Department: Physics
Professor Weiqun Peng
Project Description: Recent revolution in genome technology has ushered us in an era of high-quality high-throughput quantitative genomics data, opening up new dimensions in the understanding of biological systems. My group employs data-driven approaches (data mining, machine-learning) to study genomic and epigenomic regulation of gene expression, working closely with leading experimental groups in the respective fields. This project aims to characterize the biological significance of intron retention, one of the key forms of alternative splicing in eukaryotes, in gene regulation and cellular function. Our preliminary work in human CD4+ T cells demonstrated that regulated intron retention coupled with mRNA degradation might serve as a novel post-transcriptional regulatory mechanism underlying T cell activation. In this project, we will 1) explore intron retention-mediated regulation across diverse immune cell types and in human cancer; 2) characterize the molecular mechanism underlying intron retention at the sequence, epigenetic and network level; 3) examine how regulated intron retention coordinates with other regulatory modes to achieve expression robustness and plasticity.
Duties: Seeking motivated students who are enthusiastic about learning and cutting-edge research. Strong programming skill is necessary. Knowledge in biology is a big plus. Duty involves 1) Tailor and apply existing code to large functional genomics data sets 2) Develop novel analysis tools for genomics research
Time Commitment/Credits: 7-9 hours per week; 3 credits
To Apply: Send cover letter and resume to wpeng@gwu.edu
Tag: Fall 2016 Research Assistantship
Boston University Twin Project [Research Assistantship]
Department: Psychology
Professor Jody Ganiban
Project Description: The Boston University Twin Project (BUTP) is a multi-method, multi-situation, longitudinal study of early child temperament and related behaviors. The first phase of this project focused primarily on activity level and comprised over 300 twin pairs assessed in the home and lab at ages 2 and 3. Subject recruitment, sample characteristics, and study procedures are described. A second phase broadens our focus to the development of multiple temperament dimensions and developmental outcomes in a new cohort of 300 twin pairs to be assessed at 3, 4, and 5 years of age.
Duties: Research assistants will be involved in the collection of data through analysis of videos of parent-child dyadic interactions. Each RA will be assigned videos weekly to code. Much of the work would be done independently and on the research assistant’s schedule. One hour each week would be dedicated to a meeting with other research assistants and the supervisor in order to discuss anomalies in videos and necessary modifications to the coding manual and procedures.
Time Commitment/Credits: 7-9 hours per week; 3 credits
To Apply: Submit your cover letter and resume to ganiban@gwu.edu
Industrializing in the Emporer’s Shadow–the Red River of Northern Vietnam [Research Assistantship]
Department: Political Science
Professor Alasdair Bowie
Project Description: This is a chapter in a larger book manuscript on the role of local (provincial, district) governments in the contemporary economic development of Vietnam and Indonesia. I have a completed draft of this chapter which relies primarily upon field research and data on two provinces of the Red River Delta, collected while I was a Fulbright research scholar in Vietnam in 2011. I welcome help finding sources to update and supplement statistical and empirical data in the chapter. I also hope to supplement the treatment of the two provinces with some brief, thumbnail treatments of 2-3 other provinces in this region of Vietnam.
Duties: I seek an undergraduate RA with experience of writing research papers in disciplines such as political science, international affairs or history (to name but a few). She/he should possess well developed abilities to use the databases available through the Gelman Library website to identify and access statistical and empirical data. She/he should also be a self-motivated and indefatigable searcher for scholarly and authoritative sources online. Her/his tasks will involve helping me find sources to update and supplement
statistical and empirical data in the chapter. I also hope to she/he will help me supplement the treatment of the two provinces that are the focus of the existing chapter draft with some brief, thumbnail treatments of 2-3 other provinces located in this northern region of Vietnam. The student need not be familiar with Vietnam or have any knowledge of the Vietnamese language. However, she/he should be innovative in using Google Translate (or other online tools) to navigate sites that are primarily in Vietnamese and to find comparable English-language sources where available. Although the student should undertake the required research in her/his own time, and the primary method of reporting on her/his research will be by email, I would expect to meet with the student to discuss in person reports and updates on Tuesday afternoons in my office for 20-30 minutes between 1:00 and 3:30, initially on a weekly basis (perhaps less frequently as the semester goes on). The student would need to be available at some time during this window.
Time Commitment/Credits: 7-9 hours per week (average); 3 credits
To Apply: Submit Cover Letter/Resume to abowie@gwu.edu
School Lunch in Chile [Research Assistantship]
Department: Sociology
Professor Ivy Ken
Project Description: The school feeding program in Chile is dominated by companies that import and distribute the food. The Chilean government brokers deals with these companies to ensure that all children in public schools are fed. As part of an ongoing research project, this semester I will investigate and
document the changes that have occurred in this program over the last six months, including updated nutrition standards, new contracting practices, and increased attention to local producers in the supply chain.
The goal of the larger research project is to understand what structural practices within school feeding programs contribute to the health and well-being of a population by prioritizing children’s access to whole, unprocessed, nutritious foods. This requires attention to the inequalities perpetuated by current practices, and specifically in this project, a comparison of Chile’s system to school feeding programs in the US and Brazil.
Duties: This position requires fluency in Spanish. The Research Assistant will search for and work through Spanish-language documents produced by the government in addition to labor union materials and media reports. The RA
will meet with me weekly to discuss these materials and to analyze them collaboratively within the context of the larger goals of the research project. This will require the student to become familiar with the political-economic situation of contemporary Chile and with the current dilemmas of school feeding programs cross-nationally.
Time Commitment/Credits: 7-9 hours per week (average); 3 credits
To Apply: Submit Cover Letter/Resume to ivyken@gwu.edu
Museum Collections of the living Great and Lesser Apes [Research Assistantship]
Department: Professor of Human Origins
Professor Bernard Wood
Project Description: There is no comprehensive inventory of museum collections of great (chimpanzees, bonobos, gorillas, orangutans) and lesser (gibbons and siamangs) apes. The student would work on-line and with me at the Library of Congress chasing up publications that relate to the major ape skeletal collections in natural history museums around the world. We are especially interested in the history of each collection. Where did the animals come from? Who collected them and why? The goal is to present this research as a Chapter in a book called “Primates in History” to be published by Taylor and Francis. A previous Honors RA was an author of this 2013 publication that focuses on one collection of great apes at the Powell-Cotton Museum in the UK. ‘Great Ape Skeletal Collections: Making the Most of Scarce and Irreplaceable Resources in the Digital Age.’ Gordon, Adam D., Marcus, Emily and Wood, Bernard. Am. J. phys. Anthropol., 57: 2-32. doi: 10.1002/ajpa.22391
Duties: The student would work on-line and with me at the Library of Congress chasing up publications that relate to the major ape skeletal collections in natural history museums around the world. The student would also be involved in collating this information and writing the chapter.
Time Commitment/Credits: 4-6 hours per week; 2 credits
To Apply: Send your cover letter and resume to bwood@gwu.edu
History of Primate Research in the UK [Research Assistantship]
Department: Professor of Human Origins
Professor Bernard Wood
Project Description: There is no comprehensive history of comparative research on non-human primates conducted in the UK. The student would work on-line and with me at the Library of Congress chasing up publications by people like Robert Owen and Thomas Huxley all the way through to the 1950s. The goal is to present this research as a Chapter in a book called “Primates in History” to be published by Taylor and Francis. A previous Honors RA was an author of this 2013 publication ‘Great Ape Skeletal Collections: Making the Most of Scarce and Irreplaceable Resources in the Digital Age.’ Gordon, Adam D., Marcus, Emily and Wood, Bernard. Am. J. phys. Anthropol., 57: 2-32. doi: 10.1002/ajpa.22391
Duties: On line and library research, collation of the publications that involve primate dissections, helping with writing the resulting review paper
Time Commitment/Credits: 4-6 hours per week; 2 credits
To Apply: Send your cover letter and resume to bwood@gwu.edu
Genetic Variation in US Population [Research Assistantship]
Department: Forensic Science
Professor Moses Schanfield
Project Description: Project entails tabulating data on European Americans and African Americans in Georgia, Alabama and Illinois on blood groups, protein and histocompatibility markers, calculating allele frequencies and doing population genetics analysis to measure variation in Southern and Northern States and investigate the structure of these populations in various types of urban and rural populations including sea ports, rural agricultural areas and
urban areas.
Duties: RA would in consultation with the PI tabulate data, calculate allele frequencies using Excel spread sheets and participate in the analysis of the data generated, at county and state levels.
Time Commitment/Credits: 7-9 hours per week (average); 3 credits
To Apply: Submit Cover Letter/Resume to mschanfi@gwu.edu
Immigrants and the Knowledge-Based Economy: Asian Indian Immigration and Entrepreneurship in Metropolitan Washington [Research Assistantship]
Department: Geography
Professor Marie Price
Project Description: This is a collaborative research project by Professor Marie Price and Elizabeth Chacko in the Department of Geography. The proposed research project seeks to understand the intersections of the growth of a knowledge-based economy in an important yet understudied destination city with high-skilled immigration, using the case of Asian Indian immigrants in Metropolitan Washington D.C. Increasingly the literature on immigrant economic integration and entrepreneurship has focused on metropolitan areas as a critical scale of analysis to understand the relationship between immigration and regional competitiveness (Glick Schiller and Caglar, 2011; Price and Benton-Short, 2008; Brettell 2003) rather than a tendency to focus on national policies. Washington’s economic success coupled with its relatively sudden rise as a major U.S. immigrant destination warrants careful consideration. According to POLICOM, the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV region ranked first of all metropolitan statistical areas in 2011 in economic strength (POLICOM, 2011). In the United States, certain regions such as the Silicon Valley in California, the Research Triangle in North Carolina and Boston’s Technological Corridor are well known for their knowledge-based economies. However, little research has been conducted on the rise of knowledge-based industries of the Washington metropolitan area with its expertise in bio-technology, telecommunications and education. Asian Indians are the second largest immigrant group in the Washington metropolitan area. High-skill Indian immigrants have long been attracted to the region’s robust telecommunications, information, and biotechnology sectors. Unlike more studied Asian Indian immigrant destinations such as metropolitan New York or San Francisco/Silicon Valley, relatively little is known about the impact of Asian Indian immigrants as workers and entrepreneurs on Washington’s economy and its global competitiveness.
Duties: Extraction of Data from the ACS 2015 (five year summary) Indian FB self-employed Indian FB occupations Indian Ancestry self-employed Indian Ancestry occupations Indian Ancestry and FB – Socio-Economic Characteristics (income, homeownership, education) Interviews with Identified Indian businesses in the Washington Metro area Attend a Focus Group and assist with analysis of a Survey Monkey questionnaire. Review Department of Homeland Security data on employment visa types for Indian immigrants: H1B , J-1 etc. Nationally, and by state (With a DC, Virginia and Maryland focus) Review publications from the Indian CEO High-tech Council and the US Pan-Asian Chamber of Commerce, Washington DC
Time Commitment/Credits: 7-9 hours per week; 3 credits
To Apply: Submit a cover letter and resume to mprice@gwu.edu
Rule of Law and Electoral Politics [Research Assistantship]
Department: Political Science
Professor Adam Ziegfeld
Project Description: This project investigates whether the rule of law–defined as the extent to which rules and laws are uniformly and routinely implemented–affects the outcomes of elections. It hypothesizes that in contexts where the rule of law is weak and rules and laws are erratically and unevenly implemented, voters vote primarily based on the candidates running for office, whereas in contexts where the rule of law is strong and rules and laws are uniformly and routinely implemented, voters vote primarily based on the parties competing in the election. One part of the project tests these hypotheses at the individual level. Another part tests these hypotheses using aggregate level election data. Using election results from around the world, this project will test whether swings in electoral support from one election to the next are more uniform across a country when the rule of law is strong than when the rule of law is weak. Such a finding would be consistent with the expectation that voters in strong rule of law contexts vote on the basis of national party labels, while voters in weak rule of law contexts vote on the basis of the specific candidates running in their electoral district.
Duties: Research assistant duties will mainly involve the collection of electoral data from recent elections in democracies around the world. The first task will involve collecting a list of countries coded as democratic over the past decade. Second, using this list, the next task will be to find official results from recent legislative elections. This will constitute the bulk of the work. Third, the final task will be to write up notes on the details of the information discovered. Students with prior experience with statistical packages will also potentially search existing datasets for election results and merge those into a single database. Students with other computer programming skills can put those to use extracting election results from webpages or pdfs so that they are ready for analysis using statistical software.
Time Commitment/Credits: 1-3 hours per week; 1 credit
To Apply: Submit cover letter and resume to awz@gwu.edu
Intrusive effects of task irrelevant semantic information on visual selective attention [Research Assistantship]
Department: Psychology
Professor Sarah Shomstein
Project Description: How does the human visual system sort through the massive amounts of sensory input, which it samples almost continuously, to arrive at a coherent perception of a scene? This process of searching through the
environment for information is a ubiquitous component of sensory processing and it reflects a remarkable ability of the perceptual system to dynamically select information that is relevant for the current goal of the organism. Such perceptual selectivity, referred to as attention, is central to cognition. Since what we consciously perceive will, ultimately, depend on where we direct our attention, understanding attentional mechanism is an important first step toward revealing the neural mechanisms that support conscious awareness. Over the past four decades, researchers acquired enough explanatory power to predict behavior, in simple visual environments, based on selection of spatial locations, features, and objects. Unfortunately, predictive ability of models based exclusively on physical attributes of the scene (space, objects, features) fail with increased scene complexity (e.g., scenes with multiple simple objects, or real-world scenes). Such failure in predicting how attention is allocated in a more complex scene, can partially be attributed to a lack of understanding of how higher-level properties of objects, and scenes, constrain attentional selection.
The proposed research program aims to test a set of novel predictions regarding the influence of high-level properties of the scene to attentional selection. Our goal is to rigorously test the hypothesis that task-irrelevant semantic information constrains attentional selection by directly acting on space- and object-based representations: task-irrelevant semantically related objects are more likely to be attended. We ask a fundamental question whether semantic information intrudes itself on attentional control even when it is not directly relevant to the current goals of the observer. Predictions will be tested in real world scenes, and by utilizing real world objects. Both, behavioral profile (with the use of various psychophysics and eye-movement techniques) as well as the neural underpinnings of this mechanism (by employing neuroimaging techniques), will be examined. The proposed research program not only enhances discovery but also dovetails with numerous activities that promote teaching, training, and learning within academia, as well as the general public.
Duties: Meet and greet research participants.
Help with day-to-day running of a research laboratory.
Looking for enthusiastic students who are interested in elucidating links between brain and behavior. Enthusiasm, curiosity, independence, and willingness to work hard are required.
Time Commitment/Credits: 7-9 hours per week (average); 3 credits
To Apply: Submit Cover Letter/Resume to shom@gwu.edu
