A very warm (belated) welcome to Ian Maywar, who has joined us as a laboratory research assistant. Ian has the coolest job in the country and we are unbelievably welcome to have him join us. Ian hails from Skidmore College, where he pursued both biology and mathematics; he excels in both. Ian's undergraduate thesis focused on the molecular ecology of avian malaria. In our lab, Ian is already leading some crucial molecular analyses of plant genetics, wildlife diets, and microbiomes that will directly inform NSF funded research projects and conservation.

The lab is recruiting to fill two funded positions! This is a unique opportunity to join a highly collaborative and innovative team of researchers blending field ecology with cutting edge molecular biology to make a difference in conservation at important sites around the world and on campus at Brown University.

Please see posts specific to each position:

• A PhD student to begin in Fall 2022
• A laboratory Research Assistant to begin in Fall 2021 (Update: this position is closed)

Providence and Brown University are wonderful places to live and work!

***Update: Corrected (and extended) submission deadline below!***

The lab is recruiting a new PhD student! This is a unique opportunity to join a collaborative partnership between our lab and Yellowstone National Park as we seek to understand relationships between diverse plant species and the migratory large herbivores that eat them (e.g., bison, elk, bighorn sheep, pronghorn antelope, deer). This NSF-funded position offers support for ample fieldwork, lab work, and training at state of the art facilities (e.g., herbaria, genomics centers, data science centers).

The project calls for a PhD student with broad interests in biology and will provide a supportive environment to learn new skills. If your interests and prior experiences intersect with any aspect of this project, you should consider applying! A botanist would have support to learn about wildlife ecology, and vice versa. A geneticist would have support to learn about field research, and vice versa. An ecologist would have support to learn about data science, and vice versa. Initial inquiries from prospective students are very welcome.

Prospective students will find it helpful to review information about joining our lab as well as information about our graduate program. If you are still interested, please send the PI an email to introduce yourself! I encourage prospective students to get in touch early in the recruiting process so that we can discuss ways to strengthen your application and the suitability of fellowship programs that could help advance your career.  

Update: the advertisement for this PhD position originally listed December 1st as the application deadline; this does not match the official graduate school deadline, will not be until January 7th. ​All applications received by the official graduate school deadline will be given full consideration. 

Bianca Brown was featured as one of seven "exceptional alumni" profiled by the Brown Alumni Magazine in 2021. As quoted below, the article "Emerging Victorious" features seven of the many exemplary students who thrived and graduated despite the pandemic. It's a very fitting and well deserved highlight for Bianca, who we are incredibly proud to have had as the first PhD to fledge from the lab. Congratulations, Bianca, we can't wait to see all the good you do in your life and career!

Congratulations to Courtney Reed on winning the 2021 American Society of Mammalogist's James L. Patton Award. This prestigious award was presented today at the annual ASM conference, which was held online today. The support will enable Courtney to pursue exciting research on how gerbils evolved to be shaped in the diverse way that they are -- can't wait to see what she discovers!

Congratulations to Bianca for completing all requirements for her PhD yesterday! Bianca's dissertation was a pleasure to read and her presentation was full of stunning visuals. The work is going to change the way people think about the microbiome soon. After this, Bianca will start a prestigious NSF Postdoctoral Research Fellowship in Vanessa Ezenwa's lab at Yale!

I am very pleased and honored to know that the lab will be funded by an NSF CAREER Award (DEB-2046797). The award will support ongoing collaborations with Yellowstone National Park for the next five years! During this time we will use dietary DNA metabarcoding to analyze the diets and microbiomes of migratory large mammals and connect this information with what we learn from ecological field experiments to better understand plant-herbivore interactions in this amazing ecosystem. We are excited to support many, many students and early career researchers in the classroom, laboratory, and at Yellowstone in ways that foster growth and improve representation in the field. This award complements and extends what we hope to accomplish through our ongoing NSF EPCSCoR (OIA-2033823) award and increases our current level of NSF support to four active awards.

I will post information about the first new opportunities to join the lab and work on projects like this one over the course of this summer.

We are fortunate once again to have had an opportunity to work with some AMAZING researchers who are now graduating. 

Congratulations to Amanda Lyons '20 Honors '21 MSc for completing her 5th year Master's degree! Amanda has been leading the northeastern terrapin genetics project in our lab for the past few years. Amanda's Honors thesis included some really insightful RADseq data obtained in collaboration with a whole host of governmental, non-profit, and academic partners. We expect the output to have a significant impact on conservation strategies and priorities for the turtle in the region.

Congratulations to Camille Tulloss '21 for earning Honors and a Senior Biology Prize for her graduation! Camille's thesis focused on the microbiomes of wild bison migrating across Yellowstone National Park. The work was a scientific and visual masterpiece, that seamlessly melded Camille's passion for research, scientific education, and illustration. We look forward to collaborating with Camille on this topic for years to come. 

A quick note about our posts: Our lab's response to the pandemic was to focus in on supporting ourselves and one another. As a result, I have not been very good about publicly posting these sorts of milestones and accomplishments for the amazing people in the lab this year. The situation is still fluid, both locally and globally, but I aspire to post more regular updates going forward.