Information

Prospective Students

Graduate Students:

Graduate students are accepted into my lab after being admitted to a UMN Twin Cities graduate program. I am a graduate student trainer in the Microbiology, Immunology, and Cancer Biology; Comparative and Molecular Biosciences; Medical Scientist Training Program; Entomology; and Veterinary Medicine PhD training programs. All of these programs have competitive admissions. After students are accepted into these programs, they are expected to rotate in 3-4 labs before choosing a dissertation advisor. I believe these rotations are essential for students to make an informed choice about a lab, so I do not accept direct admissions into my laboratory, nor do I accept students who are conditionally accepted to UMN contingent upon finding a dissertation advisor. 

I am also a member of the following programs that offer prestigious, competitive predoctoral research fellowships: Virology, Immunology, and PharmacoNeuroImmunology. 

Undergraduate Students:

Undergraduates that are interested in gaining research experience should contact me directly. Preference is given to undergraduates that are interested in working (paid) in the laboratory during the summer. We are particularly interested in high-achieving undergraduate freshmen and sophomores considering graduate or professional health studies. The roles and responsibilities of undergraduates will be determined by their experience. Generally, undergraduates will begin as paid student hourlies responsible for general laboratory chores. Mentored research is a possibility and a privilege for those undergraduates that excel as student hourlies. My undergraduate students have an excellent record of earning authorship on scientific manuscripts. If you are serious about wanting to work in my lab, I expect that you will at least read my website before contacting me. So please include the password "Goldy" in your initial email contact so I can give you bonus points if you took the time to read this page.