Project Mentor
Dr. Derek Houston
Department: Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences
Research Project Overview:
The HELLO Lab is part of the Department of Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences. We focus on how to support spoken language learning in children who use hearing aids and cochlear implants. With Dr. Derek Houston as the primary investigator of the lab, our team of interdisciplinary experts and collaborators tackle clinically-based questions that impact children and families.
The major project for the HELLO Lab is what we call PIE (Parent Infant Eyetracking). This study is NIH funded and is focused on how parent-child interactions during play can help children learn different words. We work with children who have hearing in the typical range, who use hearing aids, and who use cochlear implants. In this study, a child (2 years old) and their adult come to our lab to have a play session using 10 unique toys, all while wearing eye tracking equipment. The toys we have pairs play with have names that the average 2-year-old won’t know, like pliers and radish. As the pair play, we collect data on what is being said, where they are looking, and what they are holding. We then look at what toys names the child learns along with what both they and their caregiver were looking at so we can learn what about the interaction between adult and child helps children learn.
Role of a SHARE Summer Apprentice:
This project has a very rich data set. A SHARE apprentice will learn how to code and interpret data we collect during the play session and through surveys. The apprentice would also see how working in a multi-university study is by joining meetings with the UConn team and our collaborators around the country.
The UConn team has a weekly meeting where we have weekly goal setting and mentorship. The apprentice will attend these and participate. The apprentice would have access to Dr. Houston with any questions as well as the HELLO Lab manager, Bobby Bourque and HELLO Lab Research Scientist, Torri Ann Woodruff-Gautherin, for support in meeting goals and learning about the research process.
Summer Schedule/Time Commitment:
Students applying to this apprenticeship are encouraged to review this flow chart to help visualize the different paths the lab is prepared to support.
We have set research meeting times where our team comes together. Aside from those meetings, the apprentice will have flexibility in selecting your hours. It is expected the apprentice will target approximately 5-6 hours per week to reach 90 hours over the course of the summer (approximately 16 weeks).
The first week will be dedicated to completing CITI training. The second week will be dedicated to learning background information on topics related to hearing aids, cochlear implants, child language learning, and development. The next two weeks are training on the processes the apprentice will need to master for this project.
After the apprentice is trained, they will be able to “choose your own adventure” within the structure of the lab and allow for their own interests and strengths to guide what work they do.
Preferred Qualifications:
Like this award, we encourage early career students with little or no prior research experience. Member of our lab include those who are first-generation college graduates, early career scientists, and students from a range of academic backgrounds. We explicitly encourage members of those communities and those from underrepresented communities to apply.
We hope that applicants will have an interest in children who use hearing aids and/or cochlear implants and family interactions.
To Apply:
The application deadline has passed.
Please note:
All students hired for a SHARE Summer apprenticeship must complete a federal I-9 form and present original documents in person to OUR staff as part of the hiring process. Visit this U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services page for more information about acceptable documents. You cannot begin working until this is complete. Students are encouraged to plan ahead for this. For example, if you are going home for spring break, consider bringing original documents back to campus with you.