Marley Kass

What skills did you gain that you found to be advantageous from being part of the group?

Part of what I really enjoyed about the I/O lab was that the lab conduct was based on interpersonal relations and being able to rely on one another. This type of work environment is pleasant to be in and conducive to great research. In sum, I enjoyed my experience in the I/O lab and would recommend that those who have an interest in I/O Psychology, or even just gaining a better understanding of the research process, join the lab. 
 

What are you doing now?

Since graduating in May of 2007 I have switched gears a bit. I am currently a graduate student atSeton Hall University, where I have been enrolled in an Experimental Psychology program with a concentration in Behavioral Neuroscience. My Master’s thesis looks at the bidirectional link between drugs of abuse and neuroAIDS. The HIV-1 transgenic rat, an animal model of HIV-1, has been implemented in my thesis to examine the behavioral and molecular effects of methamphetamine in the presence of continuous HIV infection. 
 

Do you have any tips for current lab members?

The best advice I can offer to current (and future) lab members is to take initiative and participate in, and learn a variety of tasks. For the I/O lab to be mutually beneficial such that lab members have a positive learning experience while advancing and bettering the research that is produced by the lab, the lab members should engage in any ongoing research projects. Further, they should become involved with as many aspects of each project, i.e., experimental design, data collection, data analysis, etc., as possible. There is always something new to be learned, and participating in numerous projects will facilitate the learning and research processes. As conducting extensive and thorough literature searches is an integral component of the research process, both the biweekly and final literature searches provide excellent training that will solidify research and writing skills. Another suggestion I have is for the lab members to take advantage of the opportunity to thoroughly investigate a particular area of interest. In addition, writing skills can always improve, and the literature reviews that are part of the I/O lab are an excellent tool for promoting an individual’s writing ability. Therefore, if they put effort into their biweekly and final literature reviews, lab members will really benefit from this task.