On March 5th, 20 ISA students attended a responsible conduct of research training entitled "Research Ethics for Health and Behavioral Research on Interventions for Brain and Cognitive Health." The presentation was given by Dr. Michelle Voss, a professor in the department of Psychological and Brain Sciences and Director of the Health, Brain and Cognition Lab. Dr. Voss spoke about the "Healthspan" of individuals and the risks of age-related disease as the population grows older. Healthspan is the period of like in which an individual is in good health and can do all the things they want to do, rather than being hampered or held back by age-related conditions or diseases like heart disease, stroke, or severe memory and thinking problems. Dr. Voss's research is on Alzheimer's disease and other dementias. In addition to talking about how she carries out her research with participant volunteers, Dr. Voss spoke about the process of informed consent in her studies, including the purpose of the study, risks of participation, incidental findings, and transparency about data sharing. 

Dr. Voss is a Co-Director of the Behavioral-Biomedical Interface Training Program, which is an NIH-funded training grant with the goal of training graduate students in psychology to combine their behavioral expertise with cutting-edge biomedical methodologies in order to unravel mechanisms associated with health and disease. Students were introduced to the basic components of the program and encouraged to learn more about it and consider joining the lab! More information about the BBEP can be found here.