Rural Health Research Labs:
The Research Group is committed to the training, support, and development of new and potential researchers and clinicians, thus helping build a workforce well-equipped to address rural health issues. Just like most research groups housed in academic institutions, the Research Group relies on undergraduate and graduate students and other volunteers to help with preparation of project materials, file management, and data entry for our major research projects. Our volunteers, however, are offered a wide variety of experiences beyond these usual research lab tasks. Many are matched with a research mentor to guide their work on an individual research topic, and long-term lab members have the chance to also get involved with data collection, project coordination activities, and community events, thus gaining important exposure to research and rural West Texas communities.
About the Lab Volunteer Role:
The volunteer’s first responsibility will be helping with data entry. Most students who enter the lab are expected to spend at least one semester (or two summer sessions) on data entry before proceeding to other opportunities, such as work on an individual research project or learning to administer the cognitive tests. Some exceptions to this rule include: students brought into the lab to fulfill a specific need and students who have outside funding to work a research project. Some opportunities to get more direct involvement in research, such as helping with literature reviews, may come up in a student’s first semester, but, in general, the students who are able to devote at least a year to the lab gain the most from the experience.
Other Lab Benefits:
- Research Lab meetings, covering a variety of research-related and professional development topics
- Opportunities to participate and in community events and interact with health professionals from a variety of fields
- Possibility of course credit (depending on your major and approval from your academic department)
- Potential source for a letter of recommendation
Our Research Labs have supported:
- 1 Undergraduate Research Fellow funded by the TTU Honors College
- 1 Undergraduate Research Fellow funded by the TTU Center for Undergraduate Research (CUR)
- 1 Undergraduate Research Scholar funded by the TTU/HHMI (Howard Hughes Medical Institute)
- 1 Paul Whitfield Horn Fellow (graduate level award, TTU)
- 1 Health and Social Services Fellow (graduate level award, TTU)
- 1 completed and 2 ongoing Master’s theses;
- 1 completed and 1 ongoing dissertation
Awards granted to our students:
- Valerie Hobson: 2010 TTU Department of Psychology Clinical Division Graduate Research Award
- Blythe Imhof: 2nd Place in the Undergraduate Division of the 2011 TTUHSC Student Research Week poster competition
Lab Supervisors:
- Rural Health Research Lab: Adriana Gamboa
If you would like some information about our research labs or are interested in volunteering with us, please call Adriana Gamboa at (806) 743-5603 or e-mail her at adriana.gamboa@ttuhsc.edu.