What made you choose UROP?

After taking a psychology class in high school, I decided I wanted to major in psychology but did not fully understand what that path would entail. I remember seeing information about UROP in my acceptance materials and thinking that it might be a good way to get experience in psychological research and help me understand more about the field of psychology and whether or not research interested me as a career. It also was helpful that I could participate in UROP for my work study position.

What years did you participate in UROP?

2004-2006

What do you think you have learned from your UROP experience?

I learned a great deal about research methods and process. As I had hoped, UROP also helped me understand what majoring in psychology would mean in terms of what types of jobs and further education and training would be required. It truly solidified my decision to continue in psychology and research!

What is the extent to which you have kept in contact with your Research Mentor?

It has been many many years since I participated in UROP and I pursued a slightly different field (I am a clinical psychologist but my UROP lab was in social psychology). So I have not kept in contact with my research mentor. However, while I was in graduate school, I saw that my mentor (who was a graduate student at U of M when I was in UROP) was speaking at a conference that I was attending. I made sure to go to her talk and was able to catch up briefly – mainly letting her know how much she influenced my decision to go to graduate school in psychology. It was really great to see what she was doing post-graduate school!

How did your UROP experience shape or inform the next steps you took in your academic and professional journey?

UROP greatly influenced my decision to continue in psychology and research. After my sophomore year of UROP, I continued in research as a volunteer and then obtained a full-time postbac research coordinator position at U of M while applying to doctoral programs in clinical psychology. I was accepted to one of the top clinical psychology programs in the country and am now a licensed clinical child psychologist working primarily as a researcher at a large academic hospital. It has definitely been a journey! And UROP was the first step for me.

What advice would you give to a current UROP student?

Find a lab that interests you and gives you in depth experience in research. Try to stay in a lab for multiple years because the longer you work in a lab, the more significant the opportunities will be (e.g., conducting experiments, working on posters or presentations, etc) which will help you 1) figure out if research is of interest to you going forward and 2) prepare for more advanced training in graduate school. Talk with the faculty, postdocs, and graduate students in your lab! You are not being a burden – most professionals seeing mentoring as an essential part of their jobs. Ask them how and why they chose the path they are on now. You can learn so much from just hearing the stories of more senior individuals. Seek out new opportunities and experiences, ask questions, and be open to feedback. You never know until you try.

What are some recent publications or accomplishments that you are proud of?

I was recently awarded a foundational grant through PNC Financial Services Group’s Grow Up Great Initiative to conduct a pilot study in my area of research which is studying the effectiveness and feasibility of a teacher-child intervention which aims to promote social-emotional development of young children in Head Start (Teacher-Child Interaction Training – Universal). We are currently completing post data collection (and figuring out what to do with follow-up data collection plans given the closures from coronavirus).

I have also been working on a study, funded by the Institute of Educational Sciences, which examines the effectiveness and feasibility of implementing an adolescent depression prevention program (Interpersonal Psychotherapy – Adolescent Skills Training; PI: Jami Young, PhD) in high schools when delivered by school behavioral health staff.

Here are a few published research articles and presentations:

Stone, K. J., Kanine, R. M., Kuckelman, S., Jackson, Y., & Thomas, A. (2019). Methodological design and procedures of program evaluation of therapeutic day treatment and outpatient program for preschool-aged children exposed to maltreatment. Children and Youth Services Review.

Jones, J. D., Gallop, R., Gillham, J. E., Mufson, L., McCarthy, A., Kanine, R., & Young, J. F. (in press). The depression prevention initiative:  Mediators of Interpersonal Psychotherapy – Adolescent Skills Training. Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology.

Swift, L. E., Orapallo, A., Kanine, R. M., Mautone, J. A., & Eiraldi, R. B. (2019). The Self-Report Coping Measure in an urban school sample: Factor structure and coping differences. School Mental Health.

Kanine, R. M., Jackson, Y., Huffhines, L., Barnett, A., & Stone, K. J. (2018). A pilot study of Universal Teacher-Child Interaction Training at a therapeutic preschool for young maltreated children. Topics in Early Childhood Special Education, 38(3): 146-161. doi.org/10.1177/0271121418790012

Is there any other advice you would like to impart to current or future UROP students?

You are at such an amazing institution that has so many resources and opportunities that can change your life. Take advantage of your 4 years at U of M! Don’t just go to class and hang out with friends. Join groups or organizations that sound interesting; volunteer; support the greater community in and around Ann Arbor; learn about different people, places, cultures, life experiences; find your passion(s); step out of your comfort zone. Leave college a different, better human. Then give back. And wherever you go, Go Blue!