Faculty Research

Student Research 

Posters Under the Dome

Faculty Research

Graduate Psychology Department professors Dr. Farzin Irani,  Dr. Marie McGrath and Dr. Julie Guay are participating in a small grant project internally funded through the Office of Academic Affairs.  The project focuses on establishing a framework for utilization of near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS).

Functional Near Infrared Spectroscopy (fNIRS) is an emerging functional neuroimaging technology that, in some cases, is being used as an alternative to functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI).    It offers a relatively non-invasive, portable, and low-cost method of indirect and direct monitoring of brain activity.  It works by recording the activation/deactivation of blood flow in certain parts of the brain while performing certain tasks or being exposed to certain stimuli.

While functional MRI remains the gold-standard for functional neuroimaging, the technology is prohibitively expensive and its use for applied psychological research is generally limited to only large, well-funded institutions.   In addition to its cost advantage, functional NIRS technology has many benefits that make it ideal for use in applied psychological research:

• Its design does not unduly interfere with the standardized administration of psychometric instruments. 
• The device itself, which is secured to individual’s foreheads with the use of a soft headband during imaging, is lightweight, compact, and portable. 
• It allows research participants to speak, write, move, and assume a variety of positions while data collection is taking place. 
• It is safe for a wide variety of participants, including those who could not be imaged with the FMRI; those with phobias or movement disorders like Parkinson’s, and infants.

The current project is geared towards establishing a framework for conducting studies using NIRS at Immaculata.  There are five phases to the project: 

1. Increase the investigators’ expertise with NIRS.
2. Plan for a pilot project implementing NIRS using  tasks with which the Immaculata investigators have experience.
3. Implement the pilot project with healthy volunteer subjects.
4. Communicate findings from pilot project with peers at local conferences and peer-reviewed journals.
5. Consolidate findings from pilot project and begin planning for an external grant submission which, if funded would provide Immaculata the opportunity to obtain the necessary technology and have it available for future studies and cross-disciplinary collaborations.

To increase their proficiency with NIRS, Dr. Irani and Dr. McGrath will be traveling to a NIRS conference and educational course at University College in London in late October.  The two-day educational NIRS course will have a twofold focus: first, it will include an overview of the NIRS technique, in particular, the application of this technique for infancy research; and second, it will explore data analysis techniques through a series of lectures presented by invited speakers.  Immediately following the course, the two day conference will be an opportunity to interact with experts.  Session topics will include developmental, cognitive and clinical applications, as well as recent advances in instrumentation, signal processing and data interpretation.  A poster presentation session is also scheduled in which the Immaculata professors will present a poster entitled Examining Resting State Functional Activity in the Medial Prefontal Cortex Using fNIRS: A “Proof-of-Concept” Study.  This proof of concept study involves analysis of data obtained through their collaborations with Drexel University professors within the Departments of Psychology and Biomedical Engineering.

Student Research

IU Student awarded Summer Internship

Undergraduate Psychology department student, Catherine Wright, has been awarded a summer 2013 internship at a research lab under the mentorship of Temple University Psychology Faculty researching Ethnic Minority Undergraduate students.  In addition to the research experience, she will receive a $1000 stipend.

Immaculata Students Present Research at Conferences

Candice McCarthy, Rachel Ruger and Brianna Ott, along with their faculty mentor Dr. Dawn Kriebel, presented “Cumulative Risk and Caregiver Behavior During Two Learning Tasks” at the Eastern Psychological Association Meeting in New York City on March 1-4, 2013. 

Two Chemistry Department students traveled to the American Chemical Society Conference held in New Orleans, Louisiana, April 7-11, 2013, to present their research findings. Brandi Santaniello presented “Potential Antioxides.” Her faculty mentor is Dr. James K. Murray, Jr.  Tom Padlo, mentored by Dr. Luna Zhang, presented “Engineering an in-house Raman spectroscopy instrument: Applications in an undergraduate program.”

Rebecca Hermann, Bernadette Whitmore, and Brittanie Maccarone, along with their professor, Dr. Melanie Kisthardt, attended The English Association of Pennsylvania State Universities (EAPSU) Undergraduate Conference “Texts, Texting, and Technology” at Shippensburg University on Saturday, April 16, 2013.   

Undergraduate Research at the Capitol Pennsylvania poster conference

CUS student Courtney Gambrell represented Immaculata University at the Undergraduate Research at the Capitol Pennsylvania poster conference in Harrisburg, on March 19, 2013.  She was one of 36 students representing 17 colleges and universities from across the state of Pennsylvania who gathered with one another, faculty and Pennsylvania legislators and staff, to share their experiences with research and scholarship at their respective institutions.  The goal of the event was twofold: "To demonstrate that participation in research as an undergraduate is important to the educational development of college students; and to show that undergraduate students can produce important knowledge and valuable research results that enrich the knowledge, cultural heritage and economic well-being of our communities, our state and our nation."

Courtney‘s project, “Demystifying Charles Chesnutt's Tales of Conjure” is mentored by Dr. Melanie Kisthardt, chair of the English/Communication Department.  Charles Chesnutt was a 19th century African American author who conquered literary barriers and made history when he became the first African American writer to be published in The Atlantic Monthly in 1887.  One literary technique Chesnutt employed was dialect, a technique that was quite popular during the 19th century.  Dr. Kisthardt realized a need for translations when students in her African American Literature class had great difficulty reading and understanding the stories.  The phonetic spellings necessary to capture the sound of regional dialect confused the students and left them feeling awkward about what they perceived as racist portrayals.  Wishing to honor Charles Chesnutt for his literary achievements and also to extend the longevity of the literature so that its original purpose would not be misunderstood or forgotten, Courtney expressed an interest in the project to translate the stories into modern English.

Under Dr. Kisthardt’ s direction, Courtney has spent the last two years working on her translation of four of Chesnutt’s “Conjure” short stories.   Each of the stories’ central narrative is actually a story within a story, told by an ex-slave, Julius McAdoo, about incidents during slavery in which people turned to "conjure," or voodoo, to endure the inhumanity of slavery.  This emphasis on voodoo empowers the slaves and shows a link to their African roots.   In addition to the close reading necessary for her to translate, Courtney researched Local Color literature, Charles Chesnutt’s diaries and letters, and the presence of voodoo in America and the Caribbean as a result of the African diaspora.

Courtney was accompanied to the event, held in the East Wing Rotunda located in the Capitol Complex of Harrisburg, by Dr. Kisthardt and Sister Susan Cronin, director of the Office of Sponsored Research.  During the opening session, special guest speaker Dr. Richard Alley, Nobel Prize Laureate, and an Evan Pugh Professor of Geosciences at Pennsylvania State University, addressed the attendees.  Courtney also met and discussed her research with her Pennsylvania legislative district representative Duane Milne.   The program ended with group recognition in the Senate Gallery for the participating students during the Senate session.

Posters Under the Dome 2013              

On Thursday, April 18, 2013, the Office of Sponsored Research again hosted Posters Under the Dome, an annual event showcasing student research.   The Villa Maria first floor Rotunda, Hall, and Green Room were filled with students, faculty, and other Immaculata community members celebrating the continuing tradition of research at Immaculata University. Featured were a number of entries funded under the Immaculata University mini-grants program, as well as others that are the culmination of student independent study.

This year’s event was particularly noteworthy; 42 students presented 25 posters, representing a diverse collection of academic research projects involved with fine art, computer science, education, literature, mathematics, behavioral sciences, biological and physical sciences, exercise science, and nutrition.   In addition to undergraduate research, this year’s entries also included the work of graduate-level students from the Psychology Department.   Many of the participants will again be presenting their research at other academic symposia and professional society meetings.

The following projects were presented: View Abstracts