December 1, 2007
Graduate Assistantships (M.Sc. or Ph.D.): Penn State University
Please do not contact me about these opportunities. Good luck!--Dida
Graduate Assistantships (M.Sc. or Ph.D.) are available in the labs of Iliana Baums and Todd LaJeunesse at the Pennsylvania State University in the areas of marine ecology and evolution. Prospective candidates should have strong academic records and some research experience is preferred. In addition to laboratory bench work, periodic field expeditions are an important part of our research and involve collecting and experimental work using SCUBA often in remote locations. Motivation, self-discipline, creativity, and good interpersonal skills are essential.
Baumsand her students work on dispersal, connectivity and reproductive biology of marine organisms, with a focus on tropical corals. Molecular tools are used to address ecological and evolutionary questions with conservation applications. Currently, we are studying the effects of climate change on dispersal in corals and other reef taxa. Research on conservation genetics of elkhorn corals in the Caribbean includes quantification of heritable genetic variation and the role of asexual reproduction.
LaJeunesse and his students work primarily on the ecology and evolution of endosymbiotic microbes. Research is currently focused on a diverse group of photosynthetic dinoflagellates that live in the tissues of corals and related taxa. Molecular approaches are utilized to investigate the biodiversity, host-symbiont specificity, and geographic distributions in order to address questions related to co-evolutionary processes and to learn how these systems respond to severe environmental change.
Penn State offers a stimulating environment and excellent resources for ecological and evolutionary biologists through the Huck Institute for the Life Sciences. PSU is a world-renown research institution with a strong reputation in the field of evolutionary genetics through both the Institute of Molecular Evolutionary Genetics and the Intercollege Graduate Program in Genetics
many members of which belong to the Department of Biology. The interdepartmental program in Ecology brings together 49 faculty from across the campus and has a very active graduate student organization. Students may apply through the Department of Biology or through Interdepartmental Programs by Dec 31, 2007 for admission in Fall of 2008.
For more information contact
Iliana B. Baums, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Department of Biology
The Pennsylvania State University
208 Mueller Laboratory
University Park, PA, 16802
baums @ psu.edu
Todd LaJeunesse, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Department of Biology
The Pennsylvania State University
208 Mueller Laboratory
University Park, PA, 16802
tcl3 @ psu.edu
Posted by Dida at December 1, 2007 12:55 PM
