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Undergraduate research opportunities may be available. Please contact me for details.
To Prospective Graduate Students: *I am currently recruiting students looking to start in Fall 2020 or later. Available project: I am looking for students who are interested in developing and applying systems for collecting different ecological types of microorganisms. The main goals of the project are to determine 1) how the loss of certain ecological types impacts the function of microbial assemblages, and 2) whether selecting for ecological traits of interest can enhance the development and reliable application of microbial inoculants for agriculture (i.e. agricultural probiotics). Another objective of the project is to determine the cost to bacteria of expanding their habitat breadth along different environmental axes. Students interested in this project should be able to specifically describe how it intersects with their own research/career goals. General: In your graduate research, you will use a variety of techniques from molecular biology, soil science, and ecology, often with a heavy focus on high-throughput sequencing, to address questions related to the targeted and inadvertent modification of plant-associated microbiomes. You should expect to learn new skills from other fields, but should already have a strong background in at least one of the following areas: ecology, molecular biology, soil science, and/or plant-microbe interactions. You will need to develop a variety of computing skills, but prior experience with computer science is not required. My aim is to help my students reach their career goals, whatever those may be. You should expect to gain experience in data analysis, manuscript preparation, grant writing, oral presentation, and other skills that are relevant to your program and preparation. We will meet periodically to discuss progress towards your career goals. We will work with plants and microbial assemblages appropriate to the questions asked, but will seek to embed these questions within applied agriculturally-based projects. Interested students can e-mail me at thb15@psu.edu. Please include: - a CV - an explanation of your interest in my lab or a particular project Please note that I'm unlikely to respond to obvious form letters. I am looking for students with genuine interest in my areas of focus. |
