Undergraduate Training

An important facet of the Anxiety & Addictive Behaviors Laboratory is to mentor undergraduate students at Louisiana State

University so that they can better understand clinical psychology research and practice. A research position with the Anxiety & Addictive Behaviors Laboratory is designed to provide direct one-on-one mentoring regarding graduate school training and professional development.

Undergraduates receive formal, didactic training on the ethical conduct of research, DSM-5 symptoms of anxiety and substance use disorders, and other relevant areas. Other responsibilities can include attending individual and group weekly training meetings, working on various aspects of the research process, and attending professional conferences to help present projects that have been completed in the laboratory. Opportunities within the lab may also include:

• Learning how to utilize data entry & analytic software (e.g., SPSS, Excel, Qualtrics)
• Serving as an experimenter and/or confederate in psychological experiments
• Collecting attentional processing data
• Learning how to conduct randomized clinical trials
• Working with clinical populations

Application Process

Students must apply to work with the Anxiety & Addictive Behaviors Laboratory. These positions can be quite competitive and only mature, reliable, and hard working students should consider applying. Typically, students work at least two consecutive semesters with our laboratory, but many end up working in our laboratory for several years. Requirements include:

• A 3.2 GPA or higher.
• A specific interest in pursuing graduate education in clinical psychology or related fields.

Students can receive PSYC 2999 or 4999 credit for working as an undergraduate research assistant in our laboratory.

It is advisable to submit your application one semester ahead of the time that you want to actually start work (e.g., in the Fall prior to the Spring you want to work). Access the online application or email us to learn more about current research assistant position openings.

Undergraduate Honors Thesis Projects

Undergraduate students enrolled in LSU’s Honors College may opt to do their honors thesis project under Dr. Buckner’s supervision. Interested students are encouraged to email Dr. Buckner to determine whether our lab is a good fit. Prior undergraduate honors thesis projects include:

• Amelia Knox, “Imposter Syndrome and College Students’ Drinking Behaviors”. 
• Evan Threeton, “Sexual Orientation-Based Microaggressions and Cannabis Use Outcomes among Sexual Minority Individuals: The Impact of Negative Affect and Coping-Motivated Cannabis Use”. 
• Emma Armstrong, “Preferences, expectations, and experiences of online therapy among college students during and after the COVID-19 pandemic”. 

 

Undergraduate RA Accomplishments and Awards

Congratulations to former RAs who've gone on to graduate school!

• Shayon Tayebi, accepted into University of Mississippi's PhD program in Clinical Psychology 
• Emma Armstrong, accepted into Divine Mercy University’s PsyD doctoral program
  

  Jourdan Brown presenting her award-winning (first place!) poster at the LSU Undergraduate Research Conference.

• Shayon Tayebi, accepted into Sam Houston State University's Clinical Psychology Master's program
• Dylanne Twitty, accepted into the University of Cincinnati's PhD program in Clinical Psychology
• Maria Enger, accepted into the University of Mississippi Medical Center's Biomedical Sciences program
• Laurie Landrieu, accepted into University of Northern Colorado's PhD program in School Psychology
• Halley Blanchard, accepted into University of Southern Mississippi's PhD program in School Psychology
• Paige Picou, accepted into LSU's Clinical Psychology PhD program
• Courtney Tassin, accepted into University of Denver's Masters Program in Forensic Psychology
• Bailey Broussard, accepted into Spalding University's Clinical
  Psychology PsyD program
• Robert Whitley, accepted into University of Southern
  Mississippi's PhD program in Counseling Psychology
• Michelle Rhymes, accepted in to Adler University's Clinical Psychology PsyD Program in Chicago
  

  Evan Threeton presenting his award-winning poster (2nd place!) at the annual LSU Discover Day Undergraduate Research and Creativity Symposium.

• Brittany Elkins, accepted into Georgia State University's Applied Behavior Analysis Master's program
• Jeanette Rimmer, accepted into Xavier University's Clinical Psychology PsyD Program in New Orleans
• Megan Fitzgerald, accepted into Harvard Law
• Kelcee Stallings, accepted into the Lewis & Clark College Professional Mental Health Counseling program
• Emily Mix, accepted into Southern Methodist University's law school program
• Cassidy Fischer, accepted into the Loyola University's clinical mental health counseling program
• Margaret Caffery, accepted into NYU's Master's of social work program
• Janaea Ivory, accepted into Tulane University's Master's of social work program
• Maddie Morrell, accepted into Tulane's Master's of public health program
• Mary Claire Ferachi, accepted into the University of Colorado
  at Denver's clinical mental health counseling program
• Rebecca Graham, accepted into the PhD program, University of New Orleans
• Rachel Gingles, accepted into the University of Memphis Master's of Psychology program
  

  Olivia Amorando presenting her research poster at the Collaborative Perspectives on Addiction Meeting.

• Rachel Chatham, accepted into the Boston University Master's of Social Work program
• Samantha Morel, accepted into the Fordham University Master's of Mental Health Counseling
  program then Purdue University's Ph.D. in Counseling Psychology program
• Elizabeth Wilson, accepted into the University of Texas Master's of Psychology program
• Aireal Weber, who was accepted into the Adler School of Professional Psychology program
• Megan Penzato, accepted to the Tulane University Master's in Social Work program
• Andrea Pusser, accepted to The Citadel's Master's in Counseling program
• Brittany Melvin, accepted into the Florida State University combined Counseling and School Psychology Doctorate program
• Emily Carlson, accepted into the University of Maryland Social Work Master program
• Tony Ecker, accepted into LSU's PhD program in Clinical Psychology

Undergraduate RAs pursuing independent research through LSU's Aspiring Scholars program in REsearch (ASPIRE) Undergraduate Research Experience:

• 2023-2024 Mollie McMichael was awarded $1,000 to conduct an independent research project
• 2023-2024 Olivia Amorando awarded $1,000 to conduct independent research project
• Summer 2022 Evan Threeton awarded $1,000 to conduct an independent research project
• Summer 2021 Abby Brien awarded $1,000 to conduct her independent research project.
• Summer 2020 Alexandra Drago awarded $1,000 to conduct her independent research project.
• Summer 2018 Hayden Rigby awarded $1,000 to conduct her independent research project.
• Summer 2015 Jeanette Rimmer awarded $1,000 to conduct her independent research project.
• Summer 2014 Kayli Alphonso awarded $1,000 to conduct her independent research project.
• Summer 2012 Jourdan Brown awarded $1,000 to conduct her independent research project.

Pre-Doctoral Scholar's Institute (PDSI) program:

• Dylanne Twitty, $1,500, 2018
• Marcos Gallegos, $1,500, 2017
• Ashlyn Richards, $1,500, 2016

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

LSU Discover Undergraduate Research Awards:

Undergraduate research assistant Jackson Green was awarded the Summer 2020 LSU Distinguished Undergraduate Researcher award.

• Evan Threeton was awarded the Summer 2023 LSU Distinguished Undergraduate Researcher award! This designation recognizes a student who has demonstrated outstanding ability as an advanced student researcher in their discipline.
• Jackson Green was awarded the Summer 2020 LSU Distinguished Undergraduate Researcher award. 
• Congratulations to undergraduate honors student, Evan Threeton, who was awarded an LSU Discover Travel Award to present his research at the annual convention of Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies in New York City November 2022!
• Congratulations to undergraduate research assistant, Shayon Tayebi, who was awarded an LSU Discover Travel Award to present his research at the annual convention of Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies that will be held virtually in November!

Other LSU Awards

• Evan Threeton was awarded the LSU Psychology Department’s 2023 Paul C Young award for most outstanding student in Psychology.
• Madison O’Neal was accepted into the LSU McNair Research Scholars Program for the 23-24 year.