For Undergraduate Students
Research Assistant (including Research Engagement course credit)
Thanks for your interest in the TDC Co-Lab!
Motivated undergraduate students who want to make a difference in dementia care are encouraged to reach out to us and apply to join the TDC Co-Lab. The responsibilities of a research assistant (RA) in the TDC Co-Lab are diverse and depend on current projects and partnerships. However, RAs can expect to participate in some combination of the following activities: literature reviews, coding and transcribing audio data, participant interviews, and community events.
If you’re interested in being a RA in the TDC Co-Lab, you can click the link below to fill out an application and send your CV and a copy of your unofficial transcript to TDC_lab@sfu.ca. Applicant selection usually occurs around the beginning of the semester (fall, spring, and summer) and students who have taken Dr. Polsinelli’s PSYC387 Human Neuropsychology class will be given priority. Selected applicants will be offered an interview with Dr. Polsinelli and an interview with the current student lab members. Successful applicants will be offered an RA position with a minimum commitment of 2 semesters and 3 hours per week if volunteering. Please note all RA positions are currently unpaid.
If the lab is not currently looking for new RAs or its off cycle, you can submit an application and indicate that you’d like to put on a waitlist to be considered in the future.
Directed Studies
Typically, students will have already spent at least one semester in the lab as a research assistant (either volunteer or for research engagement credit) before being accepted for a directed studies course. In rare cases, a student may be accepted for directed studies without having been an RA if sufficient interest in the area of dementia is documented (e.g., volunteer position, personal experience, prior coursework).
The directed studies topic will be determined on a case-by-case basis but will always cover some aspect of the clinical presentation of dementia or neurodegenerative disease, or implications for care in the context of dementia. Key components of the directed studies include a literature review with annotated bibliography, coming to weekly or biweekly meetings prepared to discuss a selected article, and writing a review paper as the summation of the directed studies experience. Students are expected to demonstrate that they are able to commit to the required 9 hours per week (3 credits) to the directed studies and will be graded according to their participation and quality of work.
Students interested in a directed studies with Dr. Polsinelli should email her directly: apolsine@sfu.ca. Requests for directed studies must be made a minimum of 1 months prior to the deadline. For example, if a student wants to do a directed studies in the summer term, the deadline for the application submission is May 1. Therefore the student’s deadline for notifying Dr. Polsinelli of their interest in a directed studies is April 1.
Honours
A student is required to spend at least two semesters as an RA in the TDC Co-Lab before an application to the Honours program is considered. All Honours candidates are also required to complete a Directed Studies with Dr. Polsinelli the summer before starting their Honours. Doing a Directed Studies in the summer ensures students can establish their research question, identify data sources, complete their literature review, and submit the necessary REB application. RAs who want to do an Honours would notify Dr. Polsinelli no later than March 1 to ensure they have adequate time to develop a research idea and meet the May 1 deadline to submit a Directed Studies application.
For example, if a student wants to do their Honours in 2027, they need to have started as an RA in the TDC Co-Lab in Fall 2026 and continue the RA position through Spring 2027. They would then need to notify Dr. Polsinelli by March 1 2027 that they would like to do Honours. If Dr. Polsinelli agrees to take the student for Honours, the student would take a Directed Studies with Dr. Polsinelli in summer 2027 (with the directed studies application due May 1). Dr. Polsinelli and the student would then work on the Honours application and submit it by June 1 2027.