Past DiSH lab manager and current University of Minnesota grad student Erin Standen just wrote an article for the Psychological Science Agenda that was just published last month. This article is titled, “Working with undergraduate research assistants: Effective for you, enriching for them.” Erin mentions tips for building a mutually beneficial relationship with research assistants such as setting clear expectations, learning what their goals are and helping where you can, considering naming a study coordinator, and documenting when someone goes above and beyond. Check out the full article here!

Emma Schopp, a former DiSH RA and study coordinator, has accepted an offer to join the NIH Postbac IRTA program! This is a very prestigious program that provides postbacs an opportunity to conduct full-time research at the NIH and prepare for graduate school.

Here’s what she had to say: “After spending the past year in cancer genetics research at USC, I am excited to return to health psychology research. I will be integrating the skills and knowledge that I gained in the DiSH Lab with my love for genetics as I conduct obesity-related research within the Communication, Attitudes, and Behavior Unit of the National Human Genome Research Institute. I will be investigating how obesity-related genetic information impacts health outcomes and disparities, particularly through its effect on patient-provider communication. Ultimately, I hope to become a genetic counselor and continue to explore how increasing access to genomic information impacts health. I have so much gratitude for Janet, Laura, Jenna, Erin, Alyssa, and the entire DiSH lab team for giving me so many opportunities to cultivate my critical thinking skills and for teaching me how to conduct research thoughtfully and effectively!”

Congratulations again, Emma! We’re so excited for you and wish you the best of luck!

DiSH grad student Daniel chaired a symposium, titled “The Psychology of Vegetarianism: Considering the Roles of Identity, Gender, and Morality,” at the Association for Psychological Science (APS) convention in Washington, D.C. at the end of May. Daniel presented alongside Ben De Groeve (PhD student at Ghent University), Liselot Hudders (Assistant Professor at Ghent University), Charlotte De Backer (Associate Professor at the University of Antwerp), and Jared Piazza (Lecturer at Lancaster University). Daniel particularly appreciated the international and interdisciplinary aspect of this symposium, saying about his fellow speakers, “We joined here not only from different parts of the world, but also from varying academic backgrounds and with assorted academic interests — from moral psychology to identity theory to communication sciences. It was nice to talk about a common eating behavior topic yet to do so from unique angles.” Shout-out to DiSH alumna Jenna Cummings for photo credits!

We attended the American Psychosomatic Society’s 77th Annual Meeting in Vancouver at the beginning of March. Vancouver was so lovely to visit, and it was a great location for a conference.

Dr. T was on the planning committee and helped organize this year’s meeting. She was part of a symposium titled, “Open Science and Psychosomatic Medicine.” She also brought back the ever-so-popular (and necessary!) stretch breaks between presentations.

Lab manager Alyssa also gave a presentation, which was titled “Associations between Disease-Specific Coping Strategies and Sleep Outcomes among Lung Cancer Patients.”

We’re already looking forward to next year’s meeting, which will be so local that we don’t have any excuse not to attend again in…Long Beach, CA!

(Apologies for the lateness of this post, but we still wanted to share how this conference went!)

A few weeks ago, Dr. T visited UC Riverside to give a talk called: “Obesity and Weight Stigma: Social-Health Consequences.” She was also reunited with Bernice Cheung, a former DiSH RA. Bernice is currently deciding between multiple grad school offers in social psych – congrats, Bernice!!