Graduate student opportunity: PhD studying fungal foliar endophytes
of Vanuatu at the University of Hawaii
The Amend lab at the University of Hawaii at Manoa is recruiting a
PhD student to research plant fungal interactions as part of a
NSF-funded collaboration. The student will collaborate with a broad
consortium of researchers to examine the fungal, botanical and
linguistic diversity of Tafea province, Vanuatu, in the South
Pacific. This will be the first systematic survey of this oceanic,
tropical, biodiversity hotspot. The student will be responsible
principally for documenting the endophytic fungi of native host
plants using cultivation and high-throughput DNA-sequencing
techniques. This will involve long stretches in the field under
uncomfortable, remote and staggeringly beautiful conditions. The
student will have the opportunity to develop research questions
consistent with lab interests in microbial community ecology,
biogeography and evolution.
The student will enroll in the Department of Botany
<http://www.botany.hawaii.edu/>http://www.botany.hawaii.edu, a small,
research-active department that values organismal and natural history
research. We have access to modern facilities including greenhouses,
growth chambers, a rainforest arboretum, a campus supercomputer with
excellent administrators, and sequencing/microscopy cores. Hawaiian
field sites are spectacular and easily accessed; our native flora is
90% endemic.
Full stipend and tuition as a research assistant is guaranteed for 3
years. The student will enroll Fall 2016.
The successful applicant should have some of the following
attributes: experience devising, conducting and completing
independent research; coursework and interest in fungi and/or plants;
skills in molecular biology and bioinformatics; ability to make a
convincing case that he/she will be happy spending extended periods
in the field.
Please take a look at the Amend Lab website
<http://amendlab.com/>http://amendlab.com to get a sense of the type
of research we conduct. If you think you're a good fit, please send
your CV and unofficial transcripts to Anthony:
<mailto:am...@hawaii.edu>am...@hawaii.edu. In a cover letter please
describe 1) why you're interested in this opportunity 2) a research
question or questions you'd be interested in exploring and 3) what
approach you'd use to do so. Full applications are due January 15,
please contact me sooner.
_______________________________
Anthony S. Amend
Assistant Professor
Department of Botany
University of Hawaii Manoa
3190 Maile Way, Room 101
Honolulu, HI 96822 U.S.A.
Email: <mailto:am...@hawaii.edu>am...@hawaii.edu
Lab website: <http://www.amendlab.com>http://www.amendlab.com
Office phone: 808-956-6429
Lab phone: 808-956-0936
Fax: 808-956-3923
Schedule: <http://tinyurl.com/m8dyrt8>http://tinyurl.com/m8dyrt8
