Name: Nusrat Binte Faruque Mim
Class Year: 2028
Major: Psychology
Internship Organization: Princeton Baby Lab
Internship Title: Research Assistant
Location: Princeton, NJ
What’s happening at your internship? We would love to hear what kind of work you are doing!
I am currently working as a Research Assistant at the Princeton Baby Lab in the Department of Psychology at Princeton University! My day-to-day involves a great mix of hands-on experimental work and detailed data analysis. It is a highly collaborative environment, and I get to work closely with incredible postdoctoral researchers and graduate students on pioneering developmental science. To break down my general responsibilities, my primary tasks include: 1. Helping with participant recruitment and scheduling to keep our studies running smoothly. 2. Running in-lab experiment sessions that utilize eye-tracking and looking-time measures. 3. Annotating video and audio recordings from previous in-lab and at-home studies. 4. Actively participating in lab meetings and reading groups to discuss new literature.
Beyond these core tasks, I am deeply involved in two incredible research projects that are pushing the boundaries of child development research: 1. Pioneering Polysemy Research: I work on sense coding for polysemous words; words that share a form but have multiple related meanings, like “cap” referring to both a “baseball cap” and a “bottle cap”. What makes this work so impressive is that traditional word-learning theories often assumed toddlers could only grasp one meaning per word. This research groundbreakingly demonstrates that toddlers as young as two years old already represent complex networks of multiple meanings in their minds! 2. NIH-Funded Neural & Vocal Controllability Study: I also perform behavioral coding and transcription for research examining early word learning and vocal development. What makes this study truly historic is that it is an NIH-funded initiative representing the very first time scientists are studying brain activity during real-time vocal controllability! Examining neural mechanisms as vocal control happens in real time opens up brand-new frontiers in how we understand speech and language development. In addition to my daily lab work, I participate in weekly professional development programs that have been invaluable for my growth.
Why did you apply for this internship?
I applied for this internship at the Princeton Baby Lab because I am deeply interested in developmental psychology and plan to pursue a PhD in the field. I wanted hands-on experience with cutting-edge child language acquisition research, specifically regarding how toddlers process and learn complex word meanings
Can you talk about the skills you are learning and why they are important to you?
During this internship, I am building a strong foundation in both the technical and methodological skills required for psychological research. Through our weekly professional development programs, I am learning how to code in R and conduct detailed data analysis, which are critical for evaluating complex experimental results. On the methodological side, I am gaining hands-on experience running eye-tracking experiments and performing rigorous behavioral and sense coding. These skills are incredibly important to me because they bridge the gap between theoretical knowledge and practical application, giving me the exact toolkit I need to succeed in a future developmental psychology PhD program.
Can you give us three adjectives and three nouns that describe your internship experience?
Three Adjectives: Collaborative, Innovative, Rigorous
Three Nouns: Discovery, Mentorship, Foundation