The ACE Project took the Child Expo by storm this year! Their recruitment efforts resulted in over 100 teenagers interested in participating in the ACE Project. We are getting closer and closer to hitting our target recruitment number.
Julie Cristello completed her second lab visit as part of the Flexibility Fund she received through the Academy for Psychological Clinical Science. This visit, to Dr. Patricia Cavazos-Rehg’s lab at Washington University in St. Louis, provided her with advanced training on ways to analyze posts on social media and identify hard to reach populations.
On Wednesday, August 8, NBC Lab graduate student, Jessica Flannery, trained ReACH Lab RAs on how to use the mock MRI scanner for the ACE Project. The neuroimaging portion of the ACE Project requires participants to play thinking tasks while inside the MRI. One task requires participants to press a button as fast as they can to win as many points as possible and another task is a memory task. Playing the thinking tasks while inside the MRI allows us to see which portions of the brain are active during each task.
The ReACH Lab has two new members: Ayden Virginia and Greyson Arbor Fava-Trucco. Ayden (4 pounds 11 ounces) and Greyson (5 pounds 3 ounces) were born Friday, July 20th.
The ReACH Lab enjoyed some bonding time to let loose and ham it up for the camera!
On Thursday, May 31, 2018 the ACE Project had it’s third successful recruitment event. ACE Project staff, Nasreen Hidmi and Brigitte Madan, visited Miami Edison Senior High School where they gave multiple recruitment presentations and held an information table during lunch time. Over 50 9th and 10th grade students showed interest in participating in the questionnaire and MRI portions of the study!
Way to go ACE! Keep up the good work.
In November 2017 ReACH Lab graduate student, Julie Cristello, was awarded the Academy of Psychological Clinical Science’s Flexibility Fund. This award allows Cristello to receive cutting-edge training from experts in the field of social media and health risk behaviors. From May 22, 2018 – May 25, 2018 Cristello visited her first lab through the fund.
Cristello visited the Social Media and Adolescent Health Research Team (SMAHRT) lab to learn to develop a codebook and the process for coding social media posts related to substance use. During her time there, she also presented to staff on the graduate school application process.
The ACE Project successfully ran their first brain imaging participant. This was completed using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) through the Center for Imaging Science. Seven additional brain imaging appointments have been scheduled. This portion of the project will allow us to assess how individual differences in the brain may impact risk for the initiation of electronic cigarette usage. The ACE Project is targeting to image approximately 20 participants by June 30th.
ACE Project staff, Brigitte, Nazz, and Julie had another successful recruitment event at Southwest Senior High School’s Annual Health and Wellness Resource Fair. Over 70 high school students expressed interest in participating in the project and were eager to start.
Today ACE Project staff, Nasreen Hidmi and Brigitte Madan, along with ReACH Lab graduate student, Julie Cristello, trained research assistants and NBC Lab graduate students on ACE Project protocols. The ACE Project is a collaboration between the ReACH and NBC Labs, led by Dr. Elisa Trucco and Dr. Matthew Sutherland.
The purpose of the ACE Project is to elucidate the social, temperamental, and psychological factors linked with electronic nicotine delivery systems (e-cigarettes) use initiation by delineating the factors promoting the shift from ENDS to cigarette or drug/substance use. The project will examine the changes associated with ENDS use in the developing brain within a longitudinal design focused on minority high school students.