Working with students is the best and most rewarding aspect of my job, and one that I take seriously. I hope that students will be challenged both intellectually and personally when working with me. Below I reflect on what interested and current undergraduate and graduate students should know about my approach to mentoring and scholarship. I am happy to answer any questions you have by email (jrn0031@auburn.edu).

Lab Mission and Goals

Mission
The Relationships and Health Lab seeks to understand relationship dynamics around health behaviors—diet, exercise, sleep, and stress management—so that health issues do not interfere with quality of life and erode the relationship. We are an interdisciplinary team, consisting of faculty and students from human development and family studies, psychology, nutrition, exercise science and kinesiology, sleep science, pharmacy, and nursing.

Specific Aims

1. Identify the circumstances in which relationships can benefit or harm health and health behaviors
2. Identify how health issues influence the couples’ relationship quality
3. Address health disparities in sexual and ethnic minority couple relationships
4. Develop and test interventions and programs that promote healthy lifestyle changes of both partners

Theoretical Lens
Social connectedness, or the social connection offered by relationships, has proved to have significant effects on health. Social connections or relationships can be measured by the level of social integration or involvement, the quality of the relationship(s), and the social networks or web of social relationships surrounding an individual (Umberson & Montez, 2010).

We are all affected by issues including but not limited to discrimination, prejudice, bias, and privilege in regard to race, ethnicity, class, family makeup or composition, relationship status, sex, gender or sexual identity, physical or mental abilities, weight shape or size, nationality, age, and religion and many other aspects of the human experience in various intersections and ways. We may experience and internalize these differently depending on a variety of factors. As lab director, I hope and strive to create an atmosphere of respect and an environment where we can learn from each other related to the above, including their relevance to romantic relationships and their various constellations. Importantly, many of the projects we work on in the Relationships & Health Lab provide opportunities for us to learn more about the intersection of social factors and health and health disparities. This includes being sensitive and learning about the language we use to describe a population or group of people, or a physical, social and relational, and psychological experience or phenomenon, as well as acknowledging the heterogeneity of human life. I also want to acknowledge that I make mistakes and try to continually work on my knowledge and interrogation of these related to my own life. As such, I appreciate when others hold me accountable to advancing AEI principles. These conversations may take place informally but also during lab meetings and other tasks.

In general, the Relationships and Health lab is an ideal fit for undergraduate and graduate students that would like to learn more about how a research project is run on a day-to-day basis, as well as advanced students who would like to gain experience and expertise in statistical analyses and/or scientific writing. My goal is to produce outputs in the form of conference presentations and publications. I hope to help build your CV so that you are competitive for graduate school, academia, or whichever job you pursue.

Undergraduate Students: Undergraduate students play a pivotal role in the Relationships and Health Lab and come from a variety of backgrounds and majors, including Biomedical Sciences, Psychology, HDFS, Genetics, Nutrition and Nutrition Wellness, and Kinesiology. I work with each student individually to help them gain research skills and get oriented to the research process. Each student is scaffolded based on their abilities. Students should discuss where they are and what their career goals are. In addition, I expect students to openly communicate with me about their experience in the lab. Finally, if you expect and are working toward a future in research or academia, you should talk to me about applying for an undergraduate research fellowship, which really helps you learn the research process. Let’s talk!

MFT Master’s Students: Because of the rigor and pace of the MFT program, many MFT master’s students do not have time for research unless they are pursuing a thesis project. If students choose me as the major professor, we will collaborate to find an overlap with my program of research and their scholarly interests. Oftentimes it may be examining existing data sources that I have, but it could also be a new data collection project. Other MFT students may be involved in the lab, but they typically are involved only during their first year in the program and only as a specific project fits their needs.

HDFS Master’s and PhD Students: Graduate students may or may not have past research experiences, and my goal is to scaffold your learning. One of the best ways to learn about the research process is to teach it to others, and thus you will be both a student and an advisor. If you’re a MS student, engagement might look a bit different depending on your skill set…my job is to help you be competitive for PhD programs or enter the job market. If you’re a PhD student, I expect more, and the bar is higher…my job is to prepare you well for the academic landscape.

This relationship only works when both parties remain open, honest, and receptive. But qualities of students that excel in the Relationships and Health Lab include:

• Passionate about People, Relationships, and Health. As a social and health researcher, I care deeply about people and relationships. I hope and expect my students feel the same.
• Hard working, self-disciplined, and motivated. Students are expected to work diligently on the tasks assigned, think critically and independently, and be motivated to accomplish tasks. In addition, students should engage in their own self-care and structure their lab work in their lives when they are productive and efficient. .
• Communicative. Not just about tasks and lab duties, but how students are doing and how lab activities affect their quality of life. I appreciate it when students talk to me about which tasks are more enjoyable or tedious, when they might need to take a step back from the lab, or when they want more work. This helps the lab function well and allows me to understand how each student is doing.
• Flexible. Some seasons, semesters, and times are busier than others. In addition, some periods are slower than others. Some of this is dependent on grant cycles, papers, and projects, but other times it may be related to how my family and I are doing. I will do my best to communicate and anticipate these difficulties, but students should be flexible and adjust accordingly.
• Engage in and reflect on your writing. Most of the research process is writing. It takes time to become a good writer, and you must reflect on how and what you write. My best advice for this is to revise, revise, revise. I often write something, let it sit for a day, come back and revise. I go through this process multiple times and iterations. Thus, writing is a dynamic and living process that happens over the course of time, not just write-it-once-and-turn-it-in.
• Learn from Failures and Look for Growth Opportunities. Let’s face it, research can be difficult, time consuming, and messy. There may be times when a project is scrapped, revised, or changed. In addition, we may have to learn skills and abilities on the fly. Or, one task may have 17 subtasks. Students who appreciate challenges and persevere through them do well in the lab.

My approach to mentoring students is developmentally tailored and dependent on the students’ experience and abilities. A key task in the beginning is to read through lab materials. I also have a Canvas course dedicated to understanding the types of research and the writing process. After getting oriented to the lab and atmosphere, I sit down with each student to discuss progress on research projects, assist in data analysis, plan for future conference presentations, etc. We focus on both daily/weekly tasks related to the individual projects we have.

It’s helpful for students to know what to expect of me and consider my potential strengths and weaknesses. In my work with you as a student, you can expect me to:

• High Expectations but High Warmth and Flexibility. Because I love research and aim to get many products out, I work hard and am constantly juggling multiple projects and papers. In addition, my goal for students is to get them outputs. Therefore, I do have high expectations about writing and research. This comes with a lot of support and scaffolding as mentioned, but students should work hard. I will push you, but I am also flexible depending on where you are and what we’ve communicated about.
• Provide timely and constructive feedback. I try my best to respond promptly to emails (within 48 hours) and to return manuscript drafts within a week of receiving them. However, this may depend on what I have going on and the season. In addition, not only will I point out ways that your work can be better, but I will also reflect on the things you are doing well. Finally, I hope to give you a behind-the-scenes look at the writing process, so I will comment on why I made suggestions or changes.
• Prefer Structure and Schedule. I have many aspects of my job—teaching, research, supervision, and I run a private therapy practice in town—and my family life is very important to me. Thus, I am very busy. While this can be a strength, the downside is that it sometimes means I have to run to other appointments or my attention is divided. Sometimes this can get in the way of research tasks and projects, but I do my best to prepare and schedule things efficiently..
• Help you build upon your experiences and tailor them for your future. My goal is to always help you progress through research tasks and the process. I also want to best prepare you for whatever goals you have in the future. As such, not only will I write you a letter of recommendation, but also think about what experiences, tasks, and projects might be the most helpful for your future.