Our lab is committed to cultivating and investing in a community where:
- Each and every lab member has something to teach and something to learn. We strive for a space where everyone is equipped to make meaningful contributions to how we think about our science and the world around us.
- “Getting it right” is more highly valued than “being right,” using research, debate, disagreement, and discussion as tools to get it right.
- Well-being is critical. Scientists who care for themselves and experience care are better equipped to care for their science.
- People feel safe enough to engage in trying new things, brave and daring learning/questioning, with the understanding that transparent mistake making is part of the learning process.
Lab Roles:
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Undergraduate Student Assistants
Are you passionate about learning and seeing what research is all about? If so, consider joining our research lab! Undergraduate students are essential to the functioning of our lab, administering standardized assessments to children, assisting with MRI scanning, reviewing the relevant literature, writing computer scripts to analyze brain imaging data, and asking important questions about movement, the brain, and neurodiversity. Undergraduates are required to actively attend and participate in our lab meetings and may also have opportunities to submit and present their work through conferences or peer-reviewed publications.
The Motor and Brain Development Lab generally has openings for new students each semester. Please make sure you can meet the lab expectations (see below). Students who can meet the expectations and who are interested in learning about neuroimaging, motor and brain development, and neurodiversity can email Dr. Travers to tell us why you are interested in joining.
Important: Because of the time-intensive nature of our research program, we require one semester of experience in our lab before we will take on a BIO 152 project. If you continue to be interested in our lab past Bio 152, please reach out toward the end of this semester to inquire about joining the lab the next semester.
Research Interns/Post baccalaureate Trainees
Are you interested in pursuing research full-time in the time between undergraduate and graduate/post-professional study? Consider joining our lab as a research intern! Please email Dr. Travers with your CV and specific research goals and interests.
PhD Students
Graduate students play a critical part in this research and overall mission of the our lab. They have multiple opportunities to work with highly collaborative and multidisciplinary research teams and acquire strong technical and statistical skills. Students from all backgrounds, including Occupational Therapy, Physical Therapy, Kinesiology, Neuroscience, Computer Science, Cognitive Science, Psychology and other STEM and multidisciplinary backgrounds, are encouraged to contact Dr. Travers to discuss possible openings and projects. PhD students can apply to work with us through UW-Madison’s Neuroscience Training Program or the Department of Kinesiology.
Occupational Therapy Doctoral (OTD) Students
In recent years, occupational therapy has placed an emphasis on being a “powerful, widely recognized, science-driven and evidence-based profession” (AOTA Centennial Vision, 2017). Towards this goal, we involve OTD students at all levels of our research. We are happy to meet with prospective OTD students. Accepted OTD students will be matched to our lab through a program-level matching process. For OTD students interested in a heavy research emphasis that complements their clinical training, there is an option to pursue a combined OTD/PhD. If interested, contact Dr. Travers for more information.
Postdoctoral Trainees
Postdocs from all backgrounds are encouraged to contact us about possible openings and are encouraged to look into the Waisman Center’s T32 postdoctoral training program. Candidates interested in working with a multidisciplinary research team are encouraged to contact Dr. Travers to discuss opportunities.
For more details on our lab expectations, please read before contacting us:
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Hours per week required:
- For undergraduate students/volunteers: 9 hours/week minimum (3 credits)
- For OTD students, ~5 hours/week (per 770 expectations)
General Lab Expectations:
- Attend lab meeting at Waisman Center (Thursdays 2:30 PM to 3:45 PM)
- Must have beginning-of-semester goal meeting with Dr. Travers
- Must dedicate at least some weekly hours to running participant sessions (time will be determined by amount of participants we are seeing in that semester)
- Must attend all participant sessions you sign up for on the calendar.
- You must arrive 20 minutes before each participant session to set up
- Text if person not there so that we can start process of finding another person
- Appropriate dress required when working with participants (if you would not wear it in the clinic, you should not wear it to a session)
- Must meet training goals in a timely manner
- Must be able to use ClickUp and google calendar (will train on these)
- Must log your hours every time you are doing lab activities
If any of these general lab expectations are not met, then you will meet with Dr. Travers to automatically re-evaluate your fit with the lab.