Hi everyone! We hope that everyone’s summer is off to a great and relaxing start. The APA Annual Convention is quickly approaching, and we look forward to seeing you all at the SoAP events in Orlando!

We thought it might be helpful to highlight some events of interest for student SoAP members. For graduate students gearing up for the internship application process, APAGS is hosting a series of workshops and panels on the APPIC application and match processes on Friday, August 3rd and Saturday, August 4th. For more information, visit www. apa.org/convention/programming/ apags/internship-series.aspx

If you are interested in finding a balance between your clinical and research work, check out the session entitled How to Effectively Balance Clinical and Research Activities in Graduate School on Thursday, August 2nd from 12:00 to 12:50 pm.

Finally, if you are coming to the Convention with the goal of meeting and networking with the leaders in the field, consider attending the Speed Mentoring event where early career psychologists get to interact with experienced and distinguished psychologists. This will be happening on Friday, August 3rd from 8:00 to 10:00 am. Advanced registration is required and space is limited, so sign up when you register for the Convention.

We also want to introduce you to David Eddie, the newly appointed Student Representative to the Executive Board of the SoAP. David is beginning his tenure and is eager to become more involved in other SoAP affairs. Welcome, David!

From David:

I completed my bachelor’s, majoring in psychology, at Columbia University in 2010. For my honors thesis, I investigated the interaction of methamphetamine and alcohol on mood at the Substance Use Research Center at the New York State Psychiatric Institute. Currently, I’m a third-year clinical psychology graduate student at Rutgers University, where I work with Marsha Bates in the Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory at the Center of Alcohol Studies. My work there focuses on expanding our understanding of autonomic substrates of emotion regulation and how these processes parlay into problem drinking. I am also particularly interested in applied psychophysiology, specifically, heart rate variability biofeedback as a clinical tool for the treatment of substance use disorders and affect regulation. I had the pleasure of presenting a poster at the Early Career Poster Session at the 2011 APA Annual Convention, titled Alcohol Expectancies, Cue Reactivity, and History of Substance Dependence. I have published an article on the effects of chronic cannabis use on psychosocial and cognitive functioning and have four articles submitted or in preparation on a variety of topics related to substance use disorders and clinical science.

Clinically, much of my work so far has been with individuals with alcohol and drug problems. I’m currently a therapist in a controlled trial of femalespecific CBT for women with alcohol dependence. I am also very interested in Mindfulness Based Relapse Prevention (MBRP), and currently run MBRP groups at the Rutgers Psychological Clinic.

Having been a member of the SoAP since 2008 and a student member of the Finance Committee since 2011, I am very excited to be joining the SoAP’s Board as a Student Representative, and look forward to getting more involved in the SoAP!