Trauma research program accepts applicants for Summer 2016

The Undergraduate Trauma Research Training program — directed in part by Syracuse University — is now accepting undergraduate student applications for participation in trauma-related research opportunities.

The training program is an initiative led by the National Science Foundation Research Education for Undergraduates (REU). It is aimed at improving access to undergraduate research experiences for groups typically underrepresented — including veterans — in trauma-related research, according to an SU News release.

The program, which is a three-way collaboration between SU’s David B. Falk College of Sport and Human Dynamics, the State University of New York at Oswego and the State University of New York Upstate Medical University, is in its fifth year.

The program will be held from June 6-30 on the SU campus, according to the release. The deadline for applications is Feb. 28. Both veterans and non-veterans are invited to apply.

The summer intensive will include guest speakers, coursework and engagement in trauma research projects, said Karen Wolford, co-director of the program and coordinator of the interdisciplinary graduate certificate program in trauma studies at SUNY Oswego, in an email. Participants also receive a $3,000 stipend for their work.

“This is an excellent research training experience for undergraduate students who want to go on to graduate study,” Wolford said.

She added that the program is vital in “broadening the understanding of interventions that will assist veterans who are recovering from posttraumatic stress symptoms.”

Posttraumatic stress symptoms — more specifically, the biomarkers of posttraumatic stress disorder — are a main research focus of this year’s program.

Brooks Gump, the program’s principal investigator, said the feedback given by participants year after year is “extremely positive.”

“We keep doing (the program) primarily because of the feedback we get,” he said.

The intensive usually receives about 110 applicants, Gump added. The process is highly competitive, though; only between eight and 10 applicants are chosen out of the original pool.

“We try to get those who have a strong interest and background in research,” Gump said.

Some of the courses offered during the month-long program will include Research Methods & Statistics, Neurobiology of Trauma and Cultural and Ethnic differences in PTSD, said Ivan Castro, project manager of the program, in an email.

“The courses are not taught in a lecture and test format, but rather in a way so each student is an active participant in the conversation,” he added.

When the month is over, the work will still continue. The program is technically structured to span a full year, and students are expected to continue their research following the completion of the summer session, according to the release.

Students will work under the mentorship of the REU faculty in the fall 2016 semester and present their final research at a national or international conference in spring 2017, according to the release.

The program has been successful every year in securing student exposure at conferences, Wolford said.

Castro added that this spring, five students from last summer’s intensive will be presenting at a symposium to the Eastern Psychological Association’s annual meeting.

Past and ongoing research projects include the design and conduction of an online mindfulness-based stress reduction study for veterans with posttraumatic stress symptoms, and the development of a related mobile application, Wolford said.

Faculty from SU and the other two participating universities contribute to the research mentoring and administration of the program, which was just renewed for three more years, Wolford said.

Each school provides “conference travel funds, research supply funds, research training funds, money for guest speakers and money for administrating the program, as well as for housing for the students,” she added.

Wolford said she believes this program is important because it allows for much needed insight and perspective from veterans themselves.

“We rely on the veterans on the research teams to educate us and make sure that we are asking the right questions and gaining new insights into what will best help this population going forward,” Wolford said.