and parent-child relationships. Dr. Staples is a developmental psychologist with expertise in quantitative methods for longitudinal research, self-regulation in early childhood, parenting behavior, and sleep development (birth to 5).

What We Do: 

Our research focuses on the effects of early experience, particularly early life stress, on the socioemotional development of children and their families. We are especially interested in how early adversity shapes children's developing capacity for self-regulation and how parent-child relationship factors can promote resilience. Another goal of our lab is to better understand factors that contribute to the development of parenting and the intergenerational transmission of trauma. Finally, we examine interventions to promote positive development in high-risk families. The current main project in the lab is data collection on an NIH-funded study of Early Life Stress and Self-Regulation (ELSSR study). This project requires most of our day-to-day efforts including recruiting and enrolling participants, collecting data from families, and managing data and retention of participants. 

What we value: 

In simplest terms, we value you, the students,-your ideas, your time, and your talents. As scientists and educators, we value community, collaboration, and transparency. Our research aims to better the lives of children and families. As part of this effort, we work as a community to better the lives of our students by providing opportunities for involvement in research. Therefore, we commit to training, advising, and mentoring students in all aspects of doing research from idea generation through dissemination. Our work, our community, is better when done collaboratively with people with diverse backgrounds, rich experiences, and varied aspirations. We value diversity and strive for equity and inclusion of all members, especially underrepresented groups. To make this work, we believe it is necessary to treat each other with respect so that we can hear each other's ideas. Our default assumption is that everyone is doing their best. We hope that by creating a respectful community, people will be transparent with their concerns, aspirations, challenges, and successes. There will be mistakes, it's just part of being human. However, when mistakes happen it is vital that Drs Lawler and Staples are informed so that we can take corrective measures whether it means clarifying procedures, re-entering data, or correcting disseminated findings. These values underlie our overarching goals to advance social equality, contribute meaningfully to improving people's lives through research and advocacy, and prepare lab members for their next steps whether they plan to graduate into the workforce or attend graduate school.

What RA's Do:

There are a number of tasks going on in the lab that RA's take part in, including: 

• Recruiting/scheduling/contacting participant families by phone or in person (all lab members will be trained in this task since it is the essential first step to our research!) 
• Collecting data at lab visits with families (requires a commitment of at least 5 hours/week)
• Transcribing video/audio recordings
• Coding videotaped interactions
• Data entry and data verification
• Lab social media 
• Providing child or sibling care during visits
• Administrative office tasks 

All RA's will be required to do recruitment and some "office tasks" in addition to their other lab work. Students will be dismissed from the lab and, if applicable, earn an "F" in the course for not fulfilling their lab duties (e.g., missing lab meetings, failing to work during chosen shifts or not responding to emails, not completing the bi-weekly lab report). Students who show a lot of enthusiasm and initiative will have more chances to help out with study tasks such as collecting data from families. Students are not guaranteed direct participant contact nor the opportunity to publish papers, present at a conference, or do a senior thesis. That said, it is our goal to offer opportunities to participate in disseminating research findings for those who are interested, for example, as part of a small group of student researchers with shared interests.

What We Require:

Participation in our lab in one of three ways:

• Enroll in research credit (PSY 497, 498, or 499 for undergraduates, PSY 797,798,799 for graduate students) for a letter grade (i.e., not as pass/fail or as completion of a task)
• Apply for and be awarded an Undergraduate Research Stimulus Program Award. 

RA's must commit to at least 2 semesters in the lab, and we welcome you to stay longer. 

• Fall and Winter or Winter and Spring/Summer 
• We encourage students to get involved early in their undergraduate career so that they can grow with the lab and take advantage of additional opportunities as they gain more experience.

We require a time commitment of at least 3 hours per week in addition to lab meeting

•  Research credit hour commitment corresponds to: 
• 1 credit hour = 3 hours in lab + 1 hour lab meeting
• 2 credit hours = 6 hours in lab + 1 hour lab meeting
• 3 credit hours = 9 hours in lab + 1 hour lab meeting
• It is also possible to register for 1 credit hour while participating more hours per week. This will be detailed on the registration form. This option-register for fewer hours than working-may work well for those looking to lower the cost of tuition.
• Attendance is required at:
• SEED Lab meetings held Fridays 1-2:30pm weekly are mandatory for all lab members
• Participation in SEED Lab includes finals weeks/break weeks, etc. If you need to miss a shift due to another commitment or travel, you should notify your tiered mentor and the PIs. When feasible, the shift should be made up at another time. If this occurs within a semester and the student is taking research credit, these hours must be made up in another week. 

Participation must be done in-person in the lab

• Our goal is to have coverage from 8am-7pm 7 days a week ideally (though we know this is unlikely and there will be some gaps). Once you have your schedule for each semester, lab hours should be added to the SEED Lab calendar. We ask that you try to arrange your schedule to cover times that are not otherwise covered (we may ask for schedule adjustments if needed).
• During your scheduled hours, you are expected to provide coverage as needed for: participant session sib-sitting, set-up and clean up assistance for data collection, and answering the lab phone as applicable. 
• If there is not a data collection session scheduled during your hours that week, you still need to be present in the lab, but can do other tasks such as recruitment/scheduling (typically top priority), transcription, coding, and data entry.
• Every lab member is expected to participate in recruitment for current studies and the EMU Family Participant Pool, including manning at least one participant pool booth (e.g. at the farmers market and other community events) per semester and at least four during the summer.  

Other lab requirements

• Track and report hours weekly
• Complete a bi-weekly lab note
• Readings and other small assignments will be occasionally assigned during lab meetings and are expected to be completed by the due date. These tasks may require time outside of your scheduled lab hours.
• At least one full semester in the lab is required before asking for a letter of recommendation or completing an independent research project (e.g. senior thesis, take the lead on a conference submission, etc. Exception: incoming graduate students may have the opportunity to lead conference submissions as part of mini-project groups) 
• You should have a strong interest in child development, parent-child relationships, families, and/or mental health.
• Regular communication, including replying to lab-wide emails. Additionally, if life gets hard, let us know. We'll do our best to help. We also want to celebrate your successes whether it's in school, lab, work, or other areas of life.

Timeline

New RAs are admitted to the lab three times annually at the beginning of each semester (September, January, and May). In order to be considered for the upcoming semester, your application must be received by the last day of the preceeding semester.  For example, if you wish to start in the fall, your application must be received by the last day of summer semester in August. Any applications received once the fall semester starts (e.g. in Septmember) will be considered for the Winter semester. Students are not permitted to join the lab part way through a semester.