Research Opportunities

The Office of Healthy Aging (OHA) and our affiliates work to exchange and integrate discipline-specific knowledge, methods, and resources to achieve the common goal of advancing healthy aging. To achieve this goal, OHA gladly shares numerous research participation opportunities from ECU’s very own researchers. If you are interested in participating in research related to aging, please look over the current research opportunities available to you below. 

How you can be Involved with Current Research 

  • The STAR Laboratory, Department of Physical Therapy, ECU is looking for healthy men and women to participate in a research study that measures saccadic eye movements. The purpose of this study is the established the normative value for the saccadic eye movement. If you are a healthy older adult aged 70 to 85 without any cognitive issues, you may be eligible for this study. The study participant will have 1 visit to the ECU faculty-run physical therapy clinic to complete a cognitive assessment and questionnaires regarding your balance confidence and symptoms of dizziness and measure your fast eye movements in sitting. The visit will last about 30 minutes. You will be paid $20 in the form of a gift card for the visit.

    If you are interested in participating, please complete the survey HERE and a staff member will determine if you are eligible for participation and be in contact with you about your eligibility. You can also call the STAR Laboratory at 252-744-6251 if you have any questions.  

    *** Please note that this study is different than the one below***

 

  • The STAR Laboratory, Department of Physical Therapy at ECU, is looking for healthy volunteers aged between 25-45 and 65-85 who have experienced falls. This study investigates the brain activities and balances during optic flow environment providing by a virtual reality headset. If you are a healthy individual between the ages of 25-45 and 65-85 years old, or older adults with a history of falls, you may qualify for the study. Two sessions of data collection will be needed. It is estimated 2 hours to complete the study protocol. You will be paid $40 for a visit and a total of $80 for two visits upon the completion of the study. All study procedures are non-invasive. 

If you are interested in participating, please complete the survey HERE and a staff member will determine if you are eligible for participation and be in contact with you about your eligibility. You can also call the STAR Laboratory at 252-744-6251 if you have any questions.  

 

  • Driving Assessment Tool. A research study is seeking healthy adult volunteers to examine scanning ability and multi-tasking. We are particularly seeking individuals between 30 and 64 years of age. This study will be collecting data to create age norms for visual processing speed in normal community living adults.  Specifically, you will be asked to perform two different types of tests.The Vision CoachTM is a lighted electronic board with lighted dots that appear in patterns that are programmed.  We will be collecting normative data on the full field (whole board) for 60 dots. We will have one practice with about 30 dots and then 3 trials. The UFOVTM is a computer test that evaluates your “useful field of view” or what you see when you scan the environment. It asks you to identify either a truck or car on a computer screen and where the car or truck is located on the screen.   Although the UFOVTM has three tests, we will only being doing one practice and one test. You are ineligible if you have done this task previously. This activity will require coming to the Room 1330, College of Allied Health Sciences on West Campus.  It will be for one visit only and will require approximately 30 minutes or less.  Compensation for your time will be a $20 gift card.  

All testing will be completed at the Health Sciences Building, East Carolina University.  Please email (dennym21@students.ecu.edu)  or call Meagan Denny at 843-855-8092 for more information and an appointment.  Or you can all or email the PI Dr. Anne Dickerson (dickersona@ecu.edu) at 252-744-6190. 

  • Norms for Scanning Task on DriveSafety Simulator

A research study is seeking healthy adult volunteers to examine scanning ability and multi-tasking. We are particularly seeking individuals between 30 and 64 years of age. 

This study will be collecting data to create age norms for scanning and multi-tasking tasks in normal community living adults.  Specifically, you will be asked to perform a series of progressively challenging tasks on the driving simulator.  You will in a regular chair using a steering wheel, brake and gas pedal to do the following:

    • Task 1:  Drive on a straight road, using cruise control at 35 mph and press a red button on the steering wheel when you see an “E” on one of the three screens in front of you.
    • Task 2 is exactly the same, but you will drive without cruise control.
    • Task 3 will be the same, but there will be some “E”s that are faced the wrong way, you do not press the red button when you see this distractor.
    • Task 4 has more distractors and an additional row of Es (more targets), and the speed target is 45 miles per hour.
    • Tasks 5-6 are very similar with an additional task of calling out a number that appears in the mirrors with and without cruise control and distractors.   

You are ineligible if you have done this task previously. 

This activity on this simulator does rarely causes simulator sickness. It will require coming to the Room 1330, College of Allied Health Sciences on West Campus.  It will be for one visit only and will require approximately 30 minutes or less.  Compensation for your time will be a $20 gift card.  

All testing will be completed at the Health Sciences Building, East Carolina University.  Please email (ducharmea21@students.ecu.edu)  or call Alec Ducharme at 919-924-2388 for more information and an appointment.  Or you can all or email the PI Dr. Anne Dickerson (dickersona@ecu.edu) at 252-744-6190. 

*Both the Driving Assessment Tool and Norms for Scanning Task on DriveSafety Simulator studies can be done in the same appointment. *

       

      Page Last Updated: 02/15/2023