Undergraduate Researchers- We welcome participation of undergraduates as either volunteers, BISP 199 (Directed Study) students, ESYS Thesis students, or through a variety of internship programs. Volunteers should plan to spend at least 12 hours per week working in the lab, and 199 students and Interns should spend at least 15 hours. We hold a weekly lab meeting on Thursday 1-2 pm in the lab which all students should attend.
BS/MS Students– Students are accepted into the lab through the UCSD Division of Biology BS/MS program. Students are required to do at least one 199 project in the lab before applying to the BS/MS program to see if it’s a good fit. There is no financial support for students in this program, and it lasts for a substantial part of the final year of undergraduate, plus an additional year of research.
Ph.D. Students- I am not currently recruiting Ph.D. students, this announcement will be changed once I am able to take new Ph.D. students in the future. Doctoral students apply through the UCSD Division of Biology Ph.D. Program. Students develop independent research programs on questions related to the ongoing research in the lab. Students often work on different systems (for instance, projects have taken place in kelp forests, lakes, rocky intertidal zones and salt marshes), but design and execute their research independently. I work closely with my doctoral students to develop their research questions and to find funding to support your work.
Before you contact me about doing a Ph.D. in the lab, you should ask yourself the following questions which I will ask you because I ask everybody:
(1) What is your past research experience and what did you learn from it?
(2) What you hope to do for your Ph.D. and why?
(3) What research question do you want to address, in what system, and why is it important?
(4) What are your long-term career objectives?
(5) How you plan to fund your work? What fellowships have you applied for or will you apply for?
Post-doctoral fellows– Post-doctoral fellows either bring their own fellowships or are funded on my grants. If there is an open opportunity for a grant funded post-doc, it will be posted on this site and also advertised on ECOLOG.