Undergraduate Research Assistant: Behavioral Neuroscience of Substance Use Disorders

The Carelli lab in the Department of Psychology and Neuroscience invites undergraduate students to join our team and help conduct research experiments and/or analyze data on topics related to the behavioral neuroscience of reward processing and substance use disorders. Our research examines how the brain processes information about ‘natural’ rewards and how this system becomes maladaptive in drug addiction.

Our lab takes a multidisciplinary approach in rodent models to pursue these goals. At the core of this work is the development of sophisticated behavioral tasks that enable us to examine discrete aspects of reward processing. We then combine our behavioral designs with various methodologies including electrophysiology, optogenetics and calcium imaging methods. Our lab also takes a translational approach using our newly developed preclinical method of non-invasive brain stimulation. A brief overview of some topics currently under investigation in my lab are available on my research page (https://reginacarelli.web.unc.edu/research/).

Our lab fosters a collaborative environment and provide hands-on learning. Students will be expected to dedicate a minimum of 8-10 hours/week to the research project. The position pays $15 an hour throughout the summer with the possibility of extending the research experience into the fall semester.

Interested students should submit a brief email detailing interest, potentially related coursework, along with a resume to Dr. Carelli at rcarelli@unc.edu.