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We’re recruiting!

We’re looking for driven undergraduate and graduate students to join our lab. Apply now!

The SPAN lab at Rutgers University, Newark seeks to answer the question of why people respond differently to stress. Stress is ubiquitous – we all experience it on a day to day basis. But how we respond can vary greatly and these differences have implications for our long-term health and well-being. In the SPAN lab, we utilize a multilevel integrative approach, employing theoretical perspectives and methodological techniques across fields, including social neuroscience, developmental psychology, psychophysiology, neuroendocrinology, and genetics, to examine the mechanisms underlying these differences in stress response. The broader goal of this work is to inform more effective and targeted interventions. We take a life-span approach to this work, but are especially interested in stress occurring in early childhood as this is a period of rapid neural and psychological development when stress can have substantial impacts.

Recent News

SPAN Lab Seeking Graduate Students

The SPAN Lab is in search of PhD and MA candidates! Prospective PhD students who are interested in questions related to what shapes variability in experiences of stress, particularly as … Read More

SPAN Lab in the News!

Tune in to MyCentralJersey as the SPAN Lab’s Dr. Karen Smith weighs in on the stresses of going back to school! Link: https://www.mycentraljersey.com/story/news/education/2023/09/01/back-to-school-mental-health-anxiety-bullying/70557886007/

MemPhys Workshop Held in Collaboration with the MC2 Lab

The first ever MemPhys workshop marked a collaboration between the SPAN Lab and the MC2 Lab! Attendees, including students, staff, and faculty, taught each other about their respective areas of … Read More

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