Name: Renee R. Boburka, Ph.D.
School: East Stroudsburg University (PA)
Contact Information: RBoburka@po-box.esu.edu

Sponsor’s Research Interests:
I am a social psychologist, with additional training in Industrial/Organizational Psychology. My current research interests include the study of stereotyping and prejudice, specifically the impact of stereotyping on leadership perceptions. In a recent study, my students and I examined how gender and ethnicity influenced perceptions of effectiveness for different leadership styles. Additionally, I have completed research assessing the impact of stereotyping on victims and perpetrators in domestic abuse situations and, also, examined stereotyping on perceptions of parental effectiveness. I recently started a new line of research looking at the personal impact of social media sites. My previous areas of investigation include the study of dating and interpersonal relationships, including distress and coping mechanisms in response to dating rejection.

Name: Robert W. Flint, Jr., Ph.D.
School: The College of Saint Rose (NY)
Contact Information: flintr@strose.edu

Sponsor’s Research Interests:
I am a Biopsychologist with interests largely in learning and memory. My primary approach involves using rats as an animal model, and I employ a large number of behavioral tasks including the water maze, passive avoidance, fear conditioning, taste aversions, odor discrimination, and others. Recent interests have focused on memory reconsolidation, where the recall of an old memory seems to return it to a labile state where treatments may disrupt it, causing amnesia. We have contributed to the literature supporting this phenomenon, as well as indications that reconsolidation is dependent on the synthesis of new proteins in the brain. We are beginning studies using microdialysis to assess what is happening in the brain at various points during learning and retrieval.

Name: Cecile A. Marczinski, Ph.D.
School: Northern Kentucky University
Contact Information: marczinskc1@nku.edu; 859-572-1438

Sponsor’s Research Interests:
Binge drinking is a serious public health problem among college students. The new trend of consuming alcohol mixed with energy drinks (AmEDs) may be contributing to excessive drinking. Consumption of AmEDs may be riskier than alcohol consumption alone as mixing alcohol with another beverage with stimulant properties may decrease self-perceptions of intoxication. My research examines the acute effects of alcohol, energy drinks, AmED or a placebo beverage in social drinkers in the laboratory. The effects of these beverages are assessed by performance on tasks that measure neurocognitive control mechanisms and the subjective effects of alcohol. The results of my studies should elucidate whether the consumption of AmED increases alcohol consumption and may be escalating binge drinking in young people.

Name: G. Andrew Mickley, Ph.D.
School: Baldwin-Wallace College (OH)
Contact Information: amickley@bw.edu; 440-826-2194

Sponsor’s Research Interests:
The brain is plastic. It’s changeable and it adapts to a variety of pressures during development, insult, and learning. My animal studies are aimed at determining how the brain changes as it experiencers these pressures. Further, my laboratory uses a variety of pharmacological, behavioral and electrophysiological techniques to alter brain plasticity. Current studies are investigating: (1) Neuropharmacological modulation of brain development; (2) Memory and learning in fetuses and neonates; (3) Neuropharmacological manipulation of acquisition, extinction and spontaneous recovery of conditioned taste aversions, and (4) Neuroplasticity of the brain during hunger and obesity. For more information see: http://www.bw.edu/academics/psy/faculty/ft/mickley/

Name: Virginia (Ginger) Blythe Wickline, Ph.D.
School: Miami University (OH)
Contact Information: wicklivb@muohio.edu

Sponsor’s Research Interests:
My primary research interests are in: 1) cultural adjustment (psychological, social, acculturative stress, academic) of international students, especially Asians, studying in the United States; 2) cultural adjustment and intercultural competence of American students studying abroad; 3) nonverbal communication, especially as it relates to “cultural accents” or cultural differences; 4) pedagogical methods such as service-learning that increase student achievement, involvement, and growth, and 5) stigma of developmental disabilities (DD). Currently, I am working with several partners at Miami University to 1) determine what impacts cultural exchanges are having upon college students intercultural competence and 2) evaluate whether service-learning structured social opportunities reduces students’ fear of and discomfort with people with DD.