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Post date: Dec 5, 2015 11:28:15 PM
From: <evoldir@evol.biology.mcmaster.ca>
Date: Wed, Oct 28, 2015 at 3:57 AM
Subject: Graduate position: CornellU.FisheriesGenomics
The lab of Nina Overgaard Therkildsen in the Department of Natural Resources at Cornell University is looking for a highly motivated PhD student to start in the fall of 2016.
Research in the lab focuses on how contemporary environmental change and human impacts shape demographic, ecological, and microevolutionary processes within marine species. We are particularly interested in how human activities cause rapid evolution in many wild populations and in the roles that ongoing genetic adaptation and geographic distribution shifts will play for species persistence in our rapidly changing world. Our core tools to address these questions are high-throughput DNA sequencing methods that are opening completely new opportunities for population genomic studies of non-model organisms. A cornerstone of our research is to analyze time series of genomic data, which allow for direct tracking of changes over known time scales and therefore provide a unique opportunity to observe recent dynamics and microevolution in retrospective real time. Insights gained through this approach can also be important for characterizing population structure in exploited species, an
d we are working actively to develop ways to use genomic analysis for improving marine conservation and fisheries management.
PhD students will have the opportunity to develop their own project that aligns with the overarching lab interests or to join ongoing projects relating to fisheries-induced and climate-driven adaptation (based on experimental data and historical samples collected from wild fish stocks) and harnessing genomic data for better delineation of biologically relevant units for fisheries management and estimation of contemporary connectivity between populations.
Applicants should have a strong background and interest in evolutionary biology, fisheries, population genetics, bioinformatics or a related field. Familiarity with molecular laboratory techniques, computational skills and previous experience working with large genomic data sets will be advantageous. However, the most important qualifications are enthusiasm, drive, excellent written and oral communication skills, and demonstrated ability to work independently as well as in collaborative teams.
Interested candidates should send an email describing their motivation and research interests along with a CV, GPA, GRE scores (if available), and names of three references to Nina Overgaard Therkildsen (nt246@cornell.edu). Qualified candidates will be contacted to apply for sponsored admission through the Cornell Graduate Field of Natural Resources by December 1 2015. Funding for the position is available through research assistantships, teaching assistantships, and university fellowships, but candidates will also be encouraged to apply for external fellowships (in-progess fellowship applications will be viewed very favorably). The Natural Resources Graduate Program offers an exciting inter-disciplinary environment for graduate training with ample opportunity for interaction with the vibrant and diverse research community across the Cornell campus.
#bio, #fisheries, #fish, #ichthyology, #genomics
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