Join the Lab
Prospective graduate students
Graduate students in the Lab pursue a range of topics in mindfulness and related phenomena. Dr. Brown does NOT expect to accept a new student for Fall, 2024 entry. Qualities of successful applicants include eagerness to conduct high-quality research in mindfulness and related phenomena, a strong work ethic, and dedication to the research enterprise. Background in mindfulness is a plus, as is background in, or interest in learning, one or more neuroscientific methods, including fMRI and eye tracking, smartphone/passive sensing methods, and ecological momentary assessment.
For more information about graduate study, please contact Dr. Brown.
Prospective students interested in attending graduate school in Psychology may find these resources useful:
Post-doctoral fellows
Post-doctoral fellows joining the Lab take full advantage of its resources, and those of the CMU Psychology Department. A variety of courses of relevance to the Lab's work are available at CMU, including the biobehavioral bases of behavior, genetics, emotion, the self, neuroscience, and advanced statistics. CMU also has an active network of researchers in positive psychology.
If you'd like to discuss the possibility of joining the Lab as a postdoctoral fellow, please contact Professor Brown: kwbrown at andrew.cmu.edu.
Undergraduate research interns
Do you want to become a research intern or independent study student in the Lab? The success of this laboratory depends heavily upon the involvement of bright and motivated undergraduate students, and we welcome your interest in this research and teaching laboratory.
Our ongoing research projects focus on mindfulness. These projects typically use multiple methods, and involve measures of neurophysiological (fMRI), behavioral, and subjective responses. Getting involved in these projects as a research intern or independent study student is an ideal way to see whether psychology is for you, and to develop the research skills that can help you gain admission to psychology graduate programs, medical school, or other professional training programs.
Past interns and independent study students in the Lab have gone on to well-regarded graduate programs in Psychology, Education, Medicine, Neuroscience, and Business across the United States (see People for Lab alumni).
Each student is given opportunity to help conduct one or more of 3-4 different research projects, and is offered a variety of roles to choose from. Students can serve as experimenters in running study sessions, help with data manipulation using specialized physiological data software, and conduct video coding, computerized data entry, and pilot testing of new projects.
The Lab accepts 10-20 interns and independent study students every semester; More information on these opportunities can be found here. To join the lab, please contact Professor Brown to arrange an interview: kwbrown at vcu.edu or kwbrown at andrew.cmu.edu.
Research volunteers
The Lab benefits greatly from the presence of research volunteers, and in turn, we offer excellent opportunities to develop research skills in preparation for graduate or professional school. Volunteers, whether undergraduates or college graduates, work closely with other members of the Lab (including graduate students and Dr. Brown) on one or more of a variety of ongoing research projects. There is also opportunity to take the lead on conducting a research study in collaboration with Dr. Brown or one of his graduate students. These research positions are typically volunteer rather than paid, but arrangements can sometimes be made for paid research work.
Past volunteers in the Lab have gone on to well-regarded graduate programs in Psychology and other fields (see People for recent Laboratory alumni).
Image Credit
Open sign by Artem Bali.