Mentor Areas
Dr. Timko has focused her career on adolescents and eating disorders, restraint and dieting in normal weight women, and disordered eating. She has experience studying the treatment of anorexia nervosa, including the use of Family Based Treatment, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, and Cognitive Remediation Therapy. Her work has a focus on sex differences in eating disorders. Of recent, her research is focused on neurocognition and reward in eating disorders.
Description:
The Timko Research Group is in the Eating Disorder Assessment and Treatment Program (EDATP) at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP). We have several volunteer research opportunities available each academic year. We are seeking highly motivated undergraduate students to assist with clinical research in our ongoing studies. The primary aims of our lab’s research are to increase our understanding of and identifying etiological and maintenance factors in anorexia nervosa, sex differences in eating disorders, and parsing out the impact of malnutrition from the core neurobiology of anorexia. Current projects include retrospective chart reviews, systematic reviews/meta-analyses, examining neurocognition in adolescents with anorexia nervosa and their parents, clinical trials, and examining heart rate variation in adolescents with anorexia nervosa. Research assistants will be exposed to various aspects of the clinical research process, including but not limited to participant recruitment and consent, assessments, data collection and entry, and abstraction of data from the electronic medical records. Highly dedicated members can seek out opportunities to be a part of poster presentations and paper publications.
Interested applicants should send a cover letter/resume and letter of intent to study coordinator, Amanda Makara, at makaraa@chop.edu.
Preferred Qualifications
We are looking for responsible, conscientious, and detail-oriented students who are committed to gaining more clinical and translational research experience in a pediatric setting with interests in one or more of the following areas: psychology, eating disorders, nutrition, brain development, sex differences, reward circuitry, HRV, and neurocognitive difficulties. Prior research experience is not a requirement. Though not a requirement to apply, we strongly suggest students take Introduction to Experimental Psychology and/or Introduction to Brain and Behavior either prior or during their time in our lab. Interested applicants should have strong organizational, communication, and writing skills as well as comfort working with vulnerable adolescents. The position requires 8-10 hours per week with at least a one-year commitment to the lab to ensure proper training and experience is gained from this lab. The lab is located at the Robert’s Center for Pediatric Research and is part of Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. As such, all research assistants need to undergo a background check. This can take up to 6 weeks before you are cleared to start.
Details:
Preferred Student Year
Second-Year, Junior, Senior
Volunteer
Yes
Yes indicates that faculty are open to volunteers.Paid
No
Yes indicates that faculty are open to paying students they engage in their research, regardless of their work-study eligibility.Work Study
No
Yes indicates that faculty are open to hiring work-study-eligible students.