Prospective Students
Please see our web page for prospective students. If you have any suggestions for things we can usefully add, please email ionefine @uw.edu
Current students
The goal of the CHN-STF collective is to collect a variety of interesting neuroimaging measures. Students can then design their own questionnaires and send those to the neuroimaging participants. They can then correlate the results of those questionnaires with the neuroimaging measures to explore their own questions about the brain.
Although this is primarily designed to be an undergraduate research opportunity. Masters, PhD and even high school students are welcome to volunteer.
The best way to get started is through attending PSYCH 555B: Seminar in Human Neuroscience (auditors welcome).
What students say about the CHN-STF Neuroimaging Collective
“Very understanding and encouraging of students who have zero experience with/knowledge about neuroscience. Also very very student-driven; we are given a lot of freedom to ask questions we like and make the project(s) our own.”
“CHN-STF has been a life changing experience for me. Never did I think that I would be able to be so involved in the research process as an undergraduate student … I am so grateful to be in the STF group. I have learned more about academic/business conduct when scheduling participants, how to run an MRI scan, analyze data, R, and so much more. A truly amazing experience that I am lucky to be apart of here at UW.”
“CHN-STF provided me the opportunity to learn about fMRI research and allowed me to ask and answer research questions connecting neural mechanisms by observing brain data and behavioral data collected through the survey. The 555 class associated with this was highly collaborative and encouraged all of us to participate and come up with cool research questions by brainstorming with my classmates.”
“CHN-STF was my first in-lab research opportunity, and has helped my career tremendously. I have acquired numerous skills that I have applied in other labs and made me a more competitive applicant for graduate school. I have also made great connections, and am investigating something that I specifically want to look at. Who else can say that they can look at the connection between social connectedness and cortical volume as a 20 year old? Maybe some, but still, I consider it to have prepared me for so much going forward.”
PAST CLASSES
It’s worth looking at these classes to see if they interest you, then see if the prof is offering it in the future.
MRI Operator Training Course
(PSYCH 545 – 23796)
To help support MRI Operator training, we are offering a graduate course this fall quarter through the Dept. of Psychology (taught by John Pyles): Advanced Practicals of fMRI (PSYCH 545 – 23796). This 3 credit course (draft syllabus can be downloaded here) will meet once a week at the CHN MRI suite and cover the theory, safety, and practical knowledge needed to successfully operate the scanner and run MRI experiments. On completion of the course, students should be well on their way to becoming Level 3 certified MRI Operators at CHN able to run scans. If there is sufficient demand, we may also offer a series of training sessions specifically for non-student researchers for Level 3 operator certification. If think you may be interested in the course or the non-student operator training, please fill in this form.
LING 580 G & H: Building psycholinguistic experiments
Instructor: Qi Cheng, Ph.D.
E-mail: qicheng2@uw.edu
Class Time: W 3:30-5:50pm, ECE 026
Week 1: Psycholinguistic experiments overview; why we need experiments
Week 2: Identifying a research gap/question
Week 3: Experimental design overview; operationalizing variables
Week 4: Experimental procedures; selecting a paradigm
Week 5: Statistical design & control for extraneous variables
Week 6: Sampling & human subject research
Week 7: Developing & norming experiment materials
Week 8: Implementing experiments locally using PsychoPy
Week 9: Implementing experiments online using Pavlovia
Week 10: Student presentation
MRI Operator Training Course: for Research Staff
There was sufficient interest from non-student research staff in the Operator Training Course that we will be offering an additional course specifically for this group. The course content will be largely the same, but we will probably accelerate through some material and probably meet 5-6 sessions instead of the entire quarter. I’ll be emailing those who replied to the earlier poll this week to start scheduling sessions. If you’re interested in this course and did not reply to the earlier poll, please email me: johnp@uw.edu
CHN Level 2 Safety Training (3hrs)
This is the standard Safety Training for CHN-MRI researchers, and by attending you will be certified as having Level 2 Researcher Safety Training to run scans at CHN with the MRI technologist. Anyone doing research at CHN-MRI needs to complete this training. This will be a 3 hour session in person in Kincaid Hall, including a break and a tour of the CHN-MRI suite.
If you would like to attend CHN Safety Training, please complete this poll to find the best time: https://whenisgood.net/chnsafeetyfall2022 [whenisgood.net]
Getting Started Scanning at CHN Crash Course (2.5hrs)
In this session we will cover how to get a project started at CHN, and some practical aspects of running an MRI experiment generally. We will start by covering the CHN Project Application process. We will then review the peripheral equipment available at CHN, as well as some of the scanning protocols available. Next we’ll talk about a typical experimental workflow from participant recruitment, through screening, and reminder emails, and best practices for making participants comfortable and getting the best quality data. We’ll also review setting up a checklist for scanning, and finally using the CHN Calpendo calendar system and the basics of data management on Flywheel. This session will be in person in Kincaid Hall, and will include a tour and review of CHN facilities and peripherals.
If you’d like to attend, please fill out this poll: https://forms.gle/8rtSriKHLBJXTa13A [forms.gle]
Introduction to MRI Physics Crash Course (2.5hrs)
This session will provide an overview of MR physics with special attention to concepts relevant to MRI research. We will cover the basic physics MRI, T1 and T2 relaxation, spatial encoding with gradients, the concepts of a pulse sequence and k-space, and finally T2* and the BOLD response. This should provide you with a good basic foundation for how MRI works and what signals you are dealing with in your research. If there is interest, we might follow up with additional sessions on MRI Parameters and Artifacts.
If you’d like to attend, please fill out this poll: https://forms.gle/8rtSriKHLBJXTa13A [forms.gle]
Capturing Brain Dynamics: A Combined Neuroscience and Engineering Approach
Introduces methods for capturing brain dynamics using an emerging neuroimaging technique know as magnetoencephalography (MEG). Uses techniques to examine perception and cognitive processes and their implications for future brain-computer-interface (BCI) design. Prepare students for interdisciplinary research in neuroscience and engineering. The Instructor, Christina Zhao, would appreciate it if interested students filled out a short survey (https://forms.gle/2kj5U3eZE4zggrbS8 [forms.gle]).
Student Technology Fund award for independent student neuroimaging
Research Funding
We’re thrilled to announce that CHN-MRI has been awarded a $113,800 grant by the Student Technology Fund to support independent student (undergraduate + graduate) MR neuroimaging.
We hope to make a call for proposals very soon. We particularly encourage mixed teams of graduate and undergraduate researchers.
Fellowships
Postdoctoral: The University of Washington Computational Neuroscience Center (CNC) is seeking applications for a prestigious Postdoctoral Fellowship at the UW Swartz Center for Theoretical Neuroscience. Fellows will join the vibrant, collaborative UW theoretical neuroscience community. This fellowship provides the unique opportunity to work with any of the CNC’s faculty members, with the freedom to design and develop projects and new collaborations. Participating faculty members’ research includes theory, computation and data analysis, and members interact extensively with colleagues in quantitative experimentation. Experimental work available for close collaboration at UW includes groups performing large-scale recording (electrophysiology, imaging) and neural manipulation (optogenetics) in diverse behavioral tasks. Collaborations with the Allen Institute [alleninstitute.org] are also possible.
The Fellowship is available with a flexible starting date between immediately and spring ‘23, and applications will be considered on a rolling basis until the position is filled. To apply please send your CV, a 1-2 page summary of research accomplishments, and a 1-2 page statement of research interests, to cncadmin@uw.edu; please arrange to have 3 letters of reference sent to the same email address.
Graduate Student: Predoctoral ANTG (Auditory Neuroscience training grant) fellowships are currently open for applications.
The OSA Fall Vision Meeting Conference will be IN PERSON Sept 30th-Oct 3rd in Seattle. Abstract submission deadline is 19th August.