Fwd: Graduate Position: WesternWashingtonU.EvolutionaryBiology

[Ellen Hostert]

---------- Forwarded message ---------
From: <evo...@evol.biology.mcmaster.ca>
Date: Fri, Nov 24, 2023 at 12:17 AM
Subject: Graduate Position: WesternWashingtonU.EvolutionaryBiology
To: <ehos...@maine.edu>

Masters of Science in Biology

Western Washington University

The Biology Department at Western Washington University has openings
for graduate students starting Fall 2024. Faculty members in the
department offer a wide range of expertise, from molecular biology to
ecology. Graduate students are eligible for teaching assistantships,
which fund the majority of tuition and, in 2023-2024, provided a
stipend of $15,300 per 9-month academic year ($5100 per quarter). WWU
is located in Bellingham, WA, a coastal city north of Seattle at the
base of Mt. Baker in the northwestern part of the state. We strongly
advise interested students to contact potential advisors in their area
of specialty to get more details about individual labs.

APPLICATION DUE DATE: Feb. 1, 2024

You can find more information with the following resources:
- The Biology Dept: https://biology.wwu.edu/biology-graduate-program
- The WWU Graduate School:
  http://www.wwu.edu/gradschool/App_Reqs_Deadlines.shtml;
- Dr. Shawn Arellano, Biology Graduate Program Advisor:
  BiologyGr...@wwu.edu;
- By contacting the individual faculty, below.

Potential advisors

Alejandro Acevedo-Guti?rrez: My research lab is geared towards
understanding the role of marine mammals in their environment and
their interactions with humans. The majority of this research has
been conducted on pinnipeds in the Salish Sea in collaboration with
Dr. Schwarz, also in the Biology Department. Currently, we are looking
for two graduate students to start academic year 2024-2025. You can
find more information about what we are looking for on my website:
https://www.wwu.edu/faculty/aceveda/Research%20HTML%20files/GradStudiesInfo.html

Shawn Arellano: Marine invertebrate larval ecology and deep-sea
ecology. The Arellano lab does not expect to accept new graduate students
in Fall 2024. https://wp.wwu.edu/arellanolab/

Jim Cooper: The Cooper lab is currently looking for students interested
in working within two broad areas: 1) the development of marine fishes
endemic to the Pacific Northwest; and 2) using a model fish species
(zebrafish) for experimental studies of skull morphogenesis. We are
currently focused on developing methods for working with marine fish
species to answer questions relevant to local ecology and ecosystem
management. Our zebrafish research is primarily directed at understanding
the controls of skull formation within an evolutionary context (Evo-Devo
focus). We are particularly interested in recruiting students who have
experience working with marine fish development, but because our lab
is highly integrative, we can accommodate new colleagues with a diverse
range of interests. https://biology.wwu.edu/people/cooperw5

Deb Donovan: Research in the Donovan lab is focused on restoration
aquaculture of our native pinto abalone, Haliotis kamtschatkana. Pinto
abalone populations have declined precipitously in the last few
decades and we collaborate with the Puget Sound Restoration Fund
and with government agencies to restore populations in the Salish
Sea. Student projects could focus on any aspect restoration, including
optimizing rearing of juveniles at the hatchery, outplanting larval or
juvenile abalone, or monitoring abalone at outplant sites. Students
work closely with hatchery personnel to identify projects that align
with student interest and that contribute meaningfully to abalone
restoration. https://biology.wwu.edu/people/donovad

Lina Dalberg: The Dahlberg Lab uses the model organism C. elegans to probe
the neurobiological, cellular, and behavioral role for proteins involved
in a ubiquitin-dependent processes called Endoplasmic Reticulum Associated
Degradation (ERAD). Student projects will use a variety of techniques,
including fluorescence microscopy, behavioral assays, and biochemical
characterization to investigate how ERAD targets neural receptors for
degradation. A second, NSF-funded project focuses on teaching and learning
in undergraduate science laboratory courses; students interested in this
project should have experience (via coursework or research) in education
and pedagogy research. https://biology.wwu.edu/people/dahlbec

Nick Galati: Cell biology and organelle dynamics. Cilia are evolutionarily
ancient, hair-like projections that generate hydrodynamic force and
process extracellular information. The goal of our lab is to understand
how cells build cilia, with a specific focus on how individual proteins
traffic to and from a structure at the base of cilia, called the basal
body. We aim to create a spatial map of protein movement to and from
cilia as they assemble and sense the environment. To do this, we combine
high-resolution fluorescence microscopy with digital image analysis
to detect and quantify ciliary protein trafficking in space and over
time. Our analyses are primarily conducted in mammalian cells and in
the protist Tetrahymena. Please contact me at (nick....@wwu.edu)
to discuss graduate opportunities. https://biology.wwu.edu/people/galatid

David Hooper: Plant Community and Ecosystem Ecology: effects of
riparian restoration on nutrient retention in mixed use watersheds. I am
looking for one new graduate student in fall 2024 to work on modeling
and field work to assess the impacts of riparian restoration on upland
nutrient retention in the Nooksack River watershed. Student work would
combine GIS analyses and modeling of riparian buffers with field work
assessing nutrient runoff to validate modeling results. This project
is linked to the Nooksack Fraser Transboundary Nitrogen Project and the
International Nitrogen Management System. Please see a full description
of the project and desired grad student characteristics at my web site
below. I strongly recommend contacting me prior to applying if you are
interested in working in my lab. https://wp.wwu.edu/hooper/

Suzanne Lee: Current research in the Lee Lab is focused on understanding
the biological impacts of mysterious non-protein coding RNAs, with the
broad goal of elucidating the underlying molecular mechanisms that govern
RNA production, function, and degradation to maintain optimal cellular
health. A major focus of Lee Lab research at the moment is on elucidating
the molecular mechanisms by which endogenous RNA interference pathways
protect genomes from accumulated DNA damage. We are also interested in
how proteins involved in RNA interference pathways are regulated and how
long non-coding RNAs are recognized for small RNA production through RNA
interference pathways. To address these and other questions, we employ the
tools of biochemistry, molecular biology, bioinformatics, microscopy, cell
biology, and reverse genetics, using the ciliate Tetrahymena thermophila
as our model eukaryotic system. https://biology.wwu.edu/people/lees65

Craig Moyer: My interests are marine microbiology and geomicrobiology
focusing on molecular approaches for exploring microbial diversity,
community structure and ecological interactions. Presently,
my lab and I are focused on the study of iron-oxidizing
Zetaproteobacteria acting as the ecosystem engineers in microbial
mats found at strong redox boundaries, including seep, spring and
vent habitats. We are also examining the evolutionary divergence
of surface and deep subsurface Zetaproteobacteria in hydrothermal
systems. https://biology.wwu.edu/people/cmoyer

Brady Olson: Marine plankton ecology. The Olson lab does not expect to
accept new graduate students in Fall 2024.

Merrill Peterson: Insect Ecology, Evolution, and Diversity. Dr. Peterson
does not expect to accept new graduate students in Fall
2024. https://biology.wwu.edu/people/peterson

Laura Pillay: The Pillay Lab uses zebrafish as a model to understand
molecular mechanisms that regulate blood vessel development and
integrity. Endothelial cells form the innermost layer of all blood
vessels and serve as a physical barrier to regulate transport between
the blood and the tissues. Brain endothelial cell barrier disruption
produces a spectrum of disease that includes neurologic dysfunction,
cognitive impairment, disability, or death. Student projects will
use modern imaging, molecular biology, and gene editing techniques
to investigate how the small monomeric GTPase RHOA and its targets
regulate endothelial cell biology and contribute to vascular disease
states. https://biology.wwu.edu/people/pillayl

Lynn Pillitteri: Plant Molecular and Developmental Biology. A potential
graduate project in my lab would be aimed at understanding the molecular
mechanisms driving cell type differentiation in the model organism,
Arabidopsis thaliana. https://biology.wwu.edu/people/pillitl

Dan Pollard: Genetics, Molecular Cell Biology, Bioinformatics and
Genomics. We are broadly interested in the causes of cellular trait
variation. Most current projects are focused on the genetics of protein
synthesis and decay in Saccharomyces cerevisiae (baker's and brewer's
yeast). Protein expression differences between individuals are a
major driver of human diseases and species adaptation, yet little is
known about the mechanisms by which DNA differences in genes modulate
protein levels post-transcriptionally. Students in the lab use forward
genetic, genome engineering, and fluorescence microscopy approaches
to locate and study protein expression DNA variants. Students also
use bioinformatic and genomic approaches to test hypotheses about
post-transcriptional gene regulation. Graduate and undergraduate
students typically work collaboratively in teams on projects and
there are opportunities to develop new research directions. Please
email me (pol...@wwu.edu) if you are interested in joining our
team. https://wp.wwu.edu/pollardlab/prospective-students/

Dietmar Schwarz: Ecological and Evolutionary Genetics and Genomics,
Evolutionary Ecology. Schwarz's lab offers opportunities to study
speciation, hybridization, and adaptation in host specific insects
(apple maggot flies and relatives). The Schwarz lab also collaborates
with Alejandro Acevedo on the molecular ecology of foraging in harbor
seals. https://biology.wwu.edu/people/schward2

Anu Singh-Cundy: Plant Cell Biology and Biochemistry. We study cell-cell
interactions at the physiological, cellular, and molecular levels. Current
projects are focused on understanding the role of HD-AGPs, which are
extracellular glycoproteins that are expressed in the transmitting tissue
of the pistil and in the vasculature of roots and shoots. We also study
pectins and pectin-modifying enzymes found in the pistil of solanaceous
species. https://biology.wwu.edu/people/anu

Chris Templeton: Avian communication, cognition, and behavioral
ecology. Our research group is interested in understanding animal
communication and cognition from behavioral, ecological, and evolutionary
perspectives. Much of our research uses birds as model systems and ongoing
work includes local field projects examining the alarm call communication
networks of chickadees and other songbirds, tropical fieldwork examining
duet function and learning in neotropical wrens, and local field and
lab studies examining how anthropogenic noise pollution impacts animal
communication and cognitive processing. Our research team is inclusive
and collaborative and welcomes students wanting to work under one of
these projects or develop their own related research questions or study
systems. https://biology.wwu.edu/people/templec2

Adrienne Wang: Molecular mechanisms of aging and neurodegeneration. The
Wang lab does not expect to accept graduate students in Fall
2024. https://biology.wwu.edu/people/wanga5

Matthew Zinkgraf: Research in the Zinkgraf lab is focused on the
ecological and evolutionary genetics of undomesticated forest trees. To
accomplish this research, we apply an interdisciplinary approach that
utilizes methods from computational biology, genetics/genomics, molecular
biology and forest ecology. Ongoing research in the lab is concentrated
around two main projects. First, creating genomic resources for Pacific
Madrone (Arbutus menziesii), and apply these resources to understand
patterns of genetic variation and selection. Second, investigating
the genetic regulation of wood formation in Populus by understand how
epigenetic modifications at specific genes can alter gene expression
and regulatory networks. https://biology.wwu.edu/people/zinkgrm

Matthew Zinkgraf | Biology Department | Western Washington University
<https://biology.wwu.edu/people/zinkgrm>
Biology Department
biology.wwu.edu

BiologyGr...@wwu.edu

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Ellen E. Hostert, Ph.D. (she/her)
Professor of Biology
University of Maine at Machias
116 O'Brien Avenue
Machias, ME 04654
(207) 255-1301
ehos...@maine.edu