Join Our Lab

A message from Dr. Grant:

I will be accepting applications for the M.A. / Ph.D. program in clinical psychology at The Ohio State University for the 2025-2026 application cycle (i.e., for students who aim to enroll in the program in Fall 2026). Please see the Department of Psychology website for a detailed description of the program and application requirements.

I will be supervising doctoral students in the neuropsychology specialty. Doctoral students can get training experiences in clinical neuropsychology at the OSU Psychological Services Center, as well as at outpatient neuropsychology clinics in the Department of Psychiatry and the Department of Neurology.

If you are interested in applying to join the CHILL Lab as a doctoral student in the 2025-2026 application cycle, feel free to introduce yourself to me via email at grant.866@osu.edu. I will give you access to two videos: 

(a) A video describing the upcoming research plans for the lab

(b) A video describing my advice for competitive applicants. 

To ensure a fair and equitable admissions process for all applicants, I do not plan to meet individually with prospective applicants or review application materials in detail prior to the application deadline.

Application deadline: November 15, 2025

Interviews: January 2026

Classes start: August 25, 2026

All paid positions are currently filled; please check back for employment opportunities in Spring 2026.

We are always open to receiving applications from highly motivated research assistants to volunteer with our current research studies. We often have new undergraduate research assistants start each academic semester. If you are interested in gaining resesarch experience, feel free to submit your application to chilllab@osu.edu at least two weeks before the next semester begins.

Note: 

At this time, we are only accepting applications from Psychology and Neuroscience Majors enrolled at Ohio State University.  Research assistants can gain academic credit towards their majors via registering for Undergraduate Research in Psychology (PSYCH4998) or Undergraduate Research in Neuroscience (NEURO4998).

Responsibilities:

• Community engagement (30%): Assisting with brain health seminars; assisting with tables at health fairs; fostering relationships with faith communities, clinics, and local organizations.

• Research activities (50%): Attending lab meetings; administering cognitive screening measures; assisting with data collection; reading scientific journal articles; contributing to scientific abstracts, presentations, and publications.

• Professional development (30%): Engaging in mentorship activities to prepare for graduate school or medical school; cultivating oral communication skills for scientific and lay audiences.

Time commitment:

• A 1.5-hour lab meeting every other week (in-person)

• Data collection or data entry activities (in-person)

• An assignment to complete outside of the lab meetings (e.g., learning to administer cognitive tests, reviewing a research article, organizing data, contributing to research posters).

Qualifications

Required qualifications:

• Minimum undergraduate GPA = 3.5 or above

• Proficiency with Microsoft software (Outlook, Teams, Word, PowerPoint, Excel) and Google software (Docs, Slides, Sheets)

• An interest in studying Alzheimer’s disease, cardiometabolic disease, and lifestyle interventions to promote brain health.

• An interest in community engagement and providing access to healthcare to underserved populations.

• Availability to volunteer during nonstandard hours (e.g., evenings, weekends, approximately once per month) for community engagement and data collection activities.

Desired Qualifications: 

Competitive applicants will meet many (not necessarily all) of the following qualifications:

• An interest in obtaining research experience to prepare for applying to (a) medical school, or (b) graduate school, particularly Ph.D. programs in clinical psychology (particularly clinical neuropsychology).

• Availability to commit to research activities for at least 6 semesters, including summers.

• Experience with statistical analysis software (e.g., SPSS or R).

• Available to assist with occasional community engagement events in Columbus during the summer.

How to apply

Email the following to chilllab@osu.edu:

a)    A description of:

• Your major / concentration (e.g., psychology, neuroscience, etc.)

• Your class standing (e.g., sophomore, junior, etc.) and expected graduation date (e.g., Spring 2027, Spring 2028).

• Why you are interested in research on Alzheimer’s disease, cardiovascular health, or lifestyle interventions to promote brain health.

• Your future career goals.

• Your experiences with community engagement.

• Whether you have access to a vehicle and are willing to help carpool to travel to local community events (not a requirement, but helpful).

b)    Résumé / curriculum vitae (attached as a PDF file)

c)    Ohio State University Advising Report or Academic Transcript (attached as a PDF file) 

Qualified candidates will be scheduled for a virtual interview with our research coordinator.

At a later date, when an opening in the lab arises, Dr. Grant will meet with you in-person to determine if you are a good fit for the lab.