# Attending to all children: Examining the role of alpha oscillations in attention in young children with and without prenatal alcohol exposure (AsCENd) Administrative Supplement

> **NIH NIH R01** · LOVELACE BIOMEDICAL RESEARCH INSTITUTE · 2024 · $115,854

## Abstract

Abstract
The purpose of this diversity supplement is to provide one year of support to Donovan Roberts, who will be a
postbaccalaureate research assistant, gaining additional research expertise in support of his application to
graduate school in the Fall of 2024 for acceptance to the Fall of 2025 cohort. Mr. Roberts is a highly-motivated
and talented undergraduate student who has gone out of his way to gain the necessary experience and
knowledge to be accepted into graduate school. Mr. Roberts has worked in Dr. Stephen’s lab as an
undergraduate research assistant, helping other research staff with data collection and data entry. However,
while balancing undergraduate studies and work, he has not had the opportunity to learn MEG data analysis or
publish, both skills that would facilitate his future career goals to gain his PhD and continue his career in a
tenured academic position with an independent research program. During this supplement, Mr. Roberts will
specifically be mentored in the intricacies of collecting high quality neuroimaging data as well as direct training
in neuropsychological testing of young children from Dr. Hill (Training Goal 1). He will also be mentored in
MEG data analysis, beginning with unprocessed MEG data and carrying-out all pre-processing and second-
level analyses to test the proposed hypotheses for this supplement (Training Goal 2). Finally, he will be
mentored in developing a manuscript to report the results of his analysis and submitting the results to the most
relevant national conference for presenting the results (Training Goal 3). The goal is for Mr. Roberts to publish
a first author journal article during the 1-year supplement and prepare a second manuscript to be submitted at
the end of the supplement period. All of the scientific work proposed fall within the scope of the parent grant
and will specifically focus on examining neural markers of attention deficits in children with prenatal alcohol
exposure across the socioeconomic spectrum. Mr. Roberts will be engaged in Experiential, Didactic, and
Mentoring activities throughout the year. Dr. Stephen will be Mr. Roberts' primary mentor and Dr. Hill will
provide mentoring specific to neuropsychological testing of young children. Mr. Roberts will be fully integrated
into Dr. Stephen’s lab and will work with the postdoctoral fellow, the research assistant, and the Ascend study
faculty as a part of his supplement work. In addition to weekly meetings with Dr. Stephen, and attendance at
the Stephen weekly lab meeting, Mr. Roberts will be trained in the skills needed to perform all steps of the
MEG data analysis as well as be provided with detailed guidance on how to develop a scientific manuscript.
This diversity supplement is requested to provide Mr. Roberts, a talented undergraduate student, with
protected time to gain additional expertise in performing neuroimaging studies in support of his goal to be
accepted into a competitive cognitive neuroscience graduate p...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 11082847
- **Project number:** 3R01AA029605-03S1
- **Recipient organization:** LOVELACE BIOMEDICAL RESEARCH INSTITUTE
- **Principal Investigator:** JULIA MARIE STEPHEN
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $115,854
- **Award type:** 3
- **Project period:** 2022-09-01 → 2027-06-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/11082847

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 11082847, Attending to all children: Examining the role of alpha oscillations in attention in young children with and without prenatal alcohol exposure (AsCENd) Administrative Supplement (3R01AA029605-03S1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-26 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/11082847. Licensed CC0.

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