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ANNOUNCEMENT: New Student Research Internships
The University of Minnesota Medical School is seeking five students to participate in our
summer internship program supported by the recently funded Specialized Centers on Research
on Sex Differences (P50) grant.
****If you intend to apply for any of these internships and/or the funding, please contact Alicia
Allen, Ph.D., M.P.H. at [email protected] and specify which research project you are
interested in working on. A notice of interest must be received by March 1, 2013.***
Each student intern will take the lead in a mini-research project, participate in weekly journal club meetings, assist with ongoing data collection efforts, and prepare/present research findings. These projects may satisfy academic program requirements such as master’s projects and/or research credits (to be verified with each academic program). The time commitment is flexible but should be in the range of ten to thirty hours per week for the ten-week program (starting in June, 2013). The following research projects are available: 1. “Sex Differences and Progesterone’s Effects on Impulsivity and Smoking Cessation”
(PI: Sharon Allen, MD, PhD). This double-blind randomized control trial is currently recruiting men and women who want to quit smoking. Study participants are randomized to receive progesterone or placebo, and attend weekly clinic visits. 2. “Sex Differences and Progesterone’s Effects on Impulsivity and Cocaine Cessation”
(PI: Sheila Specker, MD). This double-blind randomized control study is currently recruiting men and women who want to quit using cocaine. Study participants are randomized to receive one of three assignments: (1) placebo + placebo, (2) progesterone + placebo, (3) progesterone + atomoxetine. Participants will attend weekly clinic visits. 3. “Sex Differences and Progesterone Effects on Impulsivity and Nicotine- and
Cocaine-Seeking in Rats” (PI: Marilyn Carroll, PhD). This preclinical study includes a
series of experiments including the following: (1) a rat model of relapse will be used to
compare treatments (progesterone, varenicline and atomoxetine) and sex differences, (2)
two models of impulsivity, impulsive choice and impaired inhibition will be studied, and
(3) female rats with high (pregnancy) and low (lactation) levels of endogenous
progesterone will be examined for the effect of these levels on nicotine and cocaine
maintenance, versus male and non-pregnant females.
4. “Smoking, Sex Hormones and Pregnancy” (PI: Sharon Allen, MD, PhD). This
ongoing lab-based study will enroll two samples of women – pregnant women and women who use oral contraceptives. Study participants will complete an eight-day data collection period in which they collect data at home via electronic data collection and complete two lab-based clinic visits. The goal of this study is to explore the association of progesterone, the progesterone/estradiol ratio and allopregnanolone with smoking behavior and response to nicotine. 5. “Relaxation or Exercise for Smoking Treatment” (PI: Sharon Allen, MD, PhD). This
randomized trial enrolled postmenopausal women, who were then assigned to participate in a group randomly assigned to use exercise or relaxation as an adjunct smoking cessation treatment. This project will be finished with data collection prior to Summer 2013, therefore the intern for this project will focus his/her efforts on data preparation, analysis and interpretation. While these are voluntary internships, there are funding opportunities available. For example:  Undergraduate interns can for funding via CTSI (http://www.ctsi.umn.edu/ education/programs-opportunities/UndergraduateResearchProgram/, due 1/29/13).  Graduate/pre-doctoral interns can apply for funding via CTSI (http://www.ctsi.umn.edu/education/programs-opportunities/pre-doc/, due 1/29/13).  Medical students can apply for funding via MMF (https://www.mmf.umn.edu/academic/grants/student/index.cfm, due 2/15/13) or MAFP (http://www.mafp.org/foundationprograms.asp, due 2/1/13). ***If you intend to apply for any of these internships and/or the funding, please contact Alicia
Allen, Ph.D., M.P.H. at [email protected] and specify which research project you are
interested in working on. A notice of interest must be received by March 1, 2013.***

Source: https://www.meded.umn.edu/students/opportunities/documents/UM-Medschool-New-Student-Research-Internships.pdf