Research Assistant: Perceptual Mechanisms of Appetite Regulation

Introduction to the topic:

Although human food consumption habits pose a significant threat to global health and ecological sustainability, large-scale changes of eating patterns are slow to take effect. While the intrinsic reward value of taste is often blamed for dietary preferences, there is, to date, a fundamental lack of knowledge about the perceptual and emotional mechanisms that link these rewards to the preference for very specific liked and disliked food items, which consists of a combination of different perceptual properties such as taste, aroma, and texture.

Project details:

This project will experimentally manipulate odor-taste associations to investigate how the human brain acquires preferences for specific flavors, and how the successful retrieval of these preferences might be affected by the context in which exposure takes place. It is ideally suited for a student who has already taken introductory courses in experimental psychology and/or cognitive neuroscience, and would like to apply this knowledge to collect, analyze, and interpret their own data.

Specifically, you will learn to design a study and acquire and analyze psychophysical data that involve perceptual stimulation via nose and/or mouth. You will learn how to prepare food stimulus material in a controlled manner, and to present them to your subjects using our state-of-the-art smell and taste perception laboratory equipment. You will also have the opportunity to experience collection of MRI-data.

Research Assistantship Hours: You will spend 180 hours directly engaged in research, together with 20 hours in co-curricular activities, during your RAship.

Selected relevant publications:

Seubert, J., Fondberg, R., Lundström, J. N. (2021). Odor-Taste Interactions in Food Perception: Exposure Protocol Shows No Effects of Associative Learning. Chemical Senses, 46, bjab003.
Seubert, J., Lundström, J. N., Regenbogen, C., Ohla, K. (2019). Prefrontal Control Over Occipital Responses to Crossmodal Overlap Varies Across the Congruency Spectrum. Cerebral cortex (New York, N.Y. : 1991), 29(7), 3023–3033.

Additional application required

You must submit an additional application through the Online Registration portal.

All application materials must be submitted on the following dates by midnight in your time zone:

November 1 for spring semester applicants
May 1 for fall semester applicants

Complete your application through Student Registration.

Faculty

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Faculty

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Research Assistantship FAQ

Learn more about research at DIS.

: Earning authorship within the course of a semester is challenging. Exceptional Research Assistants may be considered for co-authorship, subject to evaluation from the supervising Research Mentor.

Though you may not ultimately become an author on a published paper, you will gain many practical skills and insights into the publication process.

: Many research projects last across several semesters, so not all RAs on the same project will conduct the same research.

: On average, students in 3-credit Research Assistantships spend at least 10 hours a week on research tasks. These 10 hours per week consist of a variety of different research-related tasks, including conducting a literature review, data collection, analyses, coding, documentation, and meetings with your mentor. You may decide on a particular block of time (consistent each week) for you to carry out the work, or adjust it on a week-by-week basis.

Students in a 6-credit Research Assistantships spend an average of 20 hours per week with lab and clinically based research tasks. You decide the exact meeting and lab times with your supervisor, but your schedule consists of classes at DIS two days a week, with two days a week in the lab.

There may be peak times in the research process where all Research Assistant students are expected to spend a few more hours, and then possibly fewer hours another week – to reflect the individual research project and process.

: Work for the 3-credit Research Assistantships may take place outside DIS, on your own time at a location of your choosing, or at DIS – this varies from project to project. The 6-credit research assistantships generally take place at labs in Copenhagen or Stockholm outside DIS.

: Students with a variety of academic backgrounds are encouraged to apply for the 3-credit Research Assistant course. While some courses do have prerequisites, many opportunities do not require prior research experience.

The 6-credit Research Assistant opportunity is designed for highly motivated students who have a strong science background within the field of interest and some basic research experience. The student must be willing to commit a large portion of their semester to an engaging opportunity involving hands-on research in universities and medical institutes in Copenhagen or Stockholm.

Introduction to the topic:

Project details:

Additional application required

Faculty

Coming Soon

Research Assistantship FAQ

Will I publish a research paper?

What exactly will I do?

What is the time commitment for a 3-credit or 6-credit Research Assistantship?

Where is the research work carried out?

What type of student applies for the 3- and 6-credit Research Assistant courses?