Melissa N
- Research Program Mentor
MA candidate at University of Denver
Expertise
Pregnancy, stress physiology, sleep health, longitudinal studies, actigraphy
Bio
Melissa is a fourth-year developmental psychology Ph.D. student at the University of Denver. Melissa is a first-generation student who is interested in promoting the health and development of pregnant individuals and their children. Melissa enjoys climbing, cooking, and taking her dog on walks.Project ideas
Introducing Statistics to Answer Research Questions
There are publicly available datasets that the student could use to gain first-hand experience in statistical analyses and interpretations, with the ability to present findings in a research conference of interest.
Prenatal Stress Physiology
Individuals' physiology changes with stress, however, there are sensitive periods, such as pregnancy, in which our stress physiology reacts differently in the presence of real or perceived stress. The student will learn the ways in which different stress-based systems, such as the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis, or the autonomic nervous system, react (especially during pregnancy).
Adolescent Sleep Health
Adolescence is another period of development in which a lot of changes are happening, especially in relation to sleep health and stress. The student will be able to create a consent form and a small survey which will be administered to adolescents. The analysis will be run on these data and findings will be disseminated.
Science Communication
Dissemination of fake science is growing rapidly. In an attempt to combat this ever-growing phenomenon, the student will create a social media presence that is devoted completely to the communication of research articles of their interest. This project may involve the creation of infographics and digestible flyers that report data from research articles. Communicating (and digesting) science is a great skill to develop early in one's career!