HIGH POINT, N.C., Aug. 9, 2012 – John Purcell, a rising senior at High Point University, is spending the summer finding new ways to understand and treat mental illness as a research assistant at the Yale Positive Emotion & Psychopathology Laboratory in New Haven, Conn.
At the Yale PEP lab, Purcell, a double major in psychology and music, is assisting in conducting research using functional magnetic resonance imaging, or fMRI. This technology is used to map specific brain-area activity, allowing behaviors and cognition to be associated with specific parts of the brain.
In his position, Purcell is responsible for assisting in fMRI scans, attaching sensors to participants, and registering and processing collected data. He is also the lead summer research assistant on a separate YPEP project that has him organizing and evaluating eye-tracking data.
Purcell gained familiarity working with clinical populations last summer, interning at Mental Health Associates of the Triad in High Point, N.C. This summer he has had a chance to work with actively manic bipolar participants, assisting them through various research tasks.
He says his coursework at HPU has aided him infinitely in his internship this summer. “My research methods courses have helped me gain confidence within a laboratory setting, while courses like abnormal psych. and person perception have given me a better understanding of the research I am conducting.”
Purcell, who aspires to attain a Ph.D. in clinical psychology, notes that every competent psychologist has laboratory experience, and working in the Yale PEP lab has been a rewarding way to get his feet wet in the realm of researching adult psychopathology.
“My experiences at HPU and YPEP have shown me that research can be exciting and inspirational,” Purcell says. “It’s humbling to think that I hold the potential to contribute to mankind’s understanding of human cognition and behavior.”
Purcell will continue gaining experience beyond his summer internship, thanks to an offer from the Yale PEP lab to continue his work beyond his internship. He will work remotely as an eye tracking analyst and consultant after the internship is complete and he returns to HPU in the fall.
Purcell is one of many HPU students who are blogging about their summer experience at http://internshipblog.highpoint.edu. Visit the website to read more about his daily responsibilities and the professional experience he’s gaining.
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Pam Haynes
Communication Specialist
336-841-9055
[email protected]