Washington State U: Evolutionary ecology of plant-microbe cooperation

Post date: Dec 5, 2015 11:29:44 PM

Date: Wed, Oct 28, 2015 at 2:23 AM

Subject: Graduate Position: Evolutionary ecology of plant-microbe cooperation

The Porter lab at Washington State University, Vancouver, is

recruiting graduate students for fall 2016. Our lab explores the

evolutionary and ecological dynamics of plants and their microbial

symbionts to test fundamental theory about cooperative interactions.

We focus on environmentally acquired symbioses between plants and

microbial mutualists such as nitrogen-fixing rhizobium bacteria. Our

research projects range from the field, to the lab to the greenhouse

and integrate approaches from quantitative genetics, ecological

genetics and genomics.

Graduate students will have the opportunity to participate in the PI's

collaborative multi-year NSF-funded project with the Friesen lab at

Michigan State University to investigate evolutionary and ecological

shifts in plant-symbiont mutualism during plant invasions from Europe

into North America. Students are also welcome to develop a research

program aligned with their own interests and expertise on related

topics in plant or microbial evolutionary ecology. The lab currently

supports diverse projects ranging from examining how

plant-soil-microbial feedbacks impact succession post-eruption on

Mount Saint Helens, to testing the importance of microbes to plant

adaptation to heavy metals, to quantifying natural selection on

cheating strategies in mutualism. Visit our research page to read more

Graduate students will be supported through a combination of TAship

and research assistantship in the Porter lab (5-6 years for PhD, 2 for

MS) with the opportunity for summer funding. The PI will work with

students to develop competitive applications for independent graduate

funding. WSUV is a vibrant, rapidly growing institution located within

the greater Portland/Vancouver metropolitan area, near the Columbia

River, Cascade Mountains and coastal ocean, and as such offers an

exceptional quality of life.

Interested students should send a copy of their CV, description of

research interests, and GPA to stephanie.porter@wsu.edu.

#bio, #evolution, #ecology, #botany, #micro

Report abuse