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51ÉçÇø Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine
Heritage Hall, Athens, OH 45701

Program Activities

NSF Research Experience for Undergraduates 

Kids playing

Students Will Engage in Hands-On Learning

  • Each REU student will complete an independent research project supervised by an REU faculty and a graduate student mentor.
  • Each REU student will complete an online orientation (1 week) followed by a 7-week REU occurring from mid-June through end of July.
  • The online orientation will allow students to use Blackboard to view course outlines, course readings and more extensive faculty profiles. Students will complete CITI human subjects training during orientation.
  • The on-campus REU will consist of clinical research activities, mini-courses, a speaker series and a mentored research project.
Sample Weekly Schedule of REU Program Activities
Time Slot Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday
8:00 - 10:30  Individual Research Individual Research Individual Research Individual Research Individual Research
10:30 - 12:00 Treatment Outcome Research and Individual Response to Treatment Psychological Research Method and Analytical Skills Course Treatment Outcome Research and Individual Response to Treatment Psychological Research Method and Analytical Skills Course Treatment Outcome Research and Individual Response to Treatment
12:00 - 1:00 Lunch Lunch Lunch with Graduate Students Lunch Lunch
1:00 - 2:30 Individual Research B-Mod and ESTs Writing Group  B-Mod and ESTs Groups meeting w/ or writing time w/goals
2:30 - 4:00 Individual Research Individual Research Individual Research Individual Research Individual Research
4:00 - 5:30 Individual Research Individual Research Individual Research Individual Research

Individual Research
5:30 - 6:30   Dinner and Speaker Series Dinner and Parent Workshops Dinner and Survival Skills Class  

Independent Research Activities

Students will complete individual research activities with faculty and graduate mentors. In the first week, students will consult with mentors to develop 2-3 learning goals.

With the faculty and graduate student mentors, the REU student will select a research question and testable hypotheses. Having the student generate their own hypotheses is what makes this REU experience different from a simple independent research study in which a student helps out in a mentor’s lab.

Mentors work closely with students to make sure they generate a testable hypothesis for an independent project. Students will consult with graduate student mentors and faculty mentors about informative outside readings and research design.

Each of the studies proposed by REU students have been or will be reviewed and approved by the IRB before being conducted. When the studies involve children as participants, the faculty mentor or graduate student will accompany the student on the first day of data collection.

REU students and faculty
REU students enjoyed outdoor activities, brunches and lunches together throughout the program.

Areas of Research

  • Measuring impairment in middle- and high-school aged youth with SEB (Steve Evans)
  • Middle school and high school interventions for youth with SEB (Steve Evans)
  • Screening to identify youth with SEB (Julie Owens)
  • Implementation of daily report card for children with SEB (Julie Owens)
  • Factors affecting teacher implementation of school interventions for SEB (Julie Owens)
  • Family functioning of children with SEB (Brian Wymbs)
  • Parent preferences for mental health services for SEB (Fran Wymbs)
  • Exercise as an adjunctive intervention for children with SEB ( Fran Wymbs)
  • Decision-making among children, patients, providers and parents (Fran Wymbs)
  • Diversity and inclusion in health care (Berkeley Franz)
  • The integration of social determinants of health into the health care system (Berkeley Franz)
  • Expanding treatment for substance use disorder and related trauma among children (Berkeley Franz)
  • Use of both qualitative and quantitative research methods (Berkeley Franz)

Publications Authored or Co-authored by REU Students

  1. Delgadillo, A., Wymbs, F., Margherio, S., & Egan, T. (In Press). Elementary school teachers’ preferences for various intensities of school-based interventions for students with emotional and behavioral problems. School Mental Health. 

  2. Margherio, S. M., Brickner, M. A., Evans, S. W., Owens, J. S., DuPaul, G. J., & Allan, N. P. (In Press). The role of emotion regulation in alcohol use in adolescents with ADHD. Psychology of Addictive Behaviors.

  3. Margherio, S. M., Capps, R. E., Monopoli, W. J., Evans, S.W., Hernandez-Rodriguez, M., Owens, J. S., & DuPaul, G. J. (In Press). Romantic relationships and sexual behavior among adolescents with ADHD. Journal of Attention Disorders.

  4. Monopoli, W.J., Margherio, S.M., Evans, S.W., Xiang, J., Brickner, M.A. & Langberg, J.M. (2020). Risk and protective factors for peer victimization in adolescents with ADHD. Journal of School Violence, 19, 234-247.

  5. Owens, J., McLennan, J., Haines-Saah, R., Mitchell, S. Hustus, C., Mixon, C., & Troutman, A. (2019). Leveraging technology to facilitate teachers’ use of a targeted classroom intervention: Evaluation of the Daily Report Card.Online (DRC.O) System.

  6. Steele, C.M., Wymbs, B.T., & Capps, R.E. (In Press). Birds of a Feather: An Examination of ADHD Symptoms and Associated Concerns in Partners of Adults with ADHD.

  7. Wymbs, F., Wymbs, B., Margherio, S. & Burd, K. (In Press). The effects of high intensity versus low intensity exercise on academic productivity, mood, and behavior among youth with and without ADHD. Journal of Child and Family Studies.

Victor Torres, left, presented his findings at the on campus research poster presentation on the last day of the program. Hist mentor was Dr. Dawn Graham.
Victor Torres presented his findings on he last day of the program. (Mentor: Dr. Dawn Graham)
Student poster presentation
Dr. Evans and Angela Sophia Royo hold the Exceptional Undergraduate Poster Award given at the ABCT 2018 annual meeting.

Awards and Accomplishments

  • Two of our REU participants (Lizzie Wilson and Valerie Velasco) were selected to present their research at the Council for Undergraduate Research, hosted by National Science Foundation in October 2019 and 2018, respectively. Lizzie’s mentor is Dr. Steve Evans, and Valerie’s mentor is Dr. Brian Wymbs.
  • Angela Sofia Royo's work was selected by the ADHD Special Interest Group as the Exceptional Undergraduate Poster at the Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies in November 2018. Angela’s mentor is Dr. Steve Evans.
  • Hannah Grace Rew's work was selected by the ADHD Special Interest Group as the Exceptional Undergraduate Poster at the Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies in November 2020 (virtually). Hannah Grace's mentor is Dr. Julie Evans.

Other Research Activities

  • Students will prepare a research presentation (taking place at the end of the summer) summarizing the results of their independent project.
  • As a part of the speaker series, students will participate in at least one seminar about how to apply for research grants.
  • Each year, 90%-100% of our REU participants have presented their individual research projects at national conferences.

Educational Activities

Students will engage in the following educational activities:

  • Training in Behavior Modification and Evidence-Based Treatments
  • Treatment Outcome Research—Individual Response to Treatment for SEB
  • Psychological Research Method and Analytical Skills
  • Weekly Writing Group
  • Survival Skills Course/Preparation for Graduate School Unit
  • Community Outreach Forums and Parent Education Workshops
  • Speaker Series on Special Topics related to Children’s Social, Emotional and Behavioral Problems
  • Live observation of behavior modification techniques in summer clinical program for children with SEB

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