I am always excited to hear from bright, motivated students or postdocs interested in behavioral physiology, evolutionary biology, or neurogenomics. Our lab primarily investigates physiological adaptations to metabolically demanding activities such as reproduction, aggression, and territoriality. We are also interested in how sexual selection drives diversification of male coloration in East African cichlid fish.
If you're interested in developing a graduate or postdoctoral proposal to join our team (particularly through external fellowships or co-mentored opportunities), please do not hesitate to reach out.
PhD position available, Fall 2026
A Ph.D. position is available in the Dijkstra lab at Central Michigan University starting in Fall 2026. The position is funded by our new NSF award focusing on the behavioral and neurogenomic basis of aggression biases and its role in speciation in African cichlid fish. There are opportunities for fieldwork in Africa and lab work in Europe. The lab also studies social stress and competition (with NIH support). If you're passionate about behavioral neuroscience, animal behavior, stress biology, or evolution, we welcome your inquiry.
Interested candidates should contact Dr. Peter Dijkstra (dijks1p@cmich.edu) with (i) a statement of interest detailing how you might fit in the lab, (ii) CV, (iii) transcripts (unofficial is sufficient), and iv) contact information of 3 references. Please compile as a single pdf and include "PhD Student Application 2026" in the email subject line. Review of applications will start by Oct.20. For more information about the lab, please visit: https://sites.google.com/site/peterdijkstrausnl/dr-peter-d-dijkstra
Last Date to apply:
Oct. 25, 2025
Qualifications: The successful applicant should be highly motivated and have an M.S. in biology, zoology, ecology, fisheries, neuroscience, or closely related field. Prior research experience is essential, and preference will be given to candidates with bench work experience, strong R coding skills, and publication record (e.g. co-authorships or experience writing and publishing manuscripts).
Undergraduate students:
We welcome motivated undergraduate students who want to volunteer in our lab and gain valuable research experience. Undergraduate students perform various tasks, including fish maintenance, behavioral analysis, data analysis, and lab work (microscopy, hormone measurements, etc.). Don't hesitate to drop me an email or come see me in my office to discuss research opportunities in our lab (Biosciences Building 4105). Students with strong coding (R, Python) and writing skills are especially encouraged to reach out.
Undergraduate students are actively involved in our research and often contribute to scientific papers as co-author! Below are some examples of this. Undergraduate students are indicated in bold.
Funnell, T., Fialkowski, R. & Dijkstra, P.D. Social dominance does not increase oxidative stress in a female dominance hierarchy of an African cichlid fish. Ethology 128: 15-22 link
Piefke, T., Bonnell, T.R., DeOliveira, G., Border, S.E. & Dijkstra, P.D. 2021. Social network stability is impacted by removing a dominant male in replicate dominance hierarchies of a cichlid fish. Animal Behaviour 175: 7-20 link
Fialkowski, R., Aufdemberge, P, Wright, V.D. & Dijkstra, P.D. Radical change: 2021. Radical change: temporal patterns of oxidative stress during social ascent in a dominance hierarchy. Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology 75, Article number: 43 link
Sawecki, J., Miros, E., Border, S.E. & Dijkstra, P.D. 2019. Reproduction and maternal care increase oxidative stress in a mouthbrooding cichlid. Behavioral Ecology 30: 1662-1671 link
Border, S.E., Piefke, T., Fialkowski, R., Tryc, M., Funnell, T., DeOliveira, G. & Dijkstra, P.D. 2019. Color change and pigmentation in a color polymorphic cichlid fish. Hydrobiologia 832:175-191 link