Boston University Medical Campus
Evolutionary Neurobehavior Laboratory

Laboratory Assistant – Boston University School of Medicine and Boston VA Healthcare System, Jamaica Plain Campus, Department of Neurology, Boston, MA
May 2008 – Present
The primary purpose of this position is to assist the Principal Investigator to create a protocol for a sleep project related to dreaming, cognition, memory, and sleep in college. We want to examine the differences between REM and NREM sleep and how these two stages of sleep relate to cognitive processes.

• Administers and observes neuropsychological testing with Parkinson’s disease (PD) patients, healthy age-matched controls, and healthy college students
• Schedules and confirms participant interviews
• Obtains informed consent from participants
• Organizes test materials
• Scores and transcribes data
• Edits database to enter data
• Strictly adheres to IRB protocol
• Assists the laboratory supervisor in completing disbursements to compensate participants
• Assists in training new work-study students

Research Assistant – Boston University School of Medicine and Boston VA Healthcare System, Jamaica Plain Campus, Department of Neurology, Boston, MA
September 2005 – April 2008

• Some topics of research include: the phylogeny of sleep, Parkinson’s disease (PD), memory, cognition, dreams, and pragmatics
• Was responsible for two undergraduate research projects focusing on pragmatic language skills in PD and the production of action scripts and side of onset in PD
• Extracted data from scientific papers related to mammalian and avian sleep data
• Assisted with entering data into different databases such as Excel and Navicat
• Observed neuropsychological assessments with PD patients and age-matched healthy controls
• Transcribed and scored patient interviews and other behavioral assessments
• Assisted the principal investigator in performing and interpreting statistical analyses for data presented at various conferences
• Learned about the grant writing and publication processes
• Performed general office duties such as photocopying, filing, and literature searches

Office Assistant – Department of Psychology, Boston University, Boston, MA
January 2006 – April 2006

• Solved minor computer problems by using various troubleshooting methods
• Organized research data and the general office area to be more efficient
• Assisted professor with her classes by organizing lectures, creating power pointpresentations, and performing literature searches

Cashier and Sales Associate – Westmont Hardware, Westmont, NJ
May 2002 – August 2004, Summer 2005

• Performed clerical duties, answered phones, and worked the cash register
• Completed inventory, placed orders, and designed displays
• Developed great customer service skills by assisting customers with products they needed to purchase
• Was responsible for the general running of the store when the manager was out of town

Research Assistant – Boston University Vision and Cognition Lab, Boston, MA
September 2007 – May 2008

• Helped organize new research study related to sleep, cognition, and PD
• Assisted with compiling packets for test administration
• Assisted with test administration for control participants
• Scored neuropsychological data
• Created databases to enter scored data

Holybourne Specialized Day Centre, Four Season’s Health Care, London, England
October 2006 – December 2006

• Assisted patients who had dementia with various tasks and projects
• Talked and interacted with patients to understand dementia and Alzheimer’s disease,specifically how it can affect each person differently
• Helped staff care for patients
• Organized events to engage patients in social interaction
• Led group activities and discussions
• Wrote an analytic portfolio at the end of the internship on Alzheimer’s disease, dementia, and my overall experience

Student Food Run, Boston University, Boston, MA
Spring 2005, Spring 2007

• Delivered salvaged and donated food to two homeless shelters in Boston through Fair Foods
• Drove the shuttle to deliver the food to the homeless shelters

After School Program, Jackson Mann Community Center, Allston, MA
Spring 2005

• Tutored elementary school students in an after school program by helping with their homework
• Played games with the students, read to them, and helped them improve their reading skills

Habitat for Humanity, Boston University, Boston, MA
Fall 2004 – Spring 2005, Spring 2007

• Participated in a City Year event to clean up a church yard and to make it a public garden in Roxbury, MA
• Raised money for Habitat for Humanity
• Headed the Entertainment Committee for a dance to raise money
• Spent a day building at the Build Site in Lawrence, MA in the spring
• Helped paint an apartment building for homeless families to move in to

Playground Project, Boston University, Boston, MA
Fall 2004 – Spring 2005

• Helped raise money to buy a playground for an inner-city school
• Helped to build the playground on Build Day in Jamaica Plain, MA

Haddon Township High School, Westmont, NJ
2000 – 2004

• Cooked for and fed the homeless in the Feed My Sheep program in Camden, NJ
• Environmental Club (performed fundraising, petitioned to stop destruction of woods, and participated in lake clean-ups)
• Visited nursing homes